Benin's president Patrice Talon wants to promote voodoo to local and international tourists in a bid to boost the country's economy, including highlighting an annual festival dedicated to the practice which already attracts hundreds of followers and tourists. “If we invest in voodoo, it's not just because we want to reveal our identity to ourselves and to others, but above all because we want to turn it into a sector of economic development." he said during a press conference in Cotonou. Voodoo, the indigenous religion which worships natural spirits and reveres ancestors, is known locally as Vodoun. It originated in the Dahomey kingdom- present-day Benin and Togo, and is still widely practised sometimes alongside Christianity in parts of the country. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES