Dahomey was an African kingdom which lasted from about 1600 until 1894, when
the last chief Behanzin was defeated by the French and the country was annexed
into the French colonial empire. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst
the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th
century by conquering key cities on the Atlantic coast. For much of the 18th and
19th centuries, the Kingdom of Dahomey was a key regional state, eventually
ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an
important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on
conquest and slave labor, significant international trade with European
powers, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organized
military. Notable in the kingdom were significant artwork, an all-female
military unit known as the Dahomey Amazons, and the elaborate religious
practices of Vodun with the large festival of the Annual Customs of
Dahomey. Name
The Kingdom of Dahomey was referred to by many different names and has been
written in a variety of ways, including Danxome, Danhome, and Fon. The name Fon
relates to the dominant ethnic and language group, the Fon people, of the
royal families of the kingdom and is how the kingdom first became known to
Europeans. The names Dahomey, Danxome, and Danhome all have a similar origin
story, which historian Edna Bay says may be a false etymology. The story says
that Dakodonu, considered the second king in modern kings lists, was granted
permission by the Gedevi chiefs, the local rulers, to settle in the Abomey
plateau. Dakodonu requested additional land from a prominent chief named Dan to
which the chief responded sarcastically "Should I open up my belly and build you
a house in it?" For this insult, Dakodonu killed Dan and began the
construction of his palace on the spot. The name of the kingdom was derived from
the incident: Dan=chief dan, xo=Belly, me=Inside of.
History The Kingdom of Dahomey was established
around 1600 by the Fon people who had recently settled in the area. The
foundational king for Dahomey is often considered to be Houegbadja, who built
the Royal Palaces of Abomey and began raiding and taking over towns outside of
the Abomey plateau. = Rule of Agaja=
King Agaja, Houegbadja's grandson, came to the throne in 1708 and began
significant expansion of the Kingdom of Dahomey. This expansion was made
possible by the superior military force of King Agaja’s Dahomey. In contrast to
surrounding regions, Dahomey employed a professional standing army numbering
around ten thousand. What the Dahomey lacked in numbers, they made up for in
discipline and superior arms. In 1724, Agaja conquered Allada, the origin for
the royal family according to oral tradition, and in 1727 he conquered
Whydah. This increased size of the kingdom, particularly along the Atlantic
coast, and increased power made Dahomey into a regional power. The result was
near constant warfare with the main regional state, the Oyo Empire, from
1728 until 1740. The warfare with the Oyo empire resulted in Dahomey assuming
a tributary status to the Oyo empire. = End of the kingdom=
The kingdom fought the First Franco-Dahomean War and Second
Franco-Dahomean War with France. The kingdom was reduced and made a French
protectorate in 1894; in 1904 the area became part of a French colony, French
Dahomey; in 1958 this became the Republic of Dahomey; in 1975 it renamed
itself the People's Republic of Benin, and in 1991 the Republic of Benin. The
Dahomey kingship exists as a ceremonial role to this day.
Politics Early writings, predominantly written by
European slave traders, often presented the kingdom as an absolute monarchy led
by a despotic king. However, these depictions were often deployed as
arguments by different sides in the slave trade debates, mainly in the
United Kingdom, and as such were probably exaggerations. Recent
historical work has emphasized the limits of monarchical power in the
Kingdom of Dahomey. Historian John Yoder, with attention to the Great
Council in the kingdom, argued that its activities do not "imply that Dahomey's
government was democratic or even that her politics approximated those of
nineteenth-century European monarchies. However, such evidence does support the
thesis that governmental decisions were molded by conscious responses to
internal political pressures as well as by executive fiat." The primary
political divisions revolved around villages with chiefs and administrative
posts appointed by the king and acting as his representatives to adjudicate
disputes in the village. = The king=
The King of Dahomey was the sovereign power of the kingdom. All of the kings
were claimed to be part of the Alladaxonou dynasty, claiming descent
from the royal family in Allada. Much of the succession rules and administrative
structures were created early by Houegbadja, Akaba, and Agaja. Succession
through the male members of the line was the norm typically going to the oldest
son, but not always. The king was selected largely through discussion and
decision in the meetings of the Great Council, although how this operated was
not always clear. The Great Council brought together a host of different
dignitaries from throughout the kingdom yearly to meet at the Annual Customs of
Dahomey. Discussions would be lengthy and included members, both men and
women, from throughout the kingdom. At the end of the discussions, the king
would declare the consensus for the group.
= The royal court= Key positions in the King's court
included the migan, the mehu, the yovogan, the kpojito, and later the
chacha of Whydah. The migan was a primary consul for the king, a key
judicial figure, and served as the head executioner. The mehu was similarly a
key administrative officer who managed the palaces and the affairs of the royal
family, economic matters, and the areas to the south of Allada.
