Eda, also known as Da or Noin depending on the various recorded

oral traditions Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reporte ...

, is considered the ancestor of the

Ewe people The Ewe people (; , lit. "Ewe people"; or ''Mono Kple Amu (Volta) Tɔ́sisiwo Dome'', lit. "Between the Rivers Mono and Volta"; ''Eʋenyígbá'' Eweland) are a Gbe languages, Gbe-speaking ethnic group. The largest population of Ewe people is in G ...

and the founder of the

Kingdom of Notsé The kingdom of Notsé (; ) was a former kingdom that organized itself around the city of Notsé between the 15th and 18th centuries. This theocracy, led by a sacred-king, was founded around the 15th century and managed to gain significant importan ...

. Upon arriving in the region with a group, Eda is said to have received the land of

Notsé Notsé (also Notsie or Nuatja) is a town in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is the capital of Haho Prefecture and is situated 95 km north of the capital Lomé. The town was formed around 1600 by the Ewe people, after they were displaced west ...

after negotiating with a priest of

Mawu Mawu-Lisa (alternately: Mahu) is a creator goddess, associated with the Sun and Moon in Gbe mythology and West African Vodun. Mawu and Lisa are divine, put together they are an agender god. Mawu (Mahu, Mau) and Lisa are the children of Nana Bulu ...

who owned the land. He then became the sacred-king of the city and established his dynasty there. The elements concerning his life blend with

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, and he is regarded as the ancestor of the Ewe people.

Biography

Onomastics and divergent sources

Depending on the versions of the preserved oral traditions, he is named Eda, Da, or Noin. In some versions, he is not the founder of the

, but rather, it was founded by a hunter named Afotsè or Ndétsi.

Common narrative

In the common version of the traditions regarding him, Eda is said to have moved to the

region with a group of people. He and his ancestors are believed to have come from a region called Ayo, which might correspond to Oyo, in modern-day

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. From Ayo, this group is thought to have moved, notably through the Kingdom of Tado, to the current site of the city of Notsé. Eda would then have come into contact with a priest bearing the title "Mawuno", or "priest of

", who supposedly owned the lands and gave them to him. Eda then took the title "Mawufia", or "king of Mawu", which likely indicates the evolution of the monarchy in question. Eda is also credited as the author of the royal palace complex in Notsé. Additionally, a serpent god named Eda is attested in the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eda 15th-century births Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 15th-century monarchs in Africa 15th-century travelers Ewe people Kingdom of Notsé