PYRAMID OF YEWE

History of the Eʋe Speaking People

 

Flag of the Eʋe Speaking People.
T
he Proto-Eʋe Speaking People, or the «People from the Great Valley» (of the Nile River).
Many people never ask where the name «Eʋe» given to a whole social group comes from. And they also rarely ask when and how this name started to be used for this social group. But anthropological, historical, spiritual and linguistic Facts (see among other Authors Amenumey 1986, De Brosses 1760, Djikstra 1991 & 2009, Dohnani 1988, Folikpo 2007 & 2017 cited in the References) prove that the Proto-Eʋe Speaking People have been named in reference to their settlement along the Nile River prior to the pre-dynastic period in the History of ancient Nubia and of ancient Egypt. The term Eʋe meaning “Valley” or “Shallows” till nowaday has been used since that time for a composite social group that is strongly tied through the following Facts:
  • the use of the same Language (an old variant of Gbè named as Proto-Gbè in Linguistics, see Capo 1988 & 1991 cited in the References);
  • the sharing of the same cosmogonic and spiritual Values that rely on the permanent and Triadic Equilibrium in the whole Divine Creation (see Folikpo 2017 cited in the References);
  • the mastering of certain economic activities such as the extraction and the transformation of Iron, of Cupper, of Silver, etc. (see the video further about Gunu Dudji near Dogbo)
  • the great importance given to the collective Memory through Orality over the generations (see for example Avogbedor 1985 cited in the References).
Through his own Field investigations on the topic concerning the Etymology of the Ethnonym Eʋe, the young Togolese Sociologist Dr. Albert Koussito also found out (according to personal communication done to the Author) that the Eʋe Speaking People have developped since their departure from the Valley of the Nile River a psychologically deep preference to live always in a Valley where they can easily find fertile Soils for Farming and rich subterranean Mines for the extraction of Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold and other precious materials. He pointed out that even the Eʋe Speaking People living today in mountainous regions like Agu, Kpalime, Danyi, Ho, Hohoe, Kpandu etc. always show this spontaneous liking for Life and Work in the surrounding valleys, albeit their Forefathers have settled down in the hills and mountains for security reasons in the last four or three centuries during the awful Atlantic Slave Trade. The Proto-Eʋe Language was one of the Languages used for initiatic, for pedagogical and for liturgical purposes in ancient Nubia and in ancient Egypt (see for example Dohnani 1988 & Folikpo 2007 cited in the References). Other thorough works done by many eminent Researchers (see among many Authors Diop 1956, Kubik 1994, Reisner 1923, Wachsmann 1964 cited in the References) have demonstrated that many social groups started to migrate from the ancient Egypt towards the South-East of Africa (namely towards Nubia where the Egyptian High Culture and Civilization originated from) and towards West Africa around 1475 B.C. (that is, before christian era!) , as show by the map below:  

Map describing the Migration waves in ancient Africa from the Nile Valley to South-East Africa and to West Africa. (Map reproduced from illustrations of Gerhard Kubik and Paul Klaus Wachsmann)

The Publications mentioned above and in the bibliographical References have demonstrated already how the Concept of the Divine Triple Triad (named with the term Yeʋe, see Folikpo 2007 & 2017 cited in the References) is a typical Concept from the Eʋe Speaking People and how this term like many others have been borrowed by other social groups like the Hebrews since the ancient times during their stay in the antique Egypt and Nubia. These Publications have also explained already how the Proto-Eʋe Speaking People had/have a deep astronomic and astrological Knowledge about the Cosmos. A typical proof of this deep astronomic and astrological Knowledge is the Fact that the Eʋe Speaking People and the Dogon Speaking People for example were/are some of the rare social groups who knew/know a lot of things about the Triple Constellation of Sirius since the antique times and about the relationship between this Constellation of Three Stars and the Triad made of the Sun (Ɣe or So-Gbó), of the Moon (Ɣeletí or So-Ví) and of the Earth (Anyí or Dò-So). The Three Stars building this Constellation are known in the Eʋe Language till nowaday as So-Gblɛn (or Nyi-Gblɛn), as So-Dza and as So-Wlí, as it has been explained by the former German Researcher Jakob Spieth in his seminal Works on the Eʋe Speaking People (see Spieth 1906 & 1911 cited in the References).  


Illustration of the stellar constellation of Sirius according to the description done
by Jakob Spieth and according to the Oral Traditions among the Eʋe Speaking People.

T
he Proto-Eʋe Speaking People in the ancient multi-ethnic Meroitic and Kushitic Kingdoms.

Oral Traditions among the Eʋe Speaking People and works done by the italian Anthropologist and catholic Priest Roberto Pazzi (see Pazzi 1979 cited in the References) mention that the ancient town known as Ada-Dam (that is Ad-Damir) was a very important station during their Migration southwards and westwards. Ad-Damir was an ancient and multi-ethnic town in the Kingdom of Meroë (see map below) that played a major role over centuries, as the archeological findings testify it till nowaday (see the map and the image below).  







Ancient settlements of the Proto-Eʋe Speaking People in the area of Ad-Damir in actual Sudan, according to various works in the fields of Archeology, of Areal-Linguistics and according to the Oral Tradition of the Eʋe Speaking People.
(Credit Map & Photo: DPA Themendienst / Philipp Laage)

The fact that the Gbè Speaking People (namely the Eʋe People and the Fɔn People among others) share the same spiritual corpus and philosophical practice of Afa (or Fa) with the Yoruba Speaking People, and the fact that all these people draw this Knowledge system back to the ancient Nubia let assume that they all lived together in that Kingdom. The Kingdom of Kush and Meroë started to fall down progressively by ca. 600 B.C. (that is, before christian era!), when invaders from the Near East (especially from the Assyrian-babylonian Kingdom, actual Irak) arrived with the pernicious practice of Tamkaru (see Deller 1987, Lange 2011b & 2011c cited in the References). The Tamkaru in the Assyrian-babylonian tradition is a group of royal clercs that were sent together with Military to settle down by force in a foreign country and set up there commercial infrastructures and networks for their own profit and for the profit of their country, no matter what are the essential needs of the local population. It can be viewed therefore as a kind of colonizing or a kind of suzerainty (see Lara Peinado et al. 2009). The arrival of these invaders from the Near East in the Kingdom happened at a time when the whole region was facing a drastic climate change through severe droughts. Socio-economic problems coupled with security problems and with political weakness of the Kingdom have forced the Eʋe Speaking People and the Yoruba Speaking People to move southwards to the sub-saharan regions in order to found new Kingdoms.

T
he Eʋe Speaking People in the ancient multi-ethnic Kingdoms of Bini (Benin), Ɔyɔ (Oyo) and Ilɛ-Ifɛ (Ile-Ife).

  The legendary migration routes (shown by dotted arrows) and the really possible migration routes (shown by continued arrows) of the Yoruba Speaking People together with other social groups in the ancient times preceding the christian era. (Copyright Dierk Lange)

In contrary to some Authors (see for example Lange 2011a cited in the References) who want to pay attention to the theory of the so-called “lost tribes of Israelites in Africa” by misinterpreting these successive Migrations from Egypt and from East Africa towards the sub-saharan regions and by stating that the Yoruba and the affiliated social groups were Israelites that came from Canaan, there is no linguistic, archeological or genetic evidence proving that the Eʋe Speaking People and the Yoruba speaking People might find their far origin in the ancient Canaan of the Israelites or in the ancient Assyrian-babylonian Kingdom (actual Irak). Even the cosmogonic Values, the religious practices (inculding the names of the Deities) and the spiritual life of these two social groups have no concrete similarity with those of the Babylonians, of the Assyrians or of the Israelites in Canaan. Of course, the region of Canaan as well as other regions in the Near East and in the North-East Africa has been colonised successively by the ancient Egyptians, by the Assyro-Babylonians, by the Hittites and the Persians. And indeed wars and the seek for security have always forced social groups to migrate from a place to another. But these social groups always keep over the generations some linguistic Patterns, some cultural Behaviours like Music, Dance and Dressing, some spiritual and religious Values as well as some social Structures that enable to find out their origin and their historical backgrounds easily.



