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The Dahomey Mino ( Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon all-female military regiment of the
Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
(in today's
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. They are one of the few documented female armies in modern history. They were named Amazons by Western Europeans who encountered them, due to the story of the female warriors of
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercule ...
in
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...
. The emergence of an all-female military regiment was the result of Dahomey's male population facing high casualties in the increasingly frequent violence and warfare with neighbouring
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
n states. This led to Dahomey being one of the leading states in the
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
with the
Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking s ...
, which used slaves for commodity exchange in West Africa until the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
brought an end to the slave trade in the region. The lack of men likely led the kings of Dahomey to recruit women into the army.


Origin

King Houegbadja (who ruled from 1645 to 1685), the third King of Dahomey, is said to have originally started the group which would later become the ''Mino'' as a corps of elephant hunters called the ''gbeto''. Houegbadja's daughter Queen Hangbe (ruling from 1716 to 1718) established a female bodyguard. European merchants recorded their presence. According to tradition, her brother and successor King
Agaja Agaja (also spelled Agadja and also known as Trudo Agaja or Trudo Audati) was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, who ruled from 1718 until 1740. He came to the throne after his brother King Akaba. During his reign, Dahomey ex ...
successfully used them in Dahomey's defeat of the neighbouring kingdom of
Savi Savi is a town in Benin that was the capital of the Kingdom of Whydah prior to its capture by the forces of Dahomey in 1727. An account of the city was given by Robert Norris in 1789: There were British, French, Dutch and Portuguese factori ...
in 1727. The group of female warriors was referred to as ''Mino'', meaning "Our Mothers" in the Fon language, by the male army of Dahomey. Other sources contest the claim that King Agaja's older sister Queen Hangbe was the ruler to establish the units, some even going so far as to question whether or not Queen Hangbe actually existed. From the time of King Ghezo (ruling from 1818 to 1858), Dahomey became increasingly militaristic. Ghezo placed great importance on the army, increasing its budget and formalizing its structure from ceremonial to a serious military. While European narratives refer to the women soldiers as "Amazons", they called themselves ''ahosi'' (king's wives) or ''Mino'' (our mothers).


Recruitment

Ghezo recruited both men and women as soldiers from foreign captives. Female soldiers were also recruited from free Dahomean women, with some enrolled from as young as eight years of age. Other accounts indicate that the ''Mino'' were recruited from among the ''ahosi'' ("king's wives"), of which there were often hundreds. Some women in Fon society became soldiers voluntarily, while others were involuntarily enrolled if their husbands or fathers complained to the king about their behaviour. Membership among the ''Mino'' was supposed to hone any aggressive character traits for the purpose of war. During their membership they were not allowed to have children or be part of married life (though they were legally married to the king). Many of them were virgins. The regiment had a semi-sacred status, which was intertwined with the Fon belief in
Vodun Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ...
. Oral Dahomean tradition holds that, upon recruitment, the Amazons were subjected to
female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
. The ''Mino'' trained with intense physical exercise. They learned survival skills and indifference to pain and death, storming
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...
-thorn defenses in
military exercises A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the comb ...
and executing prisoners. Discipline was emphasised. Serving in the ''Mino'' offered women the opportunity to "rise to positions of command and influence" in an environment structured for individual empowerment. The ''Mino'' were also wealthy and held high status.


Political role

The ''Mino'' took a prominent role in the Grand Council, debating the policy of the kingdom. From the 1840s to 1870s (when the opposing party collapsed), the majority of ''Mino'' generally supported peace with the Egba of
Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding a ...
arguing instead to raid smaller, less defended tribes. This set them at odds with their male military colleagues who supported a full-on assault of Abeokuta. Civilian council members who allied with the Agojie also advocated for stronger commercial relations with Britain, favouring the trade of
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced fr ...
above that of slaves. Apart from the council, the Annual Customs of Dahomey included a parade and reviewing of the troops, and the troops swearing of an oath to the king. The celebrations on the 27th day of the Annual Customs consisted of a mock battle in which the Agojie attacked a "fort" and "captured" the slaves within, a custom recorded by the priest Francesco Borghero in his diaries.


History


Combat and structure

The women soldiers were rigorously trained in pain endurance and speed. Once training was completed they were given uniforms. By the mid-19th century, they numbered between 1,000 and 6,000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army, according to reports written by visitors. The reports also noted that the women soldiers were consistently judged to be superior to the male soldiers in effectiveness and bravery in battle. The women soldiers were said to be structured in parallel with the army as a whole, with a center wing (the king's bodyguards) flanked on both sides, each under separate commanders. Some accounts note that each male soldier had a ''mino'' counterpart. In one mid-19th-century account by an English observer, it was documented that the women who had three stripes of
whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. ...
around each leg were honoured with marks of distinction. The women's army consisted of a number of regiments: huntresses, riflewomen, reapers, archers and gunners. Each regiment had different uniforms, weapons and commanders. In the latter period, the Dahomean female warriors were armed with Winchester rifles, clubs and knives. Units were under female command. An 1851 published translation of a war chant of the women claims the warriors would chant: " the
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
takes an iron bar and by fire changes its fashion so have we changed our nature. We are no longer women, we are men."


Conflict with neighbouring kingdoms

The Agojie battles consisted mainly within Africa against various kingdoms and tribes. During that time period it was customary that once an enemy was defeated they would be killed or enslaved. Many African tribes participated in this and Dahomey was no exception. They would often enslave their enemies and sell them to European slave traders in exchange for weaponry for battle. As early as 1728, under the direction of King Gezo, the Dahomean army conquered the kingdoms of Whydah, and Popos. In 1840, they helped to capture the fortress of the Mahee at Attahapahms. However, it was at the hands of their long-standing enemy Abeokuta that they suffered crushing defeat, resulting in many casualties.


Conflict with France


First Franco-Dahomean War

European encroachment into West Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 King Béhanzin started fighting French forces in the course of the First Franco-Dahomean War. European observers noted that the women "handled admirably" in hand-to-hand combat, but fired their flintlocks from the hip rather than firing from the shoulder. The ''Mino'' participated in one major battle: Cotonou, where thousands of Dahomeans (including many ''Mino'') charged the French lines and engaged the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. The ''Mino'' were decisively crushed, with several hundred Dahomey troops being gunned down. Reportedly, 129 Dahomey fighters were killed in melee combat within the French lines.


Second Franco-Dahomean War

By the end of the
Second Franco-Dahomean War The Second Franco-Dahomean War, which raged from 1892 to 1894, was a major conflict between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their gr ...
, special units of the ''Mino'' were being assigned specifically to target French officers. After several battles, the French prevailed in the Second Franco-Dahomean War and put an end to the independent Dahomean kingdom. French soldiers, particularly of the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...
, were impressed by the boldness of the Amazons and later wrote about their "incredible courage and audacity" in combat. Against a military unit with decidedly superior weaponry and a longer bayonet, however, the Dahomey ''Mino'' could not prevail. During a battle with French soldiers at Adegon on October 6, 1892, during the second war, the bulk of the Mino corps were wiped out in a matter of hours in hand-to-hand combat after the French engaged them with a bayonet charge. The Dahomey lost 86 regulars and 417 Dahomey Mino, with nearly all of those deaths being inflicted by bayonets; the French lost six soldiers.


Disbandment and legacy

The troops were disbanded when the kingdom became a French
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
in 1894. Oral tradition states that some surviving Mino secretly remained in Abomey afterwards, where they quietly assassinated a number of French officers. Other stories say the women pledged their services in protection of
Agoli-Agbo Agoli-agbo is considered to have been the twelfth and final King of Dahomey. He was in power from 1894 to 1900. Biography He took the throne after the previous king, Béhanzin, went into exile after being defeated in the invasion of Dahomey by ...
, the brother of Béhanzin, disguising themselves as his wives in order to guard him. Some of the women married and had children, while others remained single. According to a historian who traced the lives of almost two dozen former Mino, all the women displayed difficulties adjusting to life as retired warriors, often struggling to find new roles in their communities that gave them a sense of pride comparable to their former lives. Many displayed a tendency to start fights or arguments that frightened their neighbours and relatives. Between 1934 and 1942, several British travellers in
Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...
recorded encounters with former Mino, then old women who spun cotton or idled around courtyards. An unknown number of women are said to have trained with the members of the Dahomey Mino after they were disbanded, in effect continuing the tradition. They never saw combat. Around 2019,
Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...
interviewed one of these who was still alive, for the TV documentary '' Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong'o''.


