As all Marvel fans are aware, the Dora Milaje are a group of warrior women that are sworn to protect the king of Wakanda, better known as the Black Panther. These powerful women remain one of my favorite things about the movie because they represent women as strong, brave, and unapologetic in their ability to defend their king and home. But did you know they are based in reality and were inspired by a very real group of women living in West Africa?
The group, who called themselves N’Nonmiton, which means “our mothers”, was so feared by Europeans that they were called “Amazons”, after the warrior women of Greek mythology. Let’s meet the Dahomey Amazons!
Background
The Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa, located within present-day Benin, existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It was founded by the Fon people and became a regional power by the 18th century. It’s rise coincided with the Atlantic slave trade and it was well known to Europeans as a major supplier of slaves.
The emergence of a female regiment of warriors may have been a necessity as Dahomey was highly militaristic. Frequent war with neighboring West African empires, combined with yearly forced tribute of male slaves to the Oyo Empire, may have resulted in a lack of men for domestic protection.
One theory suggests the female group started as a corp of elephant hunters, known as gbeto, for King Houegbadja (who ruled from 1645 to 1685). Impressed with their skill, they were recruited to be his bodyguards, a necessity because only women were allowed in the palace after dark.
Another theory indicates that the rule regarding “no men in the palace after dark” led to the King forming a bodyguard from among his “third-class” wives, women who were not considered pretty enough to share the king’s bed. This makes sense as warriors in the group were historically considered to be formally married to the king but did not share the king’s bed, making them celibate.
Service
Warrior women were not unheard of in the 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries. Notably, the warrior queen Nzinga of Matamba, who kept a harem of 60 male concubines, and the ceremonial guard of King Mongkut of Siam, reported to have included 400 women. However, the Dahomey Amazons were unique because they distinguished themselves in battle, fighting without fear for their king and country.
During the reign of King Agaja from 1708-1732, the Dahomey Amazons were fully established, equipped for battle, and used to defeat neighboring kingdoms. Under King Ghezo (1818-1858), the army’s budget was increased and they expanded to include free Dahomean women and foreign captives. It is believed the women made up a third of the Dahomey army at their height and were at least 6,000 strong. European records record that they were routinely considered to be superior to their male counterparts.
The women were held in high regard among the people of Dahomey and life as a warrior came with a few perks, including tobacco, alcohol, and slaves of their own. However, they trained intensely, prioritizing discipline, survival, and fearlessness. They were expected to withstand pain and be indifferent to death. These things were tested in training where they stormed through acacia-thorn defenses, participated in 10 day jungle expeditions with only a machete in a survival of the fittest, and executed prisoners without flinching.
In battle, swift decapitations were their trademark. They fought to the death, defeat not an option, and were usually the last in battle because they would not retreat unless explicitly ordered by the king. In 1863, British explorer Richard Burton gave the female army the nickname “Black Sparta” in deference to the legendary Spartan warriors. In the 1880s, a French delegation also reported the ferocity of the Dahomey Amazons after witnessing a young girl during a training exercise who decapitated a prisoner with three swings of her machete.
End of an Era
In the early 1890s, the French began expanding in Africa and made efforts to subdue the Dahomey people. According to local oral histories, the Franco-Dahomean Wars started when the Dahomeans attacked a village under French control. The chief, in an effort to instill calm, told his people the French would protect them. After overrunning the village, a Dahomean general reportedly said, “So, you like this flag? Eh bien, it will serve you.” At the general’s signal, one of the women warriors beheaded the chief with one blow of her cutlass and carried his head back to the Dahomean king, Béhanzin, wrapped in the French flag.
As the Franco-Dahomean Wars progressed, the French learned not to underestimate their female opponents. Warrior women posed a challenge on and off the battlefield and uniformed French soldiers were often found dead in the morning if they dared to take a Dahomey woman to bed, their throats slit.
After bringing in the Foreign Legion, armed with machine guns, the French prevailed and King Béhanzin, the last king of the Dahomey, was overthrown. Most of the Amazons died in the 23 battles fought during the second set of wars. The legionnaires would write about the 'incredible courage and audacity’ of the fearless Amazons.
In 1978, a Beninese historian encountered a woman in the village of Kinta who convincingly claimed to have fought against the French in 1892. Her name was Nawi, and she died, aged well over 100, in November 1979. She is believed to have been the last of the Dahomey Amazons. A film titled “The Woman King”, set to be released in September of 2022 starring Thuso Mbedu as Nawi alongside Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega, will tell her story.
Learn more about these fearless female warriors here:
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