PRACTICES OF THE INCEST RITUAL ZANKOUMANDO: LEGITIMACY AND REGISTRATION IN THE FON D’ABOMEY-CALAVI COMMUNITIES IN BENIN

Incest is a rite that has been practiced since time immemorial in South Benin society. Yet, this way of life is still as gruesome to hear. The present research aims to understand the foundations of the practices of ritual incest in the Fon communities of Abomey-Calavi. In order to do this, a methodological approach based on documentary research, field investigation is essential: direct observation, interviews with 30 individuals were used with the technique of reasoned choice and snowball. The functionalist strategic approaches of B. Malinowki, the determinism of the sociology of deviancy of A. Ogien's determinism of the sociology of deviance and especially the historical method which seemed to be a privileged means to describe, tell and better understand an episode or a person's life experience were used to analyze the data. It emerged that the zankoumando incest ritual practiced in the Fon community since time immemorial is an ancestral heritage and is neither a taboo nor a social anomaly. The rite It ensures the social and cultural balance of the actors. However, the rite is depreciated by the collective vision because it is a social prohibition and a social norm that must be preserved. It is inconceivable that a father and his daughter, a mother and her son, a brother and a sister, in short two parents of the same blood make love to each other or even marry at the right wedding.