Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh of Abomey (Benin)
Leader of the Dahomey Amazons, she led an army of 6,000 women against the Egba fortress of Abeokuta. Because the Amazons were armed with spears, bows and swords while the Egba had European cannons only about 1,200 survived the extended battle.
Iyoba Idia: The Hidden Oba of Benin
TweetSourced: Nkiru Nzegwu. “Iyoba Idia: The Hidden Oba of Benin” JENDA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies: Issue 9, 2006. The task of piecing together women’s history has been difficult. So acute is the dearth of information, particularly documentary evidence, that some of the outstanding women in history have been mistaken for men...
Queen Idia, Mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin
Queen Idia was the mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin who ruled from 1504 to 1550. She played a very significant role in the rise and reign of her son. She was a strong warrior who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people.
Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh an Amazon in the Dahoman army
TweetImage Reference forbesamazon Source Frederick E. Forbes, Dahomey and the Dahomans: being the journals of two missions to the king of Dahomey, and residence in his capital, in . . . 1849 and 1850 (London, 1851), vol. 1, facing p. 23 Comments Caption, “Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh. An Amazon in the Dahoman army.” Image shows her in war...
Amazons of Black Sparta: Women Warriors of Dahomey
This volume examines the "Amazons", whose existence has been verified via documents and eye-witness accounts from battles for the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally palace guards, the Amazons had evolved by the 1760s into professional troops armed mainly with muskets, machetes and clubs.