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Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case Studies

The Kingdoms and Empires of Oyo and Dahomey 1608–c.1800: institutions, religion, the slave trade and decline

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  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on the Oyo Mesi and Ogboni, choosing an Alafin, religion and politics, the Annual Customs, imperial control and the Egbado corridor, the slave trade, Oyo’s domination of Dahomey, Bashorun Gaha and decline.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Who and when

How did Oyo control and tax its empire?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Explain what the Oyo Mesi was.

    Model answer

    It was the council of seven hereditary state chiefs, headed by the Bashorun, who selected each new Alafin from the royal lineage and who could reject a ruler by sending him an empty calabash, an order to take his own life.

  2. 2

    What was the Ogboni and what did it do?

    Model answer

    The Ogboni was the secret society of the Earth cult, made up of senior elders and titled men, which conducted judicial and religious business and could restrain both the Alafin and the Oyo Mesi, since its members swore oaths on the Earth that neither dared break.

  3. 3

    Explain how a new Alafin was selected.

    Model answer

    On a king's death the Oyo Mesi, guided by Ifa divination and by the Ogboni, chose a successor from among the eligible princes; the late king's eldest son, the Aremo, was traditionally expected to die with his father and so was excluded.

  4. 4

    What role did religion play in the politics of Oyo and Dahomey?

    Model answer

    In Oyo the Alafin's descent from Sango, the Ifa oracle and the Earth oaths of the Ogboni all supplied checks and sanctions on political conduct, while in Dahomey the cult of the royal ancestors made the king the sole channel between the kingdom and its dead.

  5. 5

    Describe the Annual Customs of Dahomey.

    Model answer

    They were the great yearly ceremonies at Abomey at which the king honoured his royal ancestors with gifts and human sacrifices, redistributed wealth to his chiefs and subjects, reviewed the army and displayed the monarchy's power to subjects and foreign traders alike.

  6. 6

    How did Oyo control and tax its empire?

    Model answer

    Conquered Yoruba and neighbouring towns kept their own rulers but paid annual tribute in cowries, cloth, slaves and horses, delivered to resident royal agents called ajele, who were backed by the threat of a cavalry expedition.

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