The Yoruba kingdoms that ended up in Benin Republic and Togo, their destruction by Dahomey, the Anàgó name and where it comes from, and what national status they hold today.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Something between one fifth and one quarter of di Yoruba-speaking world dey live outside Nigeria, for Republic of Benin and Togo, and na because of one line wey dem draw for Europe for 1889 make dem dey there. Di Anglo-French Agreement of dat year divide di western Yoruba between British and French territory, and di kingdoms of Kétu, Sábẹ́, Ìdáìṣà and di Ọ̀họ̀rí, plus di Ifè of Togo, come end up inside French territory and later inside independent Francophone states .
Dem history before di partition no be just small appendix join Nigerian Yoruba history. Dem dey count Kétu among di oldest of di Odùduwà foundations, di Gbe-speaking peoples dey trace dem own origin go there, and di way Dahomey destroy these kingdoms for di nineteenth century supply big part of di Yoruba population of Brazil and Cuba. Wetin come dey marginal na di way academic writing treat dem, as e focus on communities wey dey inside Nigeria come neglect di western pedigree .
Names. Kétu for Yoruba, Kétou for French orthography and officially for Benin, Queto for di Portuguese orthography wey dem dey use for Brazil .
Ruler. Di Aláké̩tu, wey get di title Ọba .
Founding. Di tradition na Odùduwà descent, and di sources give two versions of di lineage. For one version, di state trace back to one settlement wey one descendant of Odùduwà wey dem dey call Sopasan or Soipasan establish, with Kétu proper wey Edé, son of Sopasan and grandson of Odùduwà, found . For di other version wey compress pass dat, na Edé wey be descendant of Odùduwà found Kétou, without di generation for middle . Dem put di capital for Ketu itself from around 1500 . One separate French heritage account date di foundation of di city to di fourteenth century and di fortification to di eighteenth century .
Dem dey count Kétu as one of di sixteen original kingdoms wey di children of Odùduwà establish for inside di Ọ̀yọ́ mythic scheme . Beyond di Yoruba, di Gbe-speaking peoples, di Ewe, Adja and Fon, dey trace dem own origins to Kétou, wey make di town a shared origin point across language boundary instead of something wey belong only to Yoruba people .
The Akaba Idena. Mud-brick wall for defense surround Kétou with only one entrance wey pass through am, di Akaba Idena, and dem report say di trenches deep reach fifteen to twenty feet . Di meaning of di name come from Yoruba akaba, door or gate, and idena, person wey dey block road . Di gate na di main monument of di western Yoruba kingdoms wey still remain, na e dey house di Musée Akaba Idéna now , and e dey among Benin UNESCO tentative-list nomination Sites marquants de la Route de l'Esclave au Bénin, wey dem cite for di king redemption square, di gate as symbol of resistance, di trenches and di Kouhoudou square .
The destruction of 1886. Kétu na one of Dahomey main enemies, and di destruction happen for two phases under King Glele: raids for 1882 and 1883 wey make am weak, then di final sacking for 1886 . Dem destroy temples and altars and burn houses under Glele direct command; dem execute di leadership and enslave di survivors come carry dem go Abomey . One account tok say dem kill di Kétu leaders for peace negotiation . Dem sell many of di people wey dem capture enter di Atlantic trade, and di reference literature connect dis directly to di importance of Kétu inside Brazilian Candomblé .
Dem never settle di identity of di Aláké̩tu wey dem kill for 1886. One account call im name Ojeku, wey dey conflict with di dynastic list wey show say Osun Ojeku reign end for 1883 with regent from 1883 to 1886 . Di Dahomey conquest account no mention di name of di ruler wey dem kill . Make e remain unresolved.
Restoration. Dem rebuild di gate and ramparts for 1894 under King Oyingin, dat na Oyengen, whose reign begin for 1894 for di dynastic list, so di two sources agree with each other . Dem restore Kétu under French protectorate; di sources differ by one year on di date, one give 1893 and di other give 1894, wetin suppose dey reported as minor discrepancy instead of trying to reconcile am .