Opa Oranyan at Ilɛ-Ifɛ.

The city of Ifɛ is regarded in the History of the Yoruba Speaking People and in the History of the Eʋe Speaking People as their common holy City and as their common first settlement while arriving from the Kushitic and Meroëtic Kingdom before spreading in the region to found or to enlarge other cities like Ɔyɔ (Oyo), Bini (Benin city) and Keto (or Ketu). The Oral Traditions at Ilɛ-Ifɛ (Ile-Ife) till today around the Staff of Oranyan (Opa Oranyan, see the Image at the left) talk about the mythical Ancestors Adjaka (or Ajaka) and Eweka (or Eʋeka) who were two sons of Oranyan and who went to found the City of Ɔyɔ (Oyo) and the City of Bini (Benin city). The Names of these two mythical Ancestors let assume that the Origin of the Adja (or Aja) People and of the Eʋe People as well as their strong Tie to the Yoruba People are evoked through this orally transmitted lore. Some serious archeological studies on the Iron industry in Ifɛ (see for example Rehren Tilo & Ige Akin 2003 cited in the References) confirm that the foundation of this city took place during Late Iron Age (that is around 300 A.D., in the actual christian era).

T
he Migration westwards of the Adja and Eʋe subgroups: Transit over Keto (Ketu) and the Foundation of the Tado Kingdom.
Recent archeological works done in Benin on subterranean structures and on mining industry (see please Randsborg 1998 & 2005 cited in the Referenes) show that former allegations of some Historians (see for example Amenumey 1986 cited in the References) trying to explain the migrations of the Adja and Eʋe subgroups westwards from Ɔyɔ (Oyo) and Ilɛ-Ifɛ (Ife) as the consequence of warfares coming from the Yoruba are untrue. These Migrations from East to West around 900 A.D. seem to have rather economic, technological and ecological motivations. The quest for more fertile Soils to practice extensive agriculture (especially the cultivation of yams and cereals that are the main food crops in the whole West Africa over centuries) was obviously the first main economic motivation for these people to migrate from their hometown. The second important economic and ecological motivation was to find fresh Forests for hunting and for medicinal plants. The third important motivation comes from the technological and geographical expansion of the Mining Industry through the extraction and the transformation of Iron, Cupper, Silver, Gold and other materials. The video below that has been recently made on the ancient Mining site of Gunu Dudji near Dogbo (in the actual Republic of Benin) explains clearly these objective motivations behind the various Migrations from East to West as mentioned above:
One of the first important stops for the Eʋe Speaking People and the Adja Speaking People during their Migration from Ɔyɔ (Oyo) and Ilɛ-Ifɛ (Ife) was the town of Keto (or Ketu). The Toponym Keto means litterally the “City of the Ké People“. Then the word To refers to the legislative Body of a Community, according to the West African Ancestral political Philosophy, as it is explained in details HERE In contrary to some untrue allegations from some Historians, this city was not founded by the Yoruba People, but rather by the first Inhabitants called the “People of Ké“. This social group called Ké had a special Knowledge of Fa/Afa/Ifa that is conserved and practiced till nowaday under the name Fa Tsa-Ké/Afa Tsa-Ké particularly in Keto/Ketu and its areas (see Verger 1968 & 1996 cited in the References). The Migration of the Eʋe Speaking People and the Adja Speaking People from Keto/Ketu to Tado took them to two social groups who were already the first Inhabitants in the region by that time! Oral Traditions in Tado till nowaday and anthropological Works done by Roberto Pazzi (see please Pazzi 1979 cited in the References) account that these first Inhabitants were the Alu social group and the Aza social group. The origin of the first group (Alu) might be found on the side of the Sorko/Bozo social group that lives till today in majority along the Niger River (or Kwara). The origin of the second group (Aza) might be found in the area of the actual Northern Ghana where a former social group splitted in two subgroups to flee away from the violent islamic Jihad that was spreading rapidly since 7th Century A.D. through the whole West Africa. One of these subgroups from the actual Northern Ghana was later the Founder of the Bono State (see for example Effa-Gyamfi 1979 & 1987 cited in the References) which development evolved later to the Foundation of the Asante empire. The map below illustrates the Migration routes of all these social groups that evolved to the Foundation of the Tado Kingdom around 1000 A.D.. It shows also the subsequent Migrations from Tado to the whole sub-region:

