Dada Agonlinhossou Yèto Kandji is the 5th king of the Kingdom of Agonlin, a

non-sovereign monarchy A non-sovereign monarchy or constituent monarchy is one in which the head of the monarchical polity (whether a geographic territory or an ethnic group), and the polity itself, are subject to a temporal authority higher than their own. The consti ...

located in

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 ...

. He has been monarch since 1993. His kingdom comprises the municipalities of

Zagnanado Zagnanado or Zangnanado is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of southern-central Benin. It is located 47 kilometres from Abomey and 165 kilometres north of Cotonou. The commune covers an area of 750 square kilometres and ...

, Covè and

Ouinhi Ouinhi is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Zou Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 483 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 59,381 people. It is bounded on the north-west by the commune of ...

. His royal palace is located in

Agonli-Houégbo Agonli-Houégbo is an arrondissement in the Zou department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Zagnanado. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin ...

, Zagnanado.

Activities

Yèto Kandji has advocated for further legal recognition of the non-sovereign kings and other traditional authorities in Benin. and is currently the Chief Organiser of the

High Council of Kings of Benin The High Council of Kings of Benin (French language, French: Haut Conseil des rois du Bénin), sometimes simply referred to as the High Council of Kings (French: Haut Conseil des Rois) or HCRB, is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental o ...

(French: Haut Conseil des rois du Bénin), an advocacy group for the various sub-national monarchies in Benin. The king holds annual events celebrating his reign, such as in 2014 and 2020. He also patronises local traditional ceremonies, rituals and

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 ...

religious events, such as in 2015 when he participated in a religious festival organised by L’Union du culte vodoun d’Agonlin.

History

Yèto Kandji was crowned monarch in 24 February 1993. Yèto Kandji was elected President of the Council of Mahi Kings (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Conseil des rois mahi) in 2013. He also served as secretary general of the High Council of Kings of Benin, and was previously the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of the National Council of Kings of Benin (French: Conseil national des rois du Bénin). In 2014, he celebrated 20 years of reigning as king. 200,000,000

CFA Francs The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight Wes ...

were spent to rehabilitate the kings palace. A statue of King Yèto, the founder of the kingdom who reigned between 1634-1731, was also erected. In 2017,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Ian Mahinmi Ian Mahinmi (born November 5, 1986) is a French former professional basketball player. At 6'11" and 250 lb, he played the center position and was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. Early life ...

visited the king and was granted the title of Prince of the Royal Palace of Agonlin. He was also given the name "Prince Wanignon". He celebrated 27 years of reigning as king in 2020. Offerings were made to his predecessors, as well as local deities and other ancestors. The

Vodoun 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 ...

deity Sanligan, who oversees the local Angolin Vodoun cult, was also honoured. Yèto Kandji endorsed lréné Agossa as candidate for the Les Démocrates political party in the 2021 presidential election of Benin.

Personal

Yèto Kandji's grandfather was King Azonssi Togni Agonlinhossou. Yèto Kandji did not receive a high level education and did not get a Primary School Certificate. While in his CM2 class, he became sick and had difficulty travelling to school. Yèto Kandji claims that around this period, an

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

revealed that he was to be king. During his youth, he lived in

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

. He has

three wives Three Wives is a 7,450-foot-elevation (2,271 meter) mountain summit located in North Cascades National Park, in Chelan County of Washington state. It is situated in the Methow Mountains, a subset of the North Cascades. Neighbors include Hock Mo ...

. In 2011, he visited Spain and met his third wife, a

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

named Queen Sessimè. Yèto Kandji has stated in 2014 that he had two older brothers, both of whom died. He has a son called Prince Eri Ala.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandji, Dada Agonlinhossou Yèto Living people Non-sovereign monarchy Beninese people Year of birth missing (living people)