Dynastic list, modern portion. Ajibolu 1795–1816; Adebiya 1816–1853; Adegbede 1853–1858; Adiro 1858–1867; Osun Ojeku 1867–1883; Agidigbo Hungbo, regent, 1883–1886; Alaba Ida, regent, 1893–1894; Oyengen 1894–1918; Ademufekun Dudu 1918–1936; Alamu Adewori Adegibite 1937–1963; Pascal Adeoti Adetutu 1964–2004; Alaro Alade-Ife 2005–2018; Anicet Adesina Akanni Adedunloye Aderomola from 2019 . Di list count fifty rulers before di fifty-first, wey dem present for 2018 .
Current status. Kétou na town, arrondissement and commune for Plateau Department of Benin, with 156,497 people over 2,183 square kilometres for di 2013 census, di thirteenth largest settlement for di country . Di Ketu North and Ketu South districts for Ghana Volta Region dey carry di name .
Di common account wey people accept na say di Kétu captives wey dem take during di Dahomean raids found di Candomblé nation wey dey carry dem name for Bahia, where nação ketu dey refer to di houses wey come from Yoruba and dem dey call di liturgical language Yorubá or Nagô .
Lisa Earl Castillo archival study of 2021 challenge dis directly. As she dey work on di temple Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká, she argue say na people from Ọ̀yọ́, no be Kétu, dominate di first generations of leadership, and say di term ketu no come out as direct mention of ethnic origin but perhaps as metaphor for one heterogeneous cultural setting where Yoruba speakers from different-different regions live together side-by-side .
Make dem record di two, and dem suppose link dem to different kinds of authority: di first one to di tradition wey dem receive inside di terreiros and how dem don dey repeat am for inside literature for long time, di second one to one specific archival argument wey dem publish for History in Africa for 2021. Candomblé Ketu show face for Bahia for di early nineteenth century, when people wey dey speak Nagô reach about seventy-five percent of di population wey concern am for di 1830s , wey tally with any of di two reading.
Names. Sábẹ́ or Ṣábẹ̀ẹ́ for Yoruba, Savè for French, Shabe or Cabe as di dialect-cluster name .
Ruler. Di Ọnísàbẹ̀, wey dem dey style Ọba . Dem dey usually group di Ọnísàbẹ̀ together with di Aláké̩tu of Kétu and di Onípòpó of Popo as di crowns wey descend from Odùduwà wey dey Benin Republic, even though na traditionalist framing instead of documented constitutional relationship .
Founding, and conflict wey di sources no resolve. Di kingdom official tradition trace dia ancestry go meet Baba Gidai, one chief from Borgou, and date di formal emergence of di kingdom to around 1750, when Yai, leader of di Babagidai group, centralise power over many city-states wey dey ground before . Another separate side wey many people hold tie di Sábẹ́ crown to Odùduwà as one of di ancient crowned lines . Dem no reconcile these two accounts anywhere for inside di accessible sources and dem suppose present dem as competing accounts, because one make Sábẹ́ eighteenth-century polity wey come from Borgou and di other one make am ancient Ifẹ̀ foundation.
Structure. Succession dey rotate between two houses wey descend from di sons of Ola Obe, wey dia names na Ola Mone and Ola Akikenju, arrangement wey clearly exclude di earlier-settled Yoruba group wey dem know as di Amusu from di succession . Dem consecrate di ruler for Djabata while e dey rule from Savè . One succession list of Ọnísàbẹ̀ go back to at least 1738 .
Dahomey. Relationship spoil bad bad for 1828, when King Ghézo cut di head of about thirty Savé prisoners after one raid, and Dahomean attacks destroy di capital for 1848, 1855 and 1885 .
Current status. Dem abolish di monarchy for di post-independence period, wey di sources link to state action for 1974, even though dem still dey crown traditional chief symbolically . Savè dey inside Collines Department of Benin.
Names. Idaasha, Idaaca, Idaaṣa or Idaaitsa; Dassa or Dassa-Zoumé for French. Di people dey call di town Igbo Idaasha, wey mean say e belong to all Idaasha people .
