Candomblé Jejé is one of the major branches (nations) of Candomblé, an Afro-American religion. It developed mainly among slaves of the Ewe and Fon ethnic groups, from the region of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in Africa. The name is actually a Yoruba word meaning stranger, which is what those groups represented to them. Ilê Axé Iya Nassô Oká - Terreiro da Casa Branca Candomblé is an Afro_American religion practised chiefly in Brazil but also in adjacent countries. ... The Afro-American religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas among African slaves and their descendants. ... Fon is a major West African ethnic and linguistic group in the country of Benin or Dahomey. ... Dahomey was an African kingdom situated in what is now Benin. ... The Republic of Benin is a nation of western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

Voduns

Jejé deities are called Voduns (sing. Vodum) in Portuguese spelling. According to tradition, they were introduced into the Kingdom of Dahomey from nearby lands by its founder King Adja-Tado, on the advice of a bokono (seer). Their cult was reorganized and uniformized by King Agajah in the 18th century. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

Jejé Voduns are sometimes cultuated in houses of other nations by different names. For instance, the Vodum Dan or Bessen is called Oxumarê in Candomblé Ketu, Sakpata is called Omolu, etc. Conversely the Ketu Orishas may be cultuated in Jejé houses, but retain their names.

Voduns are organized into families: