Dakodonou
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Dakodonou, ''Dakodonu'', ''Dako Donu'' or ''Dako Danzo'' was an early king 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. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional ...
, in present-day
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
, ruling from around 1620 until 1645. Oral tradition recounts that Dakodonu was the son (or grandson) of
Do-Aklin Do-Aklin or Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessou) or Dogbari is claimed as the founder of the Fon people, Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin and the first person in the royal lineage of the King of Dahomey, Kings of Dahomey (the Aladaxonou, Aladaxo ...
, the founder of the royal dynasty of Dahomey, and the father to
Houegbadja Houegbadja or Wegbaja or Aho was a King of Dahomey, King in the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from around 1645 until 1685. Houegbadja followed his father Dakodonou to the throne and formed much of the administration and religious p ...
, often considered the founder of the Kingdom of Dahomey. In addition, it is said that Dakodonu killed a local chieftain and founded the capital city upon the site. However, some recent historical analysis contends that Dakodonu was added into the royal line in the 18th century to legitimize the ruling dynasty over the indigenous inhabitants of the Abomey plateau.


Name

One legend tells that Dakodonou's original name was Dako but he adopted his new name Dakodonou after killing Donou (who was either a farmer or an indigo painter) in a pot of indigo and rolling his corpse around its blue tomb.


Founding of Abomey Kingdom

Oral tradition holds that a succession struggle in Allada resulted in
Do-Aklin Do-Aklin or Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessou) or Dogbari is claimed as the founder of the Fon people, Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin and the first person in the royal lineage of the King of Dahomey, Kings of Dahomey (the Aladaxonou, Aladaxo ...
moving a large population onto the Abomey plateau, an area settled by the Gedevi. When Do-Aklin died (or in some versions was deposed), Dakodonu became the leader of the group and was given permission by the Gedevi chiefs to settle on the plateau. Dakodonu requested additional land for settlement from a prominent Gedevi chief named Dan (or Da). In Gbe languages, Da or Dan means snake . To this request, the chief responded "Should I open up my belly and build you a house in it." The tradition contends that Dakodonu killed Dan on the spot and ordered that his new palace be built on the site and derived the kingdom's name from the incident: Dan=chief, xo=Belly, me=Inside of. From this beginning, Dakodonu began establishing the basic structure of the Dahomey kingdom and is reported to have conquered two additional villages. Oral tradition of the ruling lineage of the kingdom says that Dakodonu's son
Houegbadja Houegbadja or Wegbaja or Aho was a King of Dahomey, King in the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from around 1645 until 1685. Houegbadja followed his father Dakodonou to the throne and formed much of the administration and religious p ...
, often considered the first king of Dahomey, took over after Dakodonu's reign.


Dakodonu and legitimation of the royal lineage

Dahomey historian Edna Bay argues that Dakodonu was actually himself a Gedevi, the local population of the area, and that he was added into the royal lineage story by
Agaja Agaja (also spelled Agadja and also known as Trudo Agaja or Trudo Audati) was a King of Dahomey, king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, who ruled from 1718 until 1740. He came to the throne after his brother Akaba of Dahomey, King A ...
in order to establish the legitimate rule of the Kingdom over the local population. Evidence of this is suggested through the fact that the head priest of the kingdom, the ''agasunon'' in Fon, was always from the lineage of Dakodonu. In addition, oral tradition of lineages not associated with the ruling group claim that
Houegbadja Houegbadja or Wegbaja or Aho was a King of Dahomey, King in the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from around 1645 until 1685. Houegbadja followed his father Dakodonou to the throne and formed much of the administration and religious p ...
was an adopted son of Dakodonu. Dakodonu's inclusion in royal lists then was a means of creating recognition for the local population in a powerful position (the head priest) and legitimating the rule of the Fon kingdom over the territory. In addition, Monroe contends that the story of the founding, the killing of Dan, is likely not based on a single incident and Bay contends that Dahomey meaning ''In the belly of Dan'' is likely a
false etymology A false etymology (fake etymology or pseudo-etymology) is a false theory about the origin or derivation of a specific word or phrase. When a false etymology becomes a popular belief in a cultural/linguistic community, it is a folk etymology (or po ...
.


Constructions by Dakodonu

As an early king of Dahomey, the reign of Dakodonu coincided with some significant construction projects including the start of the
Royal Palaces of Abomey The Royal Palaces of Abomey are 12 palaces spread over an area of at the heart of the Abomey town in Benin, formerly the capital of the West African Kingdom of Dahomey. The Kingdom was founded in 1625 by the Fon people who developed it into a po ...
, although the structures were probably replaced by construction by Houegbadja, and
Agongointo-Zoungoudo Underground Town The underground town of Agongointo-Zoungoudo is located approximately 9 km from Abomey, in central Benin. The city was discovered in 1998 by the Danish company DANIDA. It consists of a series of bunkers and other housing structures around 1 ...
.Village souterrain d'Agongointo-Zoungoudo - UNESCO World Heritage Centre


See also

* Vodun *
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey The history of the Kingdom of Dahomey spans 300 years from around 1600 to 1904 with the rise of the Kingdom of Dahomey as a major power on the Atlantic coast of modern-day Benin until the French conquest. The kingdom became a major regional power ...


References

{{Monarchs of Dahomey Kings of Dahomey 17th-century monarchs in Africa 17th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey Year of birth unknown 1645 deaths