View Single Post
  #1  
Old 18-May-17, 22:40
al89 al89 is offline
Senior Member
Points: 5,775, Level: 32 Points: 5,775, Level: 32 Points: 5,775, Level: 32
Activity: 0% Activity: 0% Activity: 0%
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Gender: Male
Posts: 454
Thanks: 462
Thanked 1,259 Times in 314 Posts
Default Dahomey Amazons - real historic elite all-female army unit (circa 1650-1900, Africa)

Here are some articles about them, truly incredible and unique story

[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

The Dahomey Amazons or N'Nonmiton, which means "our mothers" in Fon, were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the present-day Republic of Benin which lasted until the end of the 19th century.

They were an elite all-female army unit of the African Kingdom of Dahomey and the women warriors in the unit were enrolled at a young age, some as early as 8 years old. They trained intensively in combat and in physical exercise (I read somewhere that this included wrestling) as well as in survival skills their entire life. They had to be virgins and practice chastity, loyal only to the king. Because of their special upbringing and total devotion to discipline and elite training all their life they started to vastly exceed the abilities of the male soldiers of the kingdom! They were also much more courageous and fanatical in battle. Because of that they became the elite force, superior to their male compatriots. Some of them also held prominent positions in the kingdom.

They didn't show much mercy to their enemies and returned home with the heads and also genitals of their opponents, as was the custom in the region at the time. Imagine how humiliating it must have been for the males of the defeat tribes to be beaten by an all-women unit and then literally emasculated by them. They were also literally enslaving men as the Dahomey organized slave raids, capturing their neighbors and selling them to the European slave trade.

As the European colonial influence started to spread over Africa the Dahomey tribe started to fight against the French in two wars. Naturally, these Amazon women were at the forefront of the war. When the French soldiers initially saw them they underestimated them and paid dearly. Many of the French soldiers fighting in Dahomey hesitated before shooting or bayoneting the Dahomey Amazons. The resulting delay led to many of the French casualties.

The Dahomey were only defeated after the French brought the reinforcements from the French foreign legion and much more technologically sophisticated weaponry like the machine guns. The legionnaires later wrote about the "incredible courage and audacity" of the Amazons. Dahomey women would also kill French officers pretending they were prostitutes and then kill them in bed. The Dahomey Amazons were the last unit to defend the kingdom.

Apparently, P. C. Wren's 1917 book of short stories Stepsons of France contains a story called "Here are Ladies," describing a series of clashes between troops of the Foreign Legion and the Dahomey Amazons.
Reply With Quote
The Following 12 Users Say Thank You to al89 For This Useful Post: