Benin voodoo festival - in pictures

Nigerian Yaruba dressed as voodoo spirits perform during a voodoo ceremony in Ouidah, Benin. Each spirit represents the reincarnation of a dead member of the Nigerian Nagu clan Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A Egungun spirit from the Nigerian Yoruba clan, stands during a voodoo ceremony. The Egungun are masqueraded dancers that represents the ancestral spirits of the Yoruba, a Nigerian ethnic group, and are believed to visit earth to possess and give guidance to the living Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A Egungun spirit stands during the ceremony. Ouidah is Benin's voodoo heartland, and thought to be the spiritual birthplace of voodoo or vodun as it known in Benin. Ouidah, a former slave port on the Atlantic Ocean, about 25 miles from Cotonou, Benin's capital city, is known by many as the birthplace of voodoo Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Shrouded in mystery and often misunderstood, voodoo was acknowledged as an official religion in Benin in 1989, and is increasing in popularity with around 17% of the population following it Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A week of activity centred around the worship of voodoo culminates when people from across Benin, as well as Togo and Nigeria, decend on Ouidah for the annual voodoo festival Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Voodoo is more than a belief system, it is a complete way of life, including culture, philosophy, language, art, dance, music and medicine Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Voodoo priests ask the gods to intervene on behalf of people but local adherents stress that they have nothing to do with sorcery or black magic. They also sometimes ask for offerings, such as a chicken or a sheep, which is then sacrificed to the divinity, or some alcohol is poured onto the floor Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The Egungun wear flamboyant sequin-spangled capes adorned with animal and human motifs. Their faces were veiled by cowry shell screens and it is said to be bad luck if you see their eyes Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images