Dahomey Amazons
The emergence of an all-female military regiment was the result of Dahomey's male population facing high casualties in the increasingly frequent violence and warfare with neighbouring West African states.
The formation of a female-only army unit was a retaliation and maneuver around the forced tribute of male slaves to Oyo each year.
[5] The group of female warriors was referred to as Mino, meaning "Our Mothers" in the Fon language, by the male army of Dahomey.
While European narratives refer to the women soldiers as "Amazons", they called themselves ahosi (king's wives) or Mino (our mothers).
[8] Some women in Fon society became soldiers voluntarily, while others were involuntarily enrolled if their husbands or fathers complained to the king about their behaviour.
They learned survival skills and indifference to pain and death, storming acacia-thorn defences in military exercises and executing prisoners.
Serving in the Mino offered women the opportunity to "rise to positions of command and influence" in an environment structured for individual empowerment.
From the 1840s to 1870s (when the opposing party collapsed), the majority of Mino generally supported peace with the Egba of Abeokuta arguing instead to raid smaller, less defended tribes.
Civilian council members who allied with the Agojie also advocated for stronger commercial relations with Britain, favouring the trade of palm oil above that of slaves.
[5] The women soldiers were said to be structured in parallel with the army as a whole, with a centre wing (the king's bodyguards) flanked on both sides, each under separate commanders.
The European encroachment into West Africa gained pace during the latter half of the 19th century, and in 1890 King Béhanzin started fighting French forces in the course of the First Franco-Dahomean War.
[19] Oral tradition states that some surviving Mino secretly remained in Abomey afterwards, where they quietly assassinated a number of French officers.
Other stories say the women pledged their services in protection of Agoli-Agbo, the brother of Béhanzin, disguising themselves as his wives in order to guard him.
[21] An unknown number of women are said to have trained with the members of the Dahomey Mino after they were disbanded, in effect continuing the tradition.
[23] The Dora Milaje, warriors and bodyguards of the Marvel Comics character Black Panther, are partially based on the Dahomey Mino.
In the video game Empire: Total War you can recruit Dahomey Mino units if you have conquered certain regions in North Africa.
[26][2] As an artistic and visual interpretation intended for private or public use in classrooms,[27] it tells the story of the Mino in connection with European colonial rule in Africa and ends with their legacy for the present-day Republic of Benin: "In addition to the imprint that they have left on the collective memory, the women soldiers bequeathed to the Republic of Benin dances that are performed to this day in Abomey, songs and legends.
The Ahosi are featured in the 2021 graphic novel Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez.
[29][30][31] Dahomey Amazons are represented as Minos in the novel Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley (William Morrow, July 12, 2022).