= Relations with other states= The relations between Dahomey and other
countries was complex and heavily impacted by the Gold trade. The Oyo
empire engaged in regular warfare with the kingdom of Dahomey and Dahomey was a
tributary to Oyo from 1732 until 1823. The city-state of Porto-Novo, under the
protection of Oyo, and Dahomey had a long-standing rivalry largely over
control of the Gold trade along the coast. The rise of Abeokuta in the 1840s
created another power rivaling Dahomey, largely by creating a safe haven for
people from the slave trade. Military
The military of the Kingdom of Dahomey was divided into two units: the right
and the left. The right was controlled by the migan and the left was controlled
by the mehu. At least by the time of Agaja, the kingdom had developed a
standing army that remained encamped wherever the king was. Soldiers in the
army were recruited as young as seven or eight years old, initially serving as
shield carriers for regular soldiers. After years of apprenticeship and
military experience, they were allowed to join the army as regular soldiers. In
order to further incentivize the soldiers, each soldier received bonuses
paid in cowry shells for each enemy they killed or captured in battle. This
combination of lifelong military experience and monetary incentives
resulted in a cohesive, well-disciplined military. One European said Agaja’s
standing army consisted of, “elite troops, brave and well-disciplined, led
by a prince full of valor and prudence, supported by a staff of experienced
officers.” In addition to being well-trained, the
Dahomey army under Agaja was also very well armed. The Dahomey army favored
imported European weapons as opposed to traditional weapons. For example, they
used European flintlock muskets in long range combat and imported steel swords
and cutlasses in close combat. The Dahomey army also possessed twenty-five
cannons. When going into battle, the king would
take a secondary position to the field commander with the reason given that if
any spirit were to punish the commander for decisions it should not be the king.
Unlike other regional powers, the military of Dahomey did not have a
significant cavalry or naval power. The Dahomey Amazons, a unit of all-female
soldiers, is one of the most unique aspects of the military of the kingdom.
= Dahomey Amazons= The Dahomean state became widely known
for its corps of female soldiers. Their origins are debated; they may have
formed from a place guard or from gbetos.
They were organized around the year 1729 to fill out the army and make it look
larger in battle, armed only with banners. The women reportedly behaved so
courageously they became a permanent corps. In the beginning the soldiers
were criminals pressed into service rather than being executed. Eventually,
however, the corps became respected enough that King Ghezo ordered every
family to send him their daughters, with the most fit being chosen as soldiers.
Economy The economic structure of the kingdom
were highly intertwined with the political and religious systems and
these developed together significantly. The main currency for exchange was
cowries, or shells for exchange. = Domestic economy=
The domestic economy was largely focused on agriculture and crafts produced for
local consumption. Until the development of palm oil, very little agricultural or
craft goods were traded outside of the kingdom. Markets served a key role in
the kingdom and were organized around a rotating cycle of four days with a
different market each day. Agriculture work was largely decentralized and done
by most families. However, with the expansion of the kingdom agricultural
plantations begun to be a common agricultural method in the kingdom.
Craft work was largely dominated by a formal guild system.
Herskovits recounts a complex tax system in the kingdom where officials from the
king, the tokpe, would gather data from each village regarding their harvest and
then the king would set a tax based upon the level of production and number of
villagers in the village. In addition, the kings own land and production were
taxed. With the significant road construction undertaken by the kingdom,
toll booths were also established which would collect yearly taxes by people
based on the good they carried, their occupation, and sometimes fines for
public nuisance before allowing them to pass.
Religion The Kingdom of Dahomey shared many
religious rituals with surrounding populations; however, it also developed
unique ceremonies, beliefs, and religious stories for the kingdom. These
included royal ancestor worship and the specific vodun practices of the kingdom.
= Royal ancestor worship= Early kings established clear worship of
royal ancestors and centralized their ceremonies in the Annual Customs of
Dahomey. The spirits of the kings had an exalted position in the land of the dead
and it was necessary to get their permission for many activities on earth.
Ancestor worship pre-existed the kingdom of Dahomey; however, under King Agaja, a
cycle of ritual was created centered around first celebrating the ancestors
of the king and then celebrating a family lineage.
