Do-Aklin or Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessou) or Dogbari is claimed as the founder of the Fon

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 ...

and the first person in the royal lineage of the

Kings of Dahomey The King of Dahomey (''Ahosu'' in the Fon language) was the ruler of Dahomey, a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom in the southern part of present-day Benin, which lasted from 1600 until 1900 when the French Third ...

(the Aladaxonou dynasty). In many versions he is considered the first king of Dahomey even though the kingdom was founded after his death. Very little is known about Do-Aklin and most of it is connected to folklore, but it is generally claimed that he settled a large group of

Aja people The Aja or Adja are an ethnic group native to south-western Benin and south-eastern Togo. According to oral tradition, the Aja migrated to southern Benin in the 12th or 13th century from Tado on the Mono River, and , three brothers, Kokpon, Do- ...

from

Allada Allada is a town, arrondissement, and commune, located in the Atlantique Department of Benin. The current town of Allada corresponds to Great Ardra (also called Grand Ardra, or Arda), which was the capital of a Fon kingdom also called Allada ...

on the

Abomey Agbome or 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 tr ...

plateau amongst the local inhabitants in ''c.'' 1620. His son

Dakodonu Dakodonou, ''Dakodonu'', ''Dako Donu'' or ''Dako Danzo'' was an early king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, ruling from around 1620 until 1645. Oral tradition recounts that Dakodonu was the son (or grandson) of Do-Aklin, the fou ...

would eventually build a palace on the plateau and began forming the Kingdom of Dahomey.

Symbols and motto

Gangnihessou had a bird, a drum and a club as his symbol. His motto was that he was the biggest bird and sonorous drum, that nobody can prevent him.

Settled in Abomey

According to oral tradition, the Aja were led to

by King Agassu from the city of Tado. Agassu was the son of a Tado princess and a

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

(or in some versions a brave Yoruba hunter). When Agassu tried to take over Tado he was defeated and so instead moved with his followers to found the city of Allada. Around 1600, three brothers (two in some versions) in the lineage of Agassu fought over the succession to the throne and it was decided that each would settle a new territory. The agreement was reached at Houégbo that Teagbanlin would found a state at what is now

Porto-Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Benin, second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following Bri ...

, another son would take control in Allada, and Do-Aklin would settle on the Abomey plateau to the north. It is said that Do-Aklin brought significant gifts for the local population and so was allowed to live amongst them, and the mixing of the local population with the Aja from Allada created the new ethnic group, the Fon. Do-Aklin's son (or grandson in some versions)

became the founder of the palace and the kingdom of Dahomey around 1640 by defeating a local

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

. Anthropologist J. Cameron Monroe contends that the lineage connections to royalty at Allada is probably a later creation used by Dahomey legitimize its conquest of Allada (since according to the legend, the kings of Dahomey were also legitimate successors to the throne of Allada) and other aspects like its rivalry with Porto-Novo (brotherly rivalry, since according to the legend, the founders of Dahomey and Porto Novo were supposed to be brothers).

References

{{Monarchs of Dahomey Kings of Dahomey 17th-century monarchs in Africa 17th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey

Symbols and motto

Settled in Abomey

See also

References