Definitions
Amazons - The name given to the female warriors of Dahomey by European observers who likened them with the mythological Greek tribe of female warriors.
Annual Customs – The yearly public ceremony where the monarch demonstrates his successes through pageantry and human sacrifice.
Atlantic Slave Trade - The forced migration of Africans to the Americas in conditions of slavery, which lasted from the middle of the sixteenth century until the 1860s and constituted the largest movement of people across the Atlantic until the middle of the nineteenth century.
Dahomey - Also called Abomey, after its capital city, was the state of the Fon people. It was a kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin.
Dualism - A belief that all things in life, both physical and spiritual, need to be balanced
Fon – A major West African ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin, Nigeria, and Togo.
Great Council – The governing body that assisted the monarch in the decision making process.
Mayhou – The public relations people who were responsible for directing the public and private court ceremonies and festivals, caring for foreign visitors, and choosing the successor to the throne.
Ouemenou – An ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin.
Oyo – An empire in western Africa that held power over neighboring Dahomey.
Raffia - Cloth made from the leaves of a raffia palm tree
Tamegan – The prime minister of Dahomey.
Yoruba – A major West African ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin and Nigeria.
Amazons - The name given to the female warriors of Dahomey by European observers who likened them with the mythological Greek tribe of female warriors.
Annual Customs – The yearly public ceremony where the monarch demonstrates his successes through pageantry and human sacrifice.
Atlantic Slave Trade - The forced migration of Africans to the Americas in conditions of slavery, which lasted from the middle of the sixteenth century until the 1860s and constituted the largest movement of people across the Atlantic until the middle of the nineteenth century.
Dahomey - Also called Abomey, after its capital city, was the state of the Fon people. It was a kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin.
Dualism - A belief that all things in life, both physical and spiritual, need to be balanced
Fon – A major West African ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin, Nigeria, and Togo.
Great Council – The governing body that assisted the monarch in the decision making process.
Mayhou – The public relations people who were responsible for directing the public and private court ceremonies and festivals, caring for foreign visitors, and choosing the successor to the throne.
Ouemenou – An ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin.
Oyo – An empire in western Africa that held power over neighboring Dahomey.
Raffia - Cloth made from the leaves of a raffia palm tree
Tamegan – The prime minister of Dahomey.
Yoruba – A major West African ethnic and linguistic group found in Benin and Nigeria.