The Crocodiles at Sabou

                         

In Burkina, there are several places where you can go to visit, pet, set on crocodiles. To me, this doesn't really sound very entertaining, but it does draw tourists. So, we took one of the groups who came recently to visit the crocodiles at Sabou.

In animistic religions, the people believe that spirits inhabit animals, trees, rocks, and many other things, thus those objects become sacred. The lake at Sabou houses around 100 crocodiles of varying sizes and the men who tend to the crocodiles can call them up out of the lake so that the tourists can see them and touch them. Every so often, the villages make sacrifices to the crocodiles (and the spirits) to keep them happy.  This keeps the spirits close enough to protect the village, but also far enough away that the villagers haven't brought the wrath of the spirit on their village. 

There is always a balance in animism on having a relationship with a god to provide protection, but not having an intimate relationship with a god.  Their gods are always distant (in relationship), not close, and always wrathful, never loving or gentle.  They live in constant fear of their god, never at peace.

   

These practices are common throughout West Africa.  In Benin, there are villages where pythons are considered holy.  They have temples where the pythons live and men who serve the pythons.  They let them out at night to feed and they return to the temple to be taken care of.  They are considered the protectors of the village, just as the crocodiles are in Burkina.  When you visit the python temples in Benin, they place the pythons around your neck to have your pictures taken with them.  No thank you!  I am glad that we just have crocodiles to deal with here.

Because animisim has such a powerful traditional hold here, these practices often get mixed with other religions.  It can be difficult to get people to understand how those traditions are not fruitful and that there is a way that is better.  Please pray for strongholds to be broken and for animists to move from the bondage of fear into the peace that comes from trusting in Christ alone.