Atché

Atché means « blessing of the gods » in the Ewé language. Performed by three dancers, three stilt-walkers and two musicians, the performance presents a sort of symphony of the gods, featuring the temperaments, attributes and interactions of four deities from the Vodoun pantheon: Dan, the snake god; Sakpata, the earth god; Hébiosso, the thunder god; and Aguélé, the spirit of the stilt-walkers who, in response to the invocations of Men, deliver messages and blessings. 

An enthusiast of traditional Vodoun dance, Jean-Pierre Etsé Atchrimi’s aim in this performance was to display the artistic dimension of the rituals specific to the various Vodoun cults, while retaining a ceremonial and spiritual dimension, as he himself is an initiate. On stage, close to the drums, stands a fetish to which the dancers address incantations, a way of asking permission to use the gestural material of the cult outside consecrated places. The first scene evokes a young woman’s desire and attempt to become a stilt-walker, despite the fact that she is forbidden to do so. Indeed, the practice of stilt-walking, and the Tchébé dance associated with it, is strictly reserved for men among the Ifé people, who settled in Atakpamé, Togo, and initiated this art form. Legend has it that, while hunting in the bush, a hunter named Itché observed fairies with only one leg and one arm leaping and dancing on a long wooden stick. Frightened by a gunshot, the fairies fled, abandoning their equipment, which was brought back to the village spiritual leader, who attributed a mystical value to them. It was decided to reproduce these sticks as stilts, which even today women are not allowed to practice or even approach. The second scene, associated with the color white, evokes Mami Wata, goddess of the sea, whose features are also those of a half-woman, half-fish mermaid. The next two scenes are dedicated to Sakpata, divinity of the earth (blue and black) and to Hévioso, god of thunder (red). The energy that builds up as the scenes progress explodes when the dancers, symbolizing the adepts straddled by the god, fall into a trance.

Premiere September 7, 2023, Institut Français du Togo, Lomé. 

Recorded on December 2, 2023, Palais de Lomé, as part of the Instant Togo Festival. This « festival like no other », whose first edition took place in December 2023, aims to support the dissemination of the performing arts in Africa by promoting the sharing of venues and encouraging audience diversity. From December 1 to 16, 2023, shows were programmed on several occasions, in different places: cultural centers, museums, esplanades, markets, public squares… both in the Togolese capital, Lomé, and in its near and far suburbs: Tsévié, Agbodrafo, Aneho. 

Source: Interview with Jean-Pierre Etsé Atchrimi by Anne Décoret-Ahiha, December 7, 2023, Lomé.

This video was registered thanks to the support of the Institut Français, the Metropole de Lyon and the City of Lyon as part of the 2023 – 2024 project “Development of a digital resource on African choreographic creation and a tool for artistic training, art criticism and cultural mediation in Benin and Togo” led by Dr Anne Décoret-Ahiha.