Map showing the major Migrations that lead to the Foundation of the Tado Kingdom, to the Foundation of the Ŋɔtsie Kingdom and to the «Breakout» of the Eʋe Clans from Ŋɔtsie (Notse). (Copyright: PYRAMID OF YEƲE)

Two main economic and technological activities that the Eʋe Speaking People brought with them from Ɔyɔ (Oyo) to Tado were the technical and spiritual Knowledges about the extraction of Iron (Gayibɔ in Eʋègbè) one hand, and the technical and spiritual Knowledges for the very important Profession of Blacksmith (Gbɛdɛ in Eʋègbè) on the other hand. Iron was/is not only needed to produce Tools for agriculture, for household and for fishing, but to produce also Weapons for hunting and for warfare! And the Blacksmith who was/is the Professional that could/can transform Iron into Tools and Weapons occupied/occupies a high social Status and played/plays a very important role in the political and military affairs. The extraction of Iron was/is done by making excavations or by digging Pits (Dò in Eʋègbè) that were/are so deep and large that people could/can consider them as the most important Pit by adding to this word the superlative Morpheme “-gbó“. This Morpheme of the superlative (“-gbó“) is typical in all variants of Gbè (Adjagbé, Eʋègbè, Fɔngbe, Gungbe, Wacigbe, etc.) till today and can be found in other composita like Ségbó (the highest cosmic Principle/Law, that is God), Aɖúgbó (the biggest Pincer), Sogbó (the most visible Source of natural Fire, that is the Sun), etc. It is clear therefore that the compositum Dògbó referring to a Town (in the actual Republic of Benin) means litterally “the deepest Pit“. And it might be clear also that the people who dig this deepest Pit or work in it to extract Iron would be called “Dògbóawó” that means litterally “People of the deepest Pit“. It is clear finally that the Eʋe Speaking People have received the nickname “Dògbóawó” , not after their arrival in Ŋɔtsie (Notse) as some Historians claimed it, rather in the Kingdom of Tado in respect to one of their main economic and professional activities consisting in the Extraction of Iron from the deepest Pits!
The Power and the Glory of the Kingdom of Tado began to decline around the end of the 15th Century A.D. when it got involved in repeated wars against the Kingdom of Ɔyɔ (Oyo) and against the Kingdom of Bini (Benin) who had the full political control over the City of Gbagle (or Badagry, in the actual Federal Republic of Nigeria close to the border with the Republic of Benin) and who were trying to extend their influence to Keto/Ketu from where a part of the people of Tado migrated some generations earlier. The political problems got worse in Tado with internal conflicts among members of the royal Families about the line of succession to the throne. One of the consequences of these internal conflicts was the departure of a clan known as “Agasuvi-Clan” who went to found another Kingdom at Allada (in the actual Republic of Benin) that evolved later to the Foundation of the famous Kingdom of Agbome (Abomey). Other clans who were in majority from the Eʋe the Speaking People left Tado by the same time and moved southwards to settle down in some localities like Kóme (or Come, in the actual Republic of Benin), like Tɔkpli (or Tokpli, not so far from the Mɔnɔ-River) or like Tɔgodo (known today as Togoville on the banks of Lake Togo). The worst economic and social Factor in this chaotic historical context was the introduction of the awful Atlantic Slave Trade by the European Slave Traders who had brought all these Kingdoms to downfall. By the beginning of the 16th Century A.D. the Kingdom of Tado was no more so powerful, and other localities like Ŋɔtsie (Notse) started to develop more political influence.


