Editing Dakodonou

{{Short description|King of Dahomey (r. c. 1620–1645)}}
{{Infobox Monarch | name =Dakodonu
| title=[[King of Dahomey]]
| image=File:Symbole de Dako Donou roi du Dahomey au mur de la place Goho à Abomey au Bénin.jpg
|caption=Symbol of Dako Donou's jar of indigo and war club on the wall of Place Goho in Abomey in Benin in 2020
| reign=c.1620–c.1645
| coronation=
| predecessor=[[Do-Aklin]]
| successor=[[Houegbadja]]
| spouse=
| issue=
| royal house=Aladaxonou
| father=
| mother=
| birth_date=
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1645
| death_place =
| buried=
}}
'''Dakodonou''', ''Dakodonu'', ''Dako Donu'' or ''Dako Danzo'' was an early king of the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]], in present-day [[Benin]], ruling from around 1620 until 1645.  Oral tradition recounts that Dakodonu was the son (or grandson) of [[Do-Aklin]], the founder of the royal dynasty of Dahomey, and the father to [[Houegbadja]], often considered the founder of the Kingdom of Dahomey.  In addition, it is said that Dakodonu killed a local chieftain and founded the capital city upon the site.  However, some recent historical analysis contends that Dakodonu was added into the royal line in the 18th century to legitimize the ruling dynasty over the indigenous inhabitants of the Abomey plateau.

==Name==
One legend tells that Dakodonou's original name was Dako but he adopted his new name Dakodonou after killing Donou (who was either a farmer or an indigo painter) in a pot of indigo and rolling his corpse around its blue tomb.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPMjbMYo8TIC&dq=dakodonou&pg=PA146|title=Indigo: In Search of the Colour that Seduced the World|year=2012|isbn=9781408822364|last1=McKinley|first1=Catherine E.}}</ref>

==Founding of Abomey Kingdom==
Oral tradition holds that a succession struggle in Allada resulted in [[Do-Aklin]] moving a large population onto the Abomey plateau, an area settled by the Gedevi.  When Do-Aklin died (or in some versions was deposed), Dakodonu became the leader of the group and was given permission by the Gedevi chiefs to settle on the plateau.  Dakodonu requested additional land for settlement from a prominent Gedevi chief named Dan (or Da). In Gbe languages, Da or Dan means snake . To this request, the chief responded "Should I open up my belly and build you a house in it." The tradition contends that Dakodonu killed Dan on the spot and ordered that his new palace be built on the site and derived the kingdom's name from the incident: Dan=chief, xo=Belly, me=Inside of.<ref name=Monroe>{{cite journal|last=Monroe|first=J. Cameron|title=In the Belly of Dan: Space, History, and Power in Precolonial Dahomey|journal=Current Anthropology|year=2011|volume=52|issue=6|pages=769–798|doi=10.1086/662678|s2cid=142318205}}</ref>  From this beginning, Dakodonu began establishing the basic structure of the Dahomey kingdom and is reported to have conquered two additional villages.<ref name=Law-1>{{cite journal|last=Law|first=Robin|title=An Alternative Text Of King Agaja Of Dahomey's Letter To King {{sic|George I Of England}}, 1726|journal=History in Africa|year=2002|doi=10.2307/3172163|jstor=3172163|s2cid=165916801}}</ref>  Oral tradition of the ruling lineage of the kingdom says that Dakodonu's son [[Houegbadja]], often considered the first king of Dahomey, took over after Dakodonu's reign.<ref name=Bay-1998>{{cite book|last=Bay|first=Edna|title=Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey|year=1998|publisher=University of Virginia Press}}</ref>

==Dakodonu and legitimation of the royal lineage==
Dahomey historian Edna Bay argues that Dakodonu was actually himself a Gedevi, the local population of the area, and that he was added into the royal lineage story by [[Agaja]] in order to establish the legitimate rule of the Kingdom over the local population.  Evidence of this is suggested through the fact that the head priest of the kingdom, the ''agasunon'' in [[Fon language|Fon]], was always from the lineage of Dakodonu. In addition, oral tradition of lineages not associated with the ruling group claim that [[Houegbadja]] was an adopted son of Dakodonu.  Dakodonu's inclusion in royal lists then was a means of creating recognition for the local population in a powerful position (the head priest) and legitimating the rule of the Fon kingdom over the territory.<ref name=Bay-1998 />  In addition, Monroe contends that the story of the founding, the killing of Dan, is likely not based on a single incident<ref name=Monroe /> and Bay contends that Dahomey meaning ''In the belly of Dan'' is likely a [[false etymology]].<ref name=Bay-1998 />

==Constructions by Dakodonu==
As an early king of Dahomey, the reign of Dakodonu coincided with some significant construction projects including the start of the [[Royal Palaces of Abomey]], although the structures were probably replaced by construction by Houegbadja, and [[Agongointo-Zoungoudo Underground Town]].<ref name="whc.unesco.org">[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/988/ Village souterrain d'Agongointo-Zoungoudo - UNESCO World Heritage Centre]
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Vodun]]
*[[History of the Kingdom of Dahomey]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
 
{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Do-Aklin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Dahomey]]|years=1620–1645}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Houegbadja]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Monarchs of Dahomey}}

[[Category:Kings of Dahomey]]
[[Category:17th-century monarchs in Africa]]
[[Category:17th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1645 deaths]]