410:
465:, slaves and human sacrifice became crucial aspects of the ceremony. Captives from war and criminals were killed for the deceased kings of Dahomey. During the ceremony, around 500 prisoners would be sacrificed. As many as 4,000 were reported killed in one of these ceremonies in 1727. Most of the victims were sacrificed through decapitation, a tradition widely used by Dahomean kings, and the literal translation for the Fon name for the ceremony
31:
474:
contests in democracies. The Great
Council would convene at the annual customs and bring together important leaders from throughout Dahomey to discuss national policy. The Great Council included a large segment of the population and included women. Debate and discussion would be extensive; low ranking-officials could publicly rebuke high-ranking ones. In the end the king would end the debate by declaring consensus.
133:
108:(1718–1740) further centralized the ceremonies under the king and the royal dynasty. Under Agaja, the Annual customs became the central religious ceremony in the kingdom, wide participation by most of the population was required, all family lineages were expected to provide gifts and tribute (sometimes considered taxes) to the ruler, and aspects of animal and
473:
The Annual
Customs also included a prominent structure for discussion and debate about public policy in the kingdom. In this respect, scholar John C. Yoder has argued that the customs "served a political function similar to that of parliaments in Western countries", although still far from the open
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Another function of the Annual
Customs was to raise money for the royal family and the kingdom as a whole. Based on the traditional customs of gift-giving to eldest members of lineage lines, the population of the kingdom provided gifts or paid tribute to the king. The king would then display the
453:
The Annual
Customs involved multiple elaborate components and some aspects may have been added in the 19th century. In general, the celebration involved distribution of gifts, human sacrifice, military parades, and political councils. Its main religious aspect was to offer thanks and gain the
458:
riches as a sign of the accomplishments of his administration. The wealth was provided and displayed not simply to enrich the kingdom but also to gain the approval of the ancestors. After the display, significant amounts of the gifts were redistributed to the population.
477:
In addition, when a king died, his successor would have to include a significant ceremony in his honor to finish the funeral rites. Until such sacrifices and ceremonies were performed, it was considered that the new king was not approved by the spirits of the ancestors.
88:
in
Western Africa, and among other ethnic groups, often had ceremonies in family lineages where all members of the family would gather for a feast, provide gifts to the eldest member of the family, and discuss issues pertaining to the family. As part of the religious
469:
is "yearly head business". In later years this ceremony also included the spilling of human blood from the sacrificed. There was also a significant military parade in the ceremonies that further displayed the military might of the kingdom of
Dahomey.
112:
were added to the practice. The traditional family lineage ceremonies were not allowed in the kingdom until after the royal ceremony was completed. After Agaja the ceremony grew larger, longer and more lavish by future kings.
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440:
898:
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1645–1685) changed this widespread practice during his reign by making it so that sacrifices or gifts to spirits would have to be done by the king.
367:
828:
Law, Robin (1989). "'My Head
Belongs to the King': On the Political and Ritual Significance of Decapitation in Pre- Colonial Dahomey".
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739:"The Politics of Commercial Transition: Factional Conflict in Dahomey in the Context of the Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade"
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around 1730 and involved significant collection and distribution of gifts and tribute, religious ceremonies involving
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Monroe, J. Cameron (2011). "In the Belly of Dan: Space, History, and Power in
Precolonial Dahomey".
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practiced in the area, gifts and sacrifices to the spirits and ancestors would also be given. King
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Yoder, John C. (1974). "Fly and
Elephant Parties: Political Polarization in Dahomey, 1840-1870".
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Officials largely spent their evenings building coalitions of political support.
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Wives of the
Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey
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Since Dahomey was a significant military power involved in the
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Items associated with the Customs are preserved at the
37:The history of Dahomy, an inland Kingdom of Africa
549:Songs praising the kingdom sung by court singers
516:Distribution of wealth, including slain captives
651:Canes and Chains: A Study of Sugar and Slavery
68:. These ceremonies were largely started under
454:approval for ancestors of the royal lineage.
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654:. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishing.
532:Great Council starts to meet in the mornings
27:Yearly celebration in the Kingdom of Dahomey
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720:". Transaction Publishers. p.63.
141:History of the Kingdom of Dahomey
899:Events in the Kingdom of Dahomey
546:stage mock battle and slave raid
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637:. University of Virginia Press.
830:The Journal of African History
746:The Journal of African History
648:Halcrow, Elizabeth M. (1982).
591:The Journal of African History
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513:Parade of the king's wealth
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555:Answers given to petitions
537:Great Council meetings end
359:People's Republic of Benin
302:Second Franco-Dahomean War
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522:Display of king's wealth
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682:Current Anthropology
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501:Procession from Cana
207:Atlantic slave trade
737:Law, Robin (1997).
717:Death by government
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914:West African Vodun
633:Bay, Edna (1998).
318:French West Africa
250:Kingdom of Dahomey
62:Kingdom of Dahomey
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868:www.epa-prema.net
714:R. Rummel (1997)"
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878:2015-05-30
814:2012-01-13
789:2018-04-20
563:References
340:Soglo coup
169:Oyo Empire
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70:King Agaja
850:158426558
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