The Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum

Established in 1957 by the Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (IFAN) in a handsome 1922 colonial pavilion surrounded by peaceful gardens, the museum honors Alexandre Sènou Adandé, an eminent Beninese ethnologist dedicated to cultural heritage preservation. The institution is internationally renowned for its spectacular collection of Gèlèdé ritual headdress masks, a sacred Yoruba-Nago masquerade tradition inscribed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Worn atop the head, these vibrant painted carvings celebrate female spiritual authority, fertility, and cosmic balance. The galleries also showcase traditional iron weaponry, antique looms, sacred Fa divination instruments, and ancestral pottery, offering a rich overview of the ethnographic breadth of Benin's peoples.