T
he Migration of the Subgroup of the Eʋe Speaking People westwards and the Foundation of Ŋɔtsie (Notse).
The Foundation of the Kingdom of Ŋɔtsie (Notse) can be understood objectively without any hegemonic or ideological misinterpretation of historical Facts, only if the complex exchanges and relationships of the anterior Kingdom of Tado (that preceded the raise of Ŋɔtsie as a City-State) with its direct neighbours in the East and in the West are understood correctly. While the relationships and the exchanges between the Kingdom of Tado and the Kingdom of Ɔyɔ (Oyo) over the City of Keto/Ketu in the East have been studied intensively by many Historians, little attention has been paid to its exchanges and relationships with its neighbours in the West during the period from ca. 1100 A.D. to 1620 A.D. These neighbours in the West were the first Inhabitants in the region comprised between the actual Mount Agu (or Agou in the actual Republic of Togo) and the banks of Lake Volta in the actual Republic of Ghana, since ca. the 9th Century A.D.. These first Inhabitants were the Akposso People (scattered in small settlements mainly in the mountains from Mont Agou to Mounts Danyi/Akposso) and the Guang People (i.e. the Akpafu People) in the region around the actual Town of Hohoe (actual Ghana), as it has been accounted by some serious historical Studies (see for example Dickson 1969 cited in the References). The early exchanges and relationships between the Kingdom of Tado and its western neighbours by the beginning of the 11th Century A.D. concerned mainly the trade with Salt coming from the area of Guezɛn (Ghezin) and with Iron coming from the area of Dogbó. The landlocked people offered in turn towards Tado all kinds of Fruits, wild Game and Yams. The peacefull Guang People (who migrated in the region very probably from the North-East Africa around the 9th Century A.D. by fleeing away from the violent islamic Jihad, see Froehlich 1968 cited in the References) are well known since the ancient times till today as very skillfull Blacksmiths who can produce all kinds of Tools for Agriculture as well as all kinds of Weapons for Hunting and for Defense. They might have offered also their Expertise to the people of Tadowhere there were also Castes of Blacksmith beside the Castes of Mine Diggers. The locality of Ŋɔtsie has been founded at that time as a small hamlet on the trade route between Tado and the landlocked areas, just to serve as resting locality for the carriers and traders. Oral Traditions at Ŋɔtsie account that the Founder of this hamlet is called Tɔgbui Afɔtchɛ who was a humble Farmer and Hunter. With the progressive development of these commercial exchanges the small hamlet became around the 14th Century A.D. a kind of meeting market for both people coming from the landlocked areas and people coming from the East and the South-East. The progressive weakening of the Kingdom of Tado as a consequence of repeated fratricide wars against the Kingdom of Ɔyɔ (Oyo) for the exclusive political control over the City of Keto/Ketu and as a consequence of internal struggling for power among members of the royal Families as mentioned in the previous paragraphs has lead many clans to migrate progressively from Tado to Ŋɔtsie.
The frequent fratricide and weakening wars between the Kingdom of Ɔyɔ and the Kingdom of Tado by the beginning of the 16th Century A.D. and the impact of the growing Atlantic Slave Trade on these Kingdoms have brought the people of Ŋɔtsie to fear for their Security. They started to set up gradually their own Security Policy as well as their own local administrative Policy without expecting any empowerment coming from Tado as before. The massive immigration of the Akwamu people towards the banks of the Lake Volta by the beginning of the 17th Century A.D. (see for example Wilks 1975 cited in the References) has increased the fear of the people at Ŋɔtsie for their Security and for their political Freedom. The first attempts of the Akwamu people to create tributary relationships with the social groups living on the banks of the Lake Volta in an environment where the Atlantic Slave Trade was increasing have brought the people of Ŋɔtsie to transform their town in a City-State having all functional political and economic Structures and to protect this as well as its Inhabitants by building a very tick Wall as Fortifications all around, as shown by the Image and the Drawing below:

