The strength of the Beninese woman in modern history was reasserted this week in the West Africa nation when the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, unveiled a giant Amazon statue.
It’s a 30-meter statue made of bronze and situated in Benin’s capital of Cotonou. It’s christened ‘Esplanade des Amazones’. For many Beninese, it represents Queen Tassi Hangbe who ruled alongside her brother in 1700, while for followers of oral history, it’s the Beninese Amazon, a legion of she-warriors who defended the Dahomey kingdom (present-day Benin) and her people fearlessly.
Oral tradition traces the emergence of the Amazons of Benin to the crude impact of the slave trade. This compelled a culture of grooming girls in the art of war. By the 1800s, the number of she-warriors in Dahomey was estimated in the thousands.
Another version of history traces the roots of the Amazons to Queen Hangbe who ruled after the death of her twin brother, King Akaba. She is credited for building an army of spinster warriors who were recruited and trained at an early age.
Their initial role was royal bodyguards until they were conscripted into an army by King Gezo between 1818 and 1858. They embodied women empowerment in all their endeavors as they sought to outshine men in every aspect of their life. They were considered well organized, better trained and braver than their male counterparts.
The Amazons, to many, represent the feminine strength and the voice of women in an underrepresented society.
Source: The story behind the giant bronze Amazon statue in Benin – Face2Face Africa