thumb|250px|Victims for sacrifice - from [[Archibald Dalzel|The history of Dahomy, an inland Kingdom of Africa, 1793.]]
The Annual Customs of Dahomey (xwetanu or huetanu in Fon) were the main yearly celebration in the Kingdom of Dahomey, held at the capital, Abomey. These ceremonies were largely started under King Agaja around 1730 and involved significant collection and distribution of gifts and tribute, religious ceremonies involving human sacrifice, military parades, and discussions by dignitaries about the future for the kingdom.
Origins
Tradition amongst the Fon in Western Africa, and among other ethnic groups, often had ceremonies in family lineages where all members of the family would gather for a feast, provide gifts to the eldest member of the family, and discuss issues pertaining to the family. As part of the religious Vodun practiced in the area, gifts and sacrifices to the spirits and ancestors would also be given. King Houegbadja (c. 1645–1685) changed this widespread practice during his reign by making it so that sacrifices or gifts to spirits would have to be done by the king.
King Agaja (1718–1740) further centralized the ceremonies under the king and the royal dynasty. Under Agaja, the Annual customs became the central religious ceremony in the kingdom, wide participation by most of the population was required, all family lineages were expected to provide gifts and tribute (sometimes considered taxes) to the ruler, and aspects of animal and human sacrifice were added to the practice. The traditional family lineage ceremonies were not allowed in the kingdom until after the royal ceremony was completed. Most of the victims were sacrificed through decapitation, a tradition widely used by Dahomean kings, and the literal translation for the Fon name for the ceremony Xwetanu is "yearly head business". In later years this ceremony also included the spilling of human blood from the sacrificed.
Schedule
By day, according to Yoder.