A few meters from the memorial, a generous tree, standing for 200 years, sits enthroned in the middle of a square like a witness to the past. Once they left the huts, the slaves stopped there and walked around them 3 times. This ritual guaranteed them that their spirit would return to the land of their ancestors no matter what and wherever they died. Last will granted to human beings on borrowed time.
The tree of return is also a mystical tree which aims to attach the soul of the slaves to their native land. Thus, when they die, their soul will return to the mainland.
The slaves leaving the black box therefore go around this tree three times before returning to the door of no return: the departure towards an unknown destiny. Some to die on the way and thrown into the sea, others to land in the fields of cotton, rice or sugar cane with the constant threat of the whip.
Guide to the most beautiful tourist destinations to discover during your trip to Benin