Ruler. Ọba of Igbo Idaasha; di current person for di throne, Egba Kotan II, dem crown am on 3 March 2002 . Di sources give di plain title Ọba and no distinctive dialectal royal form dey, and make nobody add any form like dat.
Founding, with two-century discrepancy. One account talk say di polity gather become centralised kingdom around 1600 under one founder wey dem dey call Jagun Olofin, wey migrate from Ẹ̀gbá country for inside expedition wey Ṣàgbóná lead . One dynastic account talk say na prince Oladégbo found di kingdom, wey reign as Djagou Olofin from 1385 to 1425 . Di names match, as Jagun Olofin and Djagou Olofin na di same person for different spellings, but di dates get difference of roughly two centuries. Make una report di two.
Geography and people. Central Collines Department, west of di Ouémé river, wey center on Dassa-Zoumé (Igbo Idaasha) and Glazoué (Igbo Omina or Gbomina), with Dassa-Zoumé holding more dan sixty-six villages and di Glazoué arrondissement holding over forty-six, and population of about two hundred thousand for 2016 . Di Benin government describe Dassa-Zoumé as di city of forty-one hills .
Language and religion. Ede Idaasha, one Yoruba dialect wey carry Fon loanwords, with Standard Yoruba wey dem dey use formally for inside churches, schools and mosques; Catholic and Protestant Christianity, Yoruba religion and Islam . Di yearly Festival des Arts et Cultures Idaasha, FACI, na di main cultural event .
Pobè na city and arrondissement for inside Plateau Department of Benin, with 123,740 people across four hundred square kilometres for 2013, and e don be di seat of di Plateau Department since 2016 . No ruler title for Pobè wey dem fit verify for inside accessible sources and none dey supplied here.
Di Ọ̀họ̀rí-Ìjè, wey dem also dey call Ohori, Holli or Ije, hold territory for southeastern Benin north of Pobè, wey extend go west reach and pass di Ouémé river . Dia land na di swampy Kumi depression, wey historically serve as refuge for people wey dey run from Kétu, Ọ̀yọ́ and other larger polities . French colonial policy cause one Ọ̀họ̀rí rising wey grow enter full rebellion by 1914 .
Di Ọ̀họ̀rí na case wey deserve attention because di refuge function shape di group. Population wey form from people wey leave larger states instead of one wey grow from dynastic centre get different political structure, and Ọ̀họ̀rí resistance to French administration dey consistent with society wey dem organise to avoid incorporation.
Ifọ̀nyìn cross di border, as e fall across Ipokia Local Government Area of Ògùn State for di Nigeria side and di sous-préfecture of Ifonyin, French Ifangni, for southern Plateau for di Benin side . Na di clearest illustration of wetin di partition do, because e divide single polity between two colonial administrations and later two countries.
One history of di Ẹ̀gbádò region describe Ifọ̀nyìn as former Anàgó kingdom wey Elehin or Elewi Odo rule, wey mean di king behind di river, and date di founding to around 1700, for di point when Ọ̀yọ́ come know about threats to its route to di coast from Benin westward expansion and di rise of di Fon of Dahomey . Dat account reach open web only through reproduction of secondary text instead of peer-reviewed source, so treat di title and di date as unverified until better source dey.
Di name dey important because na di term wey western Yoruba take appear for Atlantic record, and to understand where e come from dey correct one common confusion.
Nago come from Ewe word Anagó, wey mean Yoruba person, wey also come from Yoruba word Ànàgó . For Spanish and Portuguese document dem, Yoruba people appear as Nago, Anago and Ana, names wey dem take from one coastal Yoruba subgroup for wetin be Republic of Benin today . Strictly speaking, Anago dey mean one Yoruba subgroup around Kétu for Benin and southwestern Yorubaland; Nago dey mean di southwestern Yoruba subgroups wey dey across Nigeria-Benin border . Together, dem dey call di Ifọ̀nyìn, Àwórì, Ọ̀họ̀rí and Kétu groups Nagos .
