Ganvié, Benin

By Josué Mehouenou

Calls in the darkness and canoes gliding across the water: Ganvié’s “Lovers’ Canal” in Benin, which has long brought together singles, is gradually falling out of favor with younger generations.

The narrow waterway in West Africa’s largest lake city has for decades been the discreet setting for first encounters, for words exchanged under the cover of night, hidden from parental eyes.

But today, younger people view it with a more nuanced perspective.

“It’s a beautiful story, but today (…) we talk, we get to know each other without hiding,” observes Anna, 22, from Ganvié, just a few days before Valentine’s Day.

“We don’t need all that fuss to find our soulmate. The canal isn’t as essential as it used to be,” agrees Roslin Dantin, a 30-year-old farmer.

“We see the lovers’ canal as an old-fashioned thing. For our generation, there’s something better. Technology and social media have replaced those symbols,” adds Augustin Gbénoukpo, a 24-year-old student.

– More Liberal Social Norms –

More liberal social norms and the rise of dating apps have, in fact, changed the game.

“Today, even from the comfort of their own bed, a young man can make a move on a girl on the other side of the world,” observes Elise Avlessi, with a touch of nostalgia. “Back then, we did everything in secret; we let the relationship develop away from prying eyes,” she says.

It was through this platform that she met Joseph Houegbe, her husband, a fashion designer, about fifteen years ago.

“We had no other place where we could meet freely. Back then, our parents wouldn’t let us go out, and my suitor absolutely had to get the family’s permission before he could visit me,” she explains.

“Without this channel, our relationship would have been very difficult to make a reality. It was almost the only way to flirt,” she continues.

Joseph recounts whistling at night, feverishly waiting for the sound of a paddle striking the hull of a canoe—a sign of a young woman’s interest.

“At night, you couldn’t tell the men from the women in the canoes. So they used slogans, code words agreed upon in advance,” explains Jonas Zannou-Zoki, a tour guide, to visitors at the canal.

– A sentimental memory –

And very often, after these discreet encounters, tradition took its course with a formal proposal, a dowry, and a religious or traditional wedding

But the canal still retains a symbolic and religious significance.

Just a few paddle strokes away, a “Lovers’ Square” has been created to highlight this sentimental legacy.

Émilienne Atoukou, the site manager, points out the “sacred canary”—a small jar with a hole in it—placed in the center of a canoe, into which lovers toss cowrie shells, traditional seashells, so they fall into the canal.

“People come to make wishes on cowrie shells that they toss here. Then they go to the corner of promises. It’s an intimate space, dedicated to fidelity and love,” she explains.

According to her, the site has been consecrated by dignitaries from all religious denominations in Ganvié, making it a respected, spiritual, and symbolic place. “These are moments of tenderness and contemplation,” she says.

Recently, a “French couple returned to testify that their wishes came true after meeting and making promises on this canal. They are still together, years later,” Jonas Zannou-Zoki enthuses.

In Ganvié, the water isn’t just for fishing or getting around; it remains a reminder of clandestine romances, of a time when soulmates recognized each other first by their voices, before seeing their faces.

And while the number of canoes has decreased, some still gather there to seal their union.

Astrid and Pierre-Marie, both in their thirties, arrived a few days before Valentine’s Day. “Before the wedding, we wanted a place that held special meaning. By this canal, our vows felt more genuine,” says Astrid.

“We’d heard about the Canal des Amoureux as an old symbol. We came out of curiosity and are leaving with a promise. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the canal will bring us luck,” confirms her future husband.

Humaniterre with AFP