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Kpojito
The ''kpojito'' was the queen mother and consort of the pre-colonial African kingdom of Dahomey (modern-day Benin, West Africa). History Beginning in the early eighteenth century, the ''kpojito'' was a wife of the king's father, often born of common origin, or into slavery. She rose in rank by merit to serve as the coregent of the ruling king, and sometimes his predecessor. A kpojito shared power with local princes (serving as their protégé and kingmaker), and had the authority to resolve religious disputes through her skill as a priestess to the ''vodun'' (gods). The most famous ''kpojito'' was Hwanjile, who reigned with King Tegbesu Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the oldest son of King Agaja (1718-1740), he became king after Agaja's death following a succession struggle wi ... in the mid-eighteenth century. References {{Benin-stub 18th century in the Kingdom of Dahome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Mothers (Africa)
Queen mother (also Queenmother) is a term used to describe certain female traditional rulers in African cultures. Though there is no general description of a "queen mother", as their roles have varied by society, political context, and culture, they generally play an important role in local government and "wield social power and influence." They are thus an important part of social, political, and cultural institutions across the African continent: the Akan, for example, recognize them as important local political actors and often trace inheritance through them in a matrilineal fashion; whereas in Uganda, the term may be used to describe women who ruled outright. The amount of power queen mothers currently hold has been diminished since pre-colonial times, though the 21st century has seen their influence grow in certain contexts. Many are members of the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network, a voluntary organization. History Queen mothers were once important polit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hwanjile
Hwanjile (r. 1740–1774) was a high priest and ''kpojito'' ("reign mate") of the African Kingdom of Dahomey, in what is now Benin. Life Hwanjile was an Aja woman from the village of Home in an area west of Abomey, in the southern portion of modern-day Benin. She was reportedly already an adult with two children when she was brought, either as a war captive or trader, to the palace of Abomey. Hwanjile was married to the king Agaja before she was appointed to the position of ''kpojito'' ("Mother of the Leopard") by Tegbesu, the fourth king of Dahomey. Her kin included the powerful Adanle, Hodonour, and Kossou-Naeton families of merchants in the town of Ouidah. Political and religious involvement The oral histories which are our chief source of information about eighteenth-century Dahomey do not explain why Hwanjile allied herself with Tegbesu Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Kingdoms In Pre-colonial Africa
This is a list of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa, which existed before the Scramble for Africa () when most of the continent came under the control of European powers. Some kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Ardra in Benin, Buganda in Uganda, or the Kingdom of Bailundo in Angola, still exist today as non-sovereign monarchies, with varying legal and constitutional statuses within their respective countries. Comparison Historian Jan Vansina (1962) discusses the classification of Sub-Saharan African Kingdoms, mostly of Central, South and East Africa, with some additional data on West African (Sahelian) Kingdoms distinguishing five types, by decreasing centralization of power: #Despotic Kingdoms: Kingdoms where the king controls the internal and external affairs directly. Examples are Rwanda, Ankole, Busoga and the Kingdom of Kongo in the 16th century. #Regal Kingdoms: Kingdoms where the king controls the external affairs directly, and the internal affairs via a system of overseer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the Atlantic coast which granted it unhindered access to the tricontinental triangular trade. For much of the middle 19th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey became a key regional state, after eventually ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire. European visitors extensively documented the kingdom, and it became one of the most familiar African nations to Europeans. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade and diplomatic relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an orga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. 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 population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of and its population in was estimated to be approximately million. It is a tropical nation, dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Some employment and income arise from subsistence farming. The official language of Benin is French, with indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Sunni Islam (27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom Overseas Territory).Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" (Introduction). International Monetary Fund, 2001. The population of West Africa is estimated at about million people as of , and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male. The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on the African continent. Early history in West Africa included a number of prominent regional powers that dominated different parts of both the coastal and internal trade networks, suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slavery In Africa
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean slave trade and Atlantic slave trade (which started in the 16th century) began, many of the pre-existing local African slave systems began supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa. Slavery in contemporary Africa is still practiced despite it being illegal. In the relevant literature African slavery is categorized into indigenous slavery and export slavery, depending on whether or not slaves were traded beyond the continent. Slavery in historical Africa was practised in many different forms: Debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, slavery for prostitution, and enslavement of criminals were all practised in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa. Plantat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coregent
A coregency is the situation where a monarchical position (such as prince, princess, king, queen, emperor or empress), normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is to be distinguished from diarchies or duumvirates such as ancient Sparta and Rome. Co-principality is a distinct but related system employed in contemporary Andorra, where monarchical power is formally divided between two rulers. Historical examples Coregencies were common in the Hellenistic period; according to one scholar, they "can usually be explained as a means of avoiding crises of succession or internal conflict, and of strengthening dynastic identity and ideology." Other examples include the coregency of Frederick I of Austria and Louis the Bavarian over the Kingdom of Germany. '' Jure uxoris'' Kings in Kingdoms such as Spain and Portugal can also be found (Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Castile, Philip I and Joanna of Castile, Peter III and Maria I of Portugal, etc.). In Navarre, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingmaker
A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Originally, the term applied to the activities of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick—"Warwick the Kingmaker"—during the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) in England. Examples *The prophet Samuel of the Hebrew Bible, in the transition from the period of the biblical judges to the institution of a Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the transition from Saul to David *Chanakya in the Maurya Empire *The Praetorian Guard in the Roman Empire *Yeon Gaesomun in Goguryeo *Tonyukuk in the Second Turkic Khaganate *Sayyid brothers in the Mughal Empire *Vidyaranya in the Vijayanagara Empire *Ricimer in the Late Western Roman Empire – magister militum who appointed a series of puppet emperors * Nogai, Mamai, and Edigu in the Golden Horde * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vodun
Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. Elements of the West African religion survived slavery and evolved into the current forms of religions with similar names that are found in the New World among the African diaspora in the Americas, such as Haitian ''Vodou''; Louisiana ''Voodoo''; Cuban ''Vodú''; Dominican ''Vudú'', Venezuelan Yuyu, and Brazilian ''Vodum'' (Candomblé Jejé and Tambor de Mina). Theology and practice Vodun cosmology centers around the ''vodun'' spirits and other elements of divine essence that govern the Earth, a hierarchy that range in power from major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, as well as dozens of ethnic vodun, defenders of a certain clan, tribe, or na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tegbesu
Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a King of Dahomey, king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the oldest son of Agaja, King Agaja (1718-1740), he became king after Agaja's death following a succession struggle with a brother. Rise to power Oral traditions hold that Tegbesu was the son of Agaja and Hwanjile, a woman reported to have brought West African Vodun, ''Vodun'' to the kingdom. King Agaja had significantly expanded the Kingdom of Dahomey during his reign, notably conquering Allada in 1724 and Kingdom of Whydah, Whydah in 1727. This increased the size of the kingdom and increased both domestic dissent (with the royal aristocrats of both Allada and Whydah opposing Dahomey from fortified islands off the coast) and regional opposition (mainly with semi-regular warfare between Dahomey and the Oyo Empire). According to one oral tradition, as part of the tribute owed by Dahomey to Oyo, Agaja had to give to Oyo one of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