Restored Ruins of the Wall known as «Agbògbò».
(Credit: Togo Tourisme)



Map of the defensive Fortifications known as Agbogbome around the City-State of Ŋɔtsie (Notse).
(Credits: Angèle D. Aguigah / Nicoué L. Gayibor)



The decision to transform the town of Ŋɔtsie (Notsie) into a City-State having all these functional Structures and the decision to build these protective Fortifications around the City-State were not the sole initiative of King Agɔ-Kɔli (who was the third or fourth King), but rather of the whole Council of the Elders and Dignitaries (Dumegãwo), in contrary to the untrue allegations of some people. It was a hard Work to build and to maintain permanently such Fortifications over many Kilometers all around the City-State under a high psychological pressure due to possible attacks from the Akwamu warriors. Then these neighbouring warriors were really able to organize raids at any time against their neighbours to rape captives for the booming Slave Trade. Under these hard conditions people did not enjoy their activities on the building site day and night, and there was a risk that the whole project fails. The Monarch Agɔ-Kɔli used therefore to be severe towards lazy and crafty citizens who wanted to live in Security without willing to pay any price for it! Disobeant and defiant citizens were punished therefore severely, NOT through any Death Penalty, as some strange Myths try to propagate it fallaciously over the generations, but rather through the heavy Augmentation of the Work Load! It doesn’t even make any sense, that a Monarch (no matter how wicked he is) should try to eliminate massively his citizens who constitute the Manpower he needs crucially to perform very important Public Works in his own interests at a critical moment!
Many citizens started to understand over the time that the Fortifications called “Agbògbò” that were built all around the City-State of Ŋɔtsie because of a supposed Security Threat from the Akwamu Kingdom is being used by the Monarch Agɔ-Kɔli rather for Mind and Social Control over his Fellows in the city. Then the citizens could notice that the villages and hamlets that were scattered through the whole region from Mount Agu (or Agou in the actual Republic of Togo) to the banks of Lake Volta (also known as Amugã, in the actual Republic of Ghana) were not attacked frequently and constantly by the Akwamu warriors! They could also understand that people living in these villages and hamlets might have surely their own defensive and/or diplomatic Strategies, Means and Resources to face any military and/or political hegemony coming from the Akwamu Kingdom. Another crucial socio-economic aspect related to the life inside the limited space of the City-State of Ŋɔtsie is the rapid demographic Growth of the Population in contrast to limited Soils and Fields that are needed to develop more dynamically the socio-economic activities over the time. These are the objective reasons why many Clans of the Eʋe Speaking People decided to leave the City-State of Ŋɔtsie progressively and in a semi-clandestinity (in small groups), but NOT in form of a “spontaneous and massive Exodus”, as the secular Myths use to tell it over the decades.


T
he «Breakout» of the Eʋe Clans from Ŋɔtsie (Notse), the Foundation of the Eʋe Chiefdoms and the Formation of the «Eʋeland».
Many negative Myths and Tales have been forged prior to the colonial times about the Wall and Fortifications called «Agbògbò» at Ŋɔtsie (Notsie). Many people ask till today if these negative Myths and Tales originate really from the Eʋe Speaking People themselves since their departure from their hometown Ŋɔtsie, or if these Myths and Tales have been forged rather by European travelers, European Slave traders and European churchmen who were well established in the whole West African region since the 17th century A.D. (that is, since 1610 at least!) and have often invented such negative Myths and Tales about African Emperors, about African Kings and about African resilient social groups who were hostile to the brutal European invasion in Africa. Then it is well known, that these European adventurers and their African accomplices have intentionally written negative and untrue stories about African Monarchs and about African social groups, just to demonize them as «uncivilized people» in order to justify later why they need to be enslaved or colonized.
  • The first negative and surrealist Myth about «Agbògbò» at Ŋɔtsie (Notsie) is that this Wall long of more than 12 Kilometers all around the City, having a thickness of circa 2 meters and a height of circa 2.5 meters as shown by the picture in the previous paragraphs, has been built with Mud and Clay mixed with human Blood (!)
  • The second negative and fancy Myth about «Àgbògbò» is that broken bottles and broken glasses have been put in the Mud and Clay by the ‘wicked and tyrannical Monarch‘ (sic!) Agɔ-Kɔli who forced the workers to mix the Mud and Clay barefoot.
  • The third fancy Myth about «Agbògbò» is how the whole population could escape one night from these Fortifications in the manner of the hypothetical «exodus» of the Hebrews out of Egypt, because a crevice has been made secretly by all women who have agreed to pour their dirty water at one place on the wall to make it wet and permeable.