For French Dahomey and Togo, dem know Yoruba as Nagot or Anago, and di term come turn general name wey dem dey use for Yoruba for Benin and for diaspora for Brazil and Jamaica . Na why Bahian Candomblé dey call dia liturgical Yoruba Nagô: di Brazilian term keep di name wey Gbe-speakers dey call di people, no be wetin di people call theirself.
Make we also note one different meaning wey some people give. One reference explain Ànàgó as Yoruba people from Abeokuta Province for Nigeria, wey narrow pass and dey contrast with di coastal-Benin origin . Di Beninois Yoruba reference treat Anago simply as dialect of Kétu and Shabe regions wey dey across di border, and e no give any etymology at all .
Di Ifè people, wey dem also dey call Ana, Atakpame or Baate, ethnographic literature describe dem as di most western among Yoruba subgroups, and dem trace dia origin go Ilé-Ifẹ̀ . Dia total population na around 452,000, about 240,000 for Togo and 111,130 for Benin as at 2013 .
For Togo, dem dey stay for Plateaux Region, especially around Atakpamé, for Gnagna and Djama quarters, along di area between Glei and Sokode go west reach Togo-Benin border, with communities for Atakpamé, Elavagnon, Kamina and Datcha; for Benin dem dey Savalou commune for Collines Department . Dia language, Ede Ife, get pass four hundred thousand speakers and three tone levels, with many speakers wey also dey speak Ewe or Standard Yoruba, and Radio FM Ore Ọ̀fẹ́ on 102.1 MHz for Benin dey help sustain am . Most of dem na Christian, with small number wey dey practice Yoruba religion and Islam .
Numbers. Di Yoruba people of Benin reach 829,509, wey be 12.30 percent of di population, for di 2002 census , with one 2013 figure wey dem also cite wey pass ten percent . Dem plenty pass for Ouémé, Plateau and Collines departments, with smaller numbers for Borgou and Donga . Di dialect clusters for Benin na Ohori (Holli), Isha or Ica, Kura, Shabe or Cabe, and Ife or Ana, alongside Anago .
Language status, precisely. French na di only official language of Benin. Yoruba na one of Benin national languages, one status wey Benin give to about fifty indigenous languages . One national conference for February 1990 pick Fon, Yoruba, Baatonum, Dendi, Aja and Ditammari make dem use dem for formal education and adult literacy, but implementation dey limited and di six languages still never truly national for practice .
Nigerian press dey always miss this distinction, as dem dey report say Yoruba na official language of Benin. E no be so. Talk say national language, and note say di designation get limited effect.
Politics. Modern record dey show concern about cultural and political marginalisation, including statements from traditional leaders say Yoruba people for Benin Republic dey face political persecution . Cross-border political connection dey real and recent: Yoruba kings for Benin Republic meet for 2021 over Sunday Ìgbóhò mata, when dem detain one Nigerian Yoruba-nationalist figure for Cotonou .
Guide to the gazetteer, what each file covers, the argument that runs through the section, and how to read it in order or by interest.
Three Yoruba groupings that standard accounts leave out, the Àwórì who own the ground under Lagos, the Ẹ̀gbádò who renamed themselves Yewa in 1995, and the Ìbàràpá seven towns.
The refugee city under Olúmọ rock, its four townships each with its own ọba, the Aláké, and the Ẹ̀gbá United Government, which was the only Yoruba state Britain recognised as sovereign.
How Fon and Ewe Vodún relates to Yoruba orisa tradition, why Vodún is its own system and not Yoruba religion renamed, what Fa and Ifa share and where they diverge, and the Ketu corridor that carried both across the Atlantic.
The history and structure of Candomblé in Brazil, why the nations matter, the great Bahian terreiros and the women who led them, the regional variants, Umbanda as a distinct formation, and the current situation under evangelical pressure.
Ijẹ̀bú, Ẹ̀gbá, Èkìtì, Ìjẹ̀ṣà, Ondó, Ọ̀wọ̀, Kétu, Sábẹ̀, Ìbàdàn, Abẹ́òkúta and Lagos, each with its own institutions rather than as branches of Ọ̀yọ́.