Nawi, the last Dahomey Mino

The last survivor of the Dahomey Mino is thought to have been a woman named Nawi. In a 1978 interview in the village of Kinta, a
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
ese historian met Nawi, who claimed to have fought the French in 1892. Nawi died in November 1979, aged well over 100.


In popular culture

Dahomey Mino are mentioned in the sci-fi novel '' Robur the Conqueror'' (1886) by
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...
(Chapter XV: A skirmish in Dahomey). Dahomey Mino were represented in the 1987 film '' Cobra Verde'' by
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
director
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...
. Ghezo's Mino play a significant role in the 1971 novel ''
Flash for Freedom! Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Ki ...
'' by
George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...
. The warriors are also the main focus and written about in Layon Gray's stage play ''
The Dahomey Warriors ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''. The Dora Milaje, warriors and bodyguards of the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
character
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...
, are partially based on the Dahomey Mino. In '' Age of Empires II: The African Kingdoms'' and '' Age of Empires III: The African Royals'' there is a female unit named Gbeto that is influenced by and named after Dahomey Mino. In the video game '' Empire: Total War'' you can recruit Dahomey Mino units if you have conquered certain regions in North Africa. In the ''
Lovecraft Country Lovecraft Country is a term coined for the New England setting used by H. P. Lovecraft in many of his weird fiction stories, which combines real and fictitious locations. This setting has since been elaborated on by other writers working in the ...
'' episode "I Am", Hippolyta is transported to a world where she becomes a Dahomey Mino. In 2015,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
published the comic novel ''The Women Soldiers of Dahomey'' as part of their UNESCO Series on Women in African History. As an artistic and visual interpretation intended for private or public use in classrooms, it tells the story of the Mino in connection with European colonial rule in Africa and ends with their legacy for the present-day Republic of Benin: "In addition to the imprint that they have left on the collective memory, the women soldiers bequeathed to the Republic of Benin dances that are performed to this day in Abomey, songs and legends. There are many women soldiers in Benin’s armed forces today. They keep the memory of the women soldiers of the Kingdom of Dahomey alive." "The Last Amazon of Dahomey" is a play in the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
-winning novel of 2019 called '' Girl, Woman, Other'', by
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel '' Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's '' The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Bla ...
. The Dahomey Mino are the subject of the 2022 American historical epic film '' The Woman King'', directed by
Gina Prince-Bythewood Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing the films '' Love & Basketball'' (2000), ''Disappearing Acts'' (2000), '' The Secret Life of Bees'' (2008), '' Beyond the L ...
. Dahomey Amazons are represented as Minos in the novel ''Sister Mother Warrior'' by Vanessa Riley (William Morrow, July 12, 2022).


See also

* Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (Ndongo female military leader who fought the Portuguese)


Sources


References


Bibliography

* * Bernard, A. S. 1998. Amazons of Black Sparta. London, C Hurst & Co. Bourgeon, F. 1979 – 1984. * * * * * *


Further reading

* Bay, Edna G. ''Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Kingdom of Dahomey''. Charlottesville, 1998. * Burton, Richard,
A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome
'. London, 1864. * D'Almeida-Topor, Hélène. ''Les Amazones, Une armée de femmes dans l’Afrique précoloniale''. Paris: Editions Rochevignes, 1984. * Edgerton, Robert B. ''Warrior Women: The Amazons of Dahomey and the Nature of War''. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000. * Forbes, Frederick E.
Dahomey and the Dahomans, Being the Journals of Two Missions to the King of Dahomey and the Residence at his Capital in the Years 1849 and 1850
'. Longman, Brown, Green,and Longmans. 1851. * Grossman, D. ''On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning To Kill in War and Society''. New York: Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company, 1995, , pp. 175. * Holmes. R. ''Acts of War: the behavior of men in battle''. New York: Free Press, 1985. * Newark, Tim, and Angus McBride. ''Women Warlords: An Illustrated Military History of Female Warriors''. Blandford Press, 1989, . * Peukert, W. ''Der Atlantische Sklavenhandel von Dahomey, 1740–1797''. Wiesbaden, 1978 (in German).


External links


"The Amazons"
from the Historical Museum of Abomey. . {{Authority control African resistance to colonialism African women in war All-female military units and formations Combat occupations Cultural studies Folklore French West Africa Kingdom of Dahomey Military history of Africa Obsolete occupations Women in 17th-century warfare Women in 18th-century warfare Women in 19th-century warfare