Who Are The Dahomey Warriors? There’s a lot of buzz about The Woman King’s debut trailer, which is based on an actual tribe.
Viola Davis’ Nanisca leads the Dahomey clan, and we look closely at the all-female regiment.
Adapted to the true story of the Dahomey Amazons, The Woman King stars Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, John Boyega, and more. It was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Prince-Bythewood, Dana Stevens, and Maria Bello.
Is The Woman King Based On A True Story?
In fact, the events depicted in The Woman King are based on actual events that occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of Africa’s most powerful empires.
While Ruler Ghezo, played by John Boyega, is based on a real-life king, Nanisca and Nawi, played by Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu, are believed to be made-up characters.
Who Are The Dahomey Warriors?
This all-female military regiment is known as the Dahomey Warriors, also known as the Dahomey Amazons or Agoji, and it is based in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now known as Benin, in West Africa.
As “ahosi,” which translates to “king’s wives,” the Agoji called themselves, they grew into a force of 1,000 to 6,000 soldiers by the mid-1900s.
In the army’s first significant engagement, gunners and archers fought alongside huntresses and riflewomen with knives and clubs.
King Houegbadja, Dahomey’s third ruler, founded the Agoji, originally an elephant-hunting tribe, but they later transformed into warriors.
The Agoji defeated a neighboring kingdom in 1727, and King Ghezo in the 1800s instilled a sense of aggressiveness in the tribe.
The Dahomey warriors also inspired Marvel’s Dora Milaje from Black Panther, according to Distracify.
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