The zangbeto is a society of masks of the people of southern Benin. Of Goun origin, the Zangbeto comes from "zan" which means night and "gbeto" which means hunter. Literally it means night hunter. His mission is to watch over the king of the city, his community and to hunt witches and evil spirits during the night. The stronghold of the Zangbétos is in Porto-Novo.
The story goes that when Lansuhouto, king of Allada, died, his three sons Tê-Agbanlin, Mèdji and Aho dako-donou fought a fratricidal battle to succeed him on the throne. Surrounded in their base by the opposing troops, Tê-Agbanlin and his companions developed a strategy to make Mèdji's army flee. The original idea of Padonou Hennoukoun, a hunter prince from the Davié- Holou community, who was part of Tê-Agbanlin's entourage, was to build conical huts made of bamboo covered with dry banana leaves. At the top of these huts, they put pads (made of banana leaves) to carry the huts easily without hurting their heads and ox eyes at eye level to allow the bearers to see everything outside from inside the hut. On each side, they build handles that can easily move the hut as soon as they are moved. One of the fighters blew a bull horn and made a terrifying noise that made Mèdji's troops flee, believing they were dealing with devils. Tê-Agbanlin and his troops escaped and finally found refuge in Adjachè which later became Porto-Novo where they settled. Tê-Agbanlin and his companions nevertheless remained on guard and decided to take out the Zangbétos every night to protect the kingdom against possible attacks.
"Ava" is the place where the Zangbéto land. It is from there that all the sorties start. The "zangan" is the medium between the Zangbeto and the rest of the community. The Zangbeto speaks to him alone. In turn, he is responsible for transmitting the message to the community. He presides over the outings of the Zangbeto. The "zanvis" are the other members of the Zangbéto circle. They are often young people in charge of playing the drums during the outings. In Porto-Novo, each neighborhood has its own Zangbéto and Zangan. Each Zangbéto has a specific name that gives it an identity and a personality. "Kpakriyao" is the very first zangbeto installed in Porto-Novo and became the chief of all the Zangbétos. He is up to 4 meters high.
Apart from the usual nightly outings, the Zangbéto performs dances and mystical demonstrations during cultural events.
