Military Life
By the 1690s, wives of the kings of Dahomey, who could number into the hundreds, eventually moved into the role of punisher or executioner. It was common for a king to have hundreds of his wives go to a suspected criminal’s house, plunder it, then destroy it.[1] The wives became a type of palace police. Eventually they evolved into the personal guards of the king and numbered around 800.[2] King Gezo (1818-1856) was the king accredited with turning the women into an elite professional military force, which could compete with their male counterparts in bravery and military prowess. Gezo increased their number into the thousands.[3]
These female warriors were conscripted into military service. Once every three years, both slave and free fathers, had to present his young daughters to the king for selection. He chose the recruits based on strength and height.[4] The king often enlisted slaves from foreign lands under the assumption that they would not have any allegiances to the enemies with in his palace. All recruits were forced to abandon all previous family alliances, take an oath of celibacy, and swear allegiance to the king.[5]
The indoctrination process began with a ritual where the new soldiers had some of their blood collected in a highly polished skull. It was then mixed with powder and alcohol, then each “recruit drank from the skull, an act that symbolically bound the women together, as the priestess solemnly explained that they had to swear never to betray one another. The women were also told that they were now invulnerable.”[6] “Instead of enhancing their beauty as their mothers and sisters did, they hardened their nails in brine, then cut them to sharp points to be used as weapons.”[7] Their lives as warriors completely went against the traditional idea that they were accustomed to and forced them to change how they viewed themselves in society.[8]
Gezo placed great importance on the army and increased its budget and formalized its structures. The female warriors were rigorously trained, given uniforms, and equipped with guns obtained via the slave trade.[9] Gezo increased their numbers to between 4,000 and 6,000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army. After being aided by female soldiers during the coup which put him in power, king Gezo reorganized the army to make them the dominant fighting force in Dahomey. Bay concurs with this analysis stating that when faced with the decision about what to do with the palace guard following the coup, he decided to increase their training and equip them better than the men.[10] She goes on to explain that the changes Gezo incorporated to the female military included adding pants to the uniform and a fitted tunic, which allowed the fighters a freedom of movement that would have been unusual for women during that time.[11]
[1] Alpern, Amazons, 14-15.
[2] Ibid, 17-18.
[3] Ibid, 20.
[4] Edgerton, Warrior, 21
[5] Ibid, 17-18.
[6] Ibid, 18.
[7] Ibid, 23.
[8] Ibid, 22.
[9] Edgerton, Warrior, 17-18.
[10] Bay, Wives, 201.
[11] Ibid, 201.
These female warriors were conscripted into military service. Once every three years, both slave and free fathers, had to present his young daughters to the king for selection. He chose the recruits based on strength and height.[4] The king often enlisted slaves from foreign lands under the assumption that they would not have any allegiances to the enemies with in his palace. All recruits were forced to abandon all previous family alliances, take an oath of celibacy, and swear allegiance to the king.[5]
The indoctrination process began with a ritual where the new soldiers had some of their blood collected in a highly polished skull. It was then mixed with powder and alcohol, then each “recruit drank from the skull, an act that symbolically bound the women together, as the priestess solemnly explained that they had to swear never to betray one another. The women were also told that they were now invulnerable.”[6] “Instead of enhancing their beauty as their mothers and sisters did, they hardened their nails in brine, then cut them to sharp points to be used as weapons.”[7] Their lives as warriors completely went against the traditional idea that they were accustomed to and forced them to change how they viewed themselves in society.[8]
Gezo placed great importance on the army and increased its budget and formalized its structures. The female warriors were rigorously trained, given uniforms, and equipped with guns obtained via the slave trade.[9] Gezo increased their numbers to between 4,000 and 6,000 women, about a third of the entire Dahomey army. After being aided by female soldiers during the coup which put him in power, king Gezo reorganized the army to make them the dominant fighting force in Dahomey. Bay concurs with this analysis stating that when faced with the decision about what to do with the palace guard following the coup, he decided to increase their training and equip them better than the men.[10] She goes on to explain that the changes Gezo incorporated to the female military included adding pants to the uniform and a fitted tunic, which allowed the fighters a freedom of movement that would have been unusual for women during that time.[11]
[1] Alpern, Amazons, 14-15.
[2] Ibid, 17-18.
[3] Ibid, 20.
[4] Edgerton, Warrior, 21
[5] Ibid, 17-18.
[6] Ibid, 18.
[7] Ibid, 23.
[8] Ibid, 22.
[9] Edgerton, Warrior, 17-18.
[10] Bay, Wives, 201.
[11] Ibid, 201.