Qui sont Zinsu et Zinsi ?

Zinsu et Zinsi sont des jumeaux du folklore dahomeen, chez les Fon et les Ewe d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Les recits les presentent comme dotes de grands pouvoirs surnaturels et celebres pour leurs exploits de magie. Les sources anciennes ne precisent ni leur genre ni s'il s'agit de mortels ou d'etres divins.

A quel peuple et a quelle region se rattache Zinsu ?

Zinsu appartient aux traditions fon et ewe, deux peuples apparentes etablis sur la cote et l'arriere-pays de l'actuel Benin, du Togo et de l'est du Ghana, l'ancien royaume du Dahomey. Ces recits ont notamment ete recueillis par l'ethnologue Melville Herskovits au XXe siecle.

Pourquoi les jumeaux ont-ils une place particuliere chez les Fon et les Ewe ?

Dans l'aire fon et ewe, la naissance de jumeaux revet une forte valeur sacree et donne lieu a un culte ancien ainsi qu'a des rites specifiques. Cette importance accordee au jumelage eclaire la presence de figures gemellaires comme Zinsu et Zinsi dans le patrimoine narratif de la region.

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ZINSU

ally

Goddess

✦ SoulFon/Eʋe →Fon — FonElder

Gender: FeminineSign: sorcellerie

Zinsu is, with her twin Zinsi, one of the two figures of a cycle of narratives of Dahomean folklore, among the Fon and Ewe peoples of present-day Benin, Togo and eastern Ghana. Tradition presents them as twins endowed with great supernatural powers, renowned above all for their feats of magic. The available sources remain limited and imprecise. They fix neither their gender nor their exact status, between mortal heroes and supernatural beings, and the couple Zinsu and Zinsi appears more as a pair of tale magicians than as deities of the vodun pantheon properly speaking. Their cycle belongs to a context in which twinship carries a strong sacred charge. Among the Fon and the Ewe, twins, hohovi, are the object of an ancient cult and of particular rites, and the ethnologist Melville Herskovits collected and analysed many of these narratives. The academic documentation bearing specifically on Zinsu and Zinsi nevertheless remains rare, which invites caution as to the details of this figure.

Powers & Attributes

witchcraft

Role in the ROHO universe

Weaver of the invisible threads. ZINSU handles the subtle energies and teaches the language of correspondences. Bound to the Fon/Eʋe pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of vegetable ivory, amethyst and sacred wood, engraved with symbols of witchcraft, embodiment of the power of Zinsu

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

Who are Zinsu and Zinsi?

Zinsu and Zinsi are twins of Dahomean folklore, among the Fon and the Ewe of West Africa. The narratives present them as endowed with great supernatural powers and famed for their feats of magic. The old sources specify neither their gender nor whether they are mortals or divine beings.

To which people and which region is Zinsu attached?

Zinsu belongs to the Fon and Ewe traditions, two related peoples settled on the coast and the hinterland of present-day Benin, Togo and eastern Ghana, the former kingdom of Dahomey. These narratives were notably collected by the ethnologist Melville Herskovits in the twentieth century.

Why do twins hold a particular place among the Fon and the Ewe?

In the Fon and Ewe area, the birth of twins carries a strong sacred value and gives rise to an ancient cult as well as specific rites. This importance granted to twinship illuminates the presence of twin figures such as Zinsu and Zinsi in the narrative heritage of the region.

Related spirits

ZINSI MAWU FA AYABA

Sources and references

Melville J. et Frances S. Herskovits, Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis (1958)
Melville J. Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom (1938)