← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Hamilton
Thread ID: 20389 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2005-09-25
2005-09-25 10:24 | User Profile
"During their membership they were not allowed to have children or be part of married life..." hmmm, this reminds me of the National Organization for Women... :tongue:
BTW, that King [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Ghezo&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Ghezo[/url] was a real charmer. The rivals he did not butcher for food or furniture, he sold into slavery.
[img]http://img.tfd.com/wiki/6/60/GleleLeftandGhezoRight1863_.jpg[/img]
Dahomey Amazons
The Dahomey Amazons were a [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Fon+people&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Fon[/url] all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Dahomey&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Dahomey[/url] (now [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Benin&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Benin[/url]) which lasted until end of the [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=19th+century&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]19th century[/url]. They were so named due to their similarity to the semi-mythical [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Amazons&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Amazons[/url] of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Ancient+Greece&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Ancient Greece[/url].
History
[url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsname=Wikipedia+Images&dekey=Dahomey+amazon2.jpg&gwp=8&sbid=lc02a"][img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/6/67/Dahomey_amazon2.jpg[/img][/url] Dahomey Amazons in around 1890
King [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Houegbadja&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Houegbadja[/url] (who ruled from [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1645&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1645[/url] to [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1685&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1685[/url]), the third King of Dahomey, is said to have originally started the group which would become the Amazons as a corps of royal bodyguards after building a new palace at [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Abomey&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Abomey[/url]. Houegbadja's son King [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Agadja&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Agadja[/url] (ruling from [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1708&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1708[/url] to [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1732&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1732[/url]) developed these bodyguards into a militia and successfully used them in Dahomey's defeat of the neighbouring kingdom of Savi in [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1727&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1727[/url]. European merchants recorded their presence, as well as similar female warriors amongst the [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Ashanti&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Ashanti[/url]. For the next hundred years or so, they gained reputation as fearless warriors. Though they fought rarely, they usually acquitted themselves well in battle. Much of the conflict in that place and period was conducted for the purpose of obtaining slaves from other tribes in order to sell to American and European slave traders.
From the time of King [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Ghezo&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Ghezo[/url] (ruling from [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1818&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1818[/url] to [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1858&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1858[/url]), Dahomey became increasingly militaristic. Ghezo placed great importance on the army and increased it's budget and formalized its structures. The Amazons were rigourously trained, given uniforms, and equipped with guns (obtained via the slave trade). By this time the Amazons consisted of between 4000 and 6000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army.
European encroachment into west Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 the Dahomey King [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Behanzin&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Behanzin[/url] started fighting French forces (mainly made up of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Yor%C3%B9b%C3%A1&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Yoruba[/url], who the Dahomeans had been fighting for centuries). The French, bolstered by the [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Foreign+legion&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Foreign Legion[/url], were armed with superior weaponry, including machine guns, and casualties were ten times worse on the Dahomey side. After several battles, the French prevailed. The Legionaires later wrote about the "incredible courage and audacity" of the Amazons.
The last surviving Amazon died in [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=1979&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]1979[/url].
Customs
[url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsname=Wikipedia+Images&dekey=Dahomey+amazon1.jpg&gwp=8&sbid=lc02a"][img]http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/9/99/Dahomey_amazon1.jpg[/img][/url] The uniform and armaments of the Amazons
Members could enroll voluntarily, or were involuntarily enrolled if their husbands complained to the King about their behaviour. Membership of the Amazons 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. Many of the Amazons were virgins. The regiment had a semi-sacred status, which was intertwined with the [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Fon+people&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Fon[/url] belief in [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Animism&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]animism[/url].
The Amazons were trained in a way reminiscent of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Sparta&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Sparta[/url], toughening themselves up with intense physical exercise and overcoming pain. Discipline was emphasised. In the latter period, the Amazons were armed with Winchester rifles, clubs and knives. Units were under female command. Captives were often decapitated.
[url="http://www.answers.com/topic/dahomey-amazons"]http://www.answers.com/topic/dahomey-amazons[/url]
2005-09-26 18:14 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Hamilton] [img]http://img.tfd.com/wiki/6/60/GleleLeftandGhezoRight1863_.jpg[/img]
Dahomey Amazons The Dahomey Amazons were a [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Fon+people&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Fon[/url] all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Dahomey&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Dahomey[/url] (now [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Benin&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Benin[/url]) which lasted until end of the [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=19th+century&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]19th century[/url]. They were so named due to their similarity to the semi-mythical [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Amazons&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Amazons[/url] of [url="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1rq15fvib2g51?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Ancient+Greece&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a"]Ancient Greece[/url].
[url="http://www.answers.com/topic/dahomey-amazons"]http://www.answers.com/topic/dahomey-amazons[/url][/QUOTE] Neat article, thanks. :smartass:
AE