The Annual Customs of Dahomey involved multiple elaborate components and some
aspects may have been added in the 19th century. In general, the celebration
involved distribution of gifts, human sacrifice, military parades, and
political councils. Its main religious aspect was to offer thanks and gain the
approval for ancestors of the royal lineage. However, the custom also
included military parades, public discussions, gift giving, and human
sacrifice and the spilling of blood. = Dahomey Cosmology=
Dahomey had a unique form of West African Vodun which linked together
preexisting animist traditions with vodun practices. Oral history recounted
that Hwanjile, a wife of Agaja and mother of Tegbessou brought the vodun to
the kingdom and ensured its spread. The primary deity is the combined Mawu-Lisa
and it is claimed that this god took over the world that was created by their
mother Nana-Buluku. Mawu-Lisa governs the sky and is the highest pantheon of
gods, but other gods exist in the earth and in thunder. Religious practice
organized different priesthoods and shrines for each different god and each
different pantheon. Women made up a significant amount of the priest class
and the chief priest was always a descendent of Dakodonou.
Arts The arts in Dahomey were unique and
distinct from the artistic traditions elsewhere in Africa. The arts were
substantially supported by the king and his family, had non-religious
traditions, assembled multiple different materials, and borrowed widely from
other peoples in the region. Common art forms included wood and ivory carving,
metalwork (including silver, iron and brass, appliqué cloth, and clay
bas-reliefs. The king was key in supporting the arts
and many of them provided significant sums for artists resulting in the unique
development, for the region, of a non-religious artistic tradition in the
kingdom. Artists were not of a specific class but both royalty made important
artistic contributions. Kings were often depicted in large zoomorphic forms with
each king resembling a particular animal in multiple representations.
Suzanne Blier identifies two unique aspects of art in Dahomey: 1. Assemblage
of different components and 2. Borrowing from other states. Assemblage of art,
involving the combination of multiple components combined together in a single
piece of art, was common in all forms and was the result of the various kings
promoting finished products rather than particular styles. This assembling may
have been a result of the second feature which involved the wide borrowing of
styles and techniques from other cultures and states. Clothing, cloth
work, architecture, and the other forms of art all resemble other artistic
representation from around the region. Much of the art work revolved around the
royalty. Each of the palaces at the Royal Palaces of Abomey contained
elaborate bas-reliefs providing a record of the king's accomplishments. Each king
had his own palace within the palace complex and within the outer walls of
their personal palace was a series of clay reliefs designed specific to that
king. These were not solely designed for royalty and chiefs, temples, and other
important buildings had similar reliefs. The reliefs would present Dahomey kings
often in military battles against the Oyo or Mahi tribes to the north of
Dahomey with their opponents depicted in various negative depictions. Historical
themes dominated representation and characters were basically designed and
often assembled on top of each other or in close proximity creating an ensemble
effect. In addition to the royal depictions in the reliefs, royal members
were depicted in power sculptures known as bocio which incorporated mixed
materials onto a base forming a standing figure. The bocio are religiously
designed to include different forces together to unlock powerful forces. In
addition, the cloth appliqué of Dahomey depicted royalty often in similar
zoomorphic representation and dealt with matters similar to the reliefs, often
the kings leading during warfare. A distinctive tradition was the casting
of small brass figures of animals or people which were worn as jewellery or
displayed in the homes of the relatively well-off. These figures, which continue
to be made for the tourist trade, were relatively unusual in traditional
African art in having no religious aspect, being purely decorative, as well
as indicative of some wealth. Also unusual, by being so early and clearly
provenanced is a carved wooden tray in Ulm, Germany, which was brought to
Europe before 1659, when it was described in a printed catalogue.
In popular culture The Kingdom of Dahomey has been depicted
in a number of different literary works of fiction or creative nonfiction. In
Dahomey was a successful Broadway musical, the first full-length Broadway
musical written entirely by African Americans, in the early 20th century.
Novelist Paul Hazoumé's first novel Doguicimi was based on decades of
research into the oral traditions of the Kingdom of Dahomey during King Ghezo.
American novelist Frank Yerby published a historical novel set partially in
Dahomey titled The Man From Dahomey. Behanzin's resistance to the French
attempt to end slave trading and human sacrifice has been central to a number
of works. Jean Pliya's first play Kondo le requin, winner of the Grand Prize for
African History Literature, tells the story of Behanzin's struggle to maintain
the old order. Maryse Condé's novel The Last of the African Kings similarly
focuses on Behanzin's resistance and his exile to the Caribbean.
See also Ashanti people
Blockade of Africa References
Sources Bailyn, Bernard & Patricia L. Denault.
Soundings in Atlantic history: latent structures and intellectual currents,
1500–1830. Harvard: Harvard University Press. p. 622 pages. ISBN 0-674-03276-4.
Alpern, Stanley B.. Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey.
New York: New York University Press. p. 288 pages. ISBN 0-8147-0678-9.
Willett, Frank, African Art, Thames & Hudson, World of Art series, 1971, ISBN
9780500203644 Further reading
Edna G. Bay, Wives of the Leopard, University of Virginia Press, 1998, p.
376. External links
"Museum Theme: The Kingdom of Dahomey". museeouidah.org. Retrieved 2009-01-19.