Ketu is a historical region in what is now the
Republic of Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burki ...
, in the area of the town of
Kétou (Ketu). It is one of the oldest capitals of the
Yoruba-speaking people, tracing its establishment to a settlement founded by a descendant of
Oduduwa
Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the ''Olofin'' of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynastie ...
, also known as Odudua, Oòdua and Eleduwa. The regents of the town were traditionally styled "Alaketu", and are related directly to
Ile-Ife in present-day Nigeria.
Ketu is one of the sixteen original kingdoms established by the children of Oduduwa in
Oyo mythic history, though this ancient pedigree has been somewhat neglected in contemporary Yoruba historical research, which tends to focus on communities within Nigeria. The exact status of Ketu within the Oyo empire however is contested. Oyo sources claim Ketu as a dependency with claims that the Ketu paid an annual tribute and that its ruler attended the Bere festival in Oyo. In any case, there is no doubt that Ketu and Oyo maintained friendly relations largely due to their historical, linguistic, cultural and ethnic ties.
[Law, R 1977, ''The Oyo Empire'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, p.141]
The kingdom was one of the main enemies of the ascendant kingdom of
Dahomey, often fighting against Dahomeans as part of Oyo's imperial forces, but ultimately succumbing to the
Fon in the 1880s as the kingdom was ravaged. Many of Ketu's citizens were sold into slavery during these raids, which accounts for the kingdom's importance in Brazilian
Candomblé. Ketu is often known as
Queto in Portuguese orthography.
Ewe connection
Ewe traditions refer to Ketu as ''
Amedzofe'' ("origin of humanity") or ''Mawufe'' ("home of the Supreme Being"). It is believed that the inhabitants (or at least some) of Ketu originally belonged to the
Oyo people of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and were pressed westward by a series of wars between the 12th and the 15th centuries. In Ketu, the ancestors of the
Gbe speaking peoples (
Ewe,
Fon,
Aja etc.) separated themselves from other refugees and began to establish their own identity, but were pressed even further westward by the
Yoruba during the 14th and 15th centuries.
* c.1500 - Yoruba state moved its capital to Ketu.
* 1886 - Conquered by
Dahomey.
* 1893 - Restored by France under protectorate.
See also
*
List of rulers of the Yoruba state of Ketu
References
*Parrinder, E.G. The Story of Ketu: An ancient Yoruba kingdom. Ibadan, Nigeria, Ibadan University Press, 1956.
{{Benin topics
Kingdoms of Benin
Yoruba history
ca:regne de Ketu