Kétou is a Yoruba town,

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

, and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in the

Plateau Department Plateau is one of the twelve departments of Benin. The department of Plateau was created in 1999 with an area of when it was split off from Ouémé Department. Plateau is subdivided into five communes, each centred at one of the principal towns ...

of 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 ...

(previously called Dahomey). The commune covers an area of 2183 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 156,497 people, making it the 13th largest settlement in Benin.

History

Kétou (Ketu) is said to have been founded by Ede, son of Sopasan and grandson 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), who ruled the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife (also known as Ife) in present-day

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 ...

. The oba (meaning 'king' or 'ruler' in the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-languag ...

) is referred to as the Alaketu of Ketu. Most Gbe speaking people ( Ewe, Adja, Fon, and speakers of Phla-Phera languages) trace their origins to Ketou. According to their oral history, Ketou was originally known as Ketume (in the sand). Alternatively, they also refer to Ketou as Amedzorfe (place of human origin). They were displaced by the Yoruba because the Yoruba had larger population and access to horses / cavalry from the north. Ketu North and Ketu South administrative districts in the Volta region of Ghana are named in remembrance of these peoples' origins from Ketou in Benin. The indigenes of these two districts are mainly Ewes.

References

4 Felix Kuadugah-contributor , History of Ketou Communes of Benin Arrondissements of Benin Populated places in the Plateau Department Communes in Yorubaland Towns in Yorubaland {{PlateauDepartment-geo-stub