But by watching closely the historical context and the geographical configuration in the City-State of Ŋɔtsie from the 17th to the 18th Century A.D., these Myths and Tales can hardly resist to the concrete Facts and to any sane Logic. The Map below illustrates this historical context and the geographical configuration that enable a clear understanding of the so-called “Breakout” of the Eʋe Speaking People out of the City-State Ŋɔtsie:




Map showing the different suburbs of Ŋɔtsie (Notse) inside the defensive Fortifications known as Agbogbome. The pointed field all around was private areas for Agriculture, for Livestock, for Hunting and for other economic activities.
(Credits: Angèle D. Aguigah / Nicoué L. Gayibor)


The first objective Remark to be made by watching closely the Thickness of the Wall shown by the picture above and by watching closely its Length (12 Kilometers at least!) all around the City-State concerns the alleged Use of Human Blood to mix the Mud and the Clay during the construction. Any person with a sane Thinking would like to understand how many Millions of Human Beings might have been killed massively at once to get enough Human Blood for such a massive construction! It is clear therefore that the funny story about Human Blood used allegedly during this construction was a silly and dirty Hoax that has been forged many years later with the intention to “demonize” King Agɔ-Kɔli (who was the third or fourth Monarch of the City-State), but also to make naive people believe that their History is full only of bloody and violent episodes. The second objective Remark should be focussed on the allegation about broken bottles and broken glasses mixed with the Mud and the Clay during the construction, with the allegedly ‘malvolent’ intention of the Monarch to torture the workers. The incredible nature of this funny story is demonstrated by the fact that Bottle and Glass were very precious items that were not produced in that part of West Africa at that time, but rather introduced by European traders through the business with wine and liquors. Any person with a sane Thinking would like to know how many tons of Bottle and Glass should be broken and mixed with the Mud during the construction of such a huge Wall! This person should also ask himself or herself how much King Agɔ-Kɔli might have spent to buy from the European traders the required quantity of Glass and Bottle for such a frivolous way to punish disobeant citizens! It is clear in this case also that the story about broken bottles and glasses in the Mud was a silly and dirty Hoax that has been forged many years later with the intention to “demonize” King Agɔ-Kɔli, but also to make naive people believe that their History is full only of bloody and violent episodes. The third Remark concerns the most stupid story about a crevice made allegedly in the thick Wall by pouring collectively and constantly dirty water at a single point. The geographical configuration of the City-State shown by the Map above indicates clearly that the protective Wall was far away from the houses. It is therefore unbelievable that all women used to carry their dirty water over many Kilometers towards this single point! And one should ask also objectively how many years all women in the town have been doing these household chores till a crevice could be drilled in this thick Wall! All these open and objective questions without any objective answer show that the story about an alleged “breakout through a crevice” was also a silly and dirty Hoax that has been forged many years later. If other stories account that the Akposso People living in the hills and mountains in the North-West of the City-State could also find refuge inside the Fortifications during crisis times, it is clear that the Inhabitants of Ŋɔtsie as well as outsiders who had trusted contacts with the City-State could move in and move out without any great problem. In respect to all these objective historical Facts, any person having a sane Thinking should ask today why the gradual departure of some Eʋe Clans to settle down outside of Ŋɔtsie has been presented later as a «Breakout» (sic!) and as an «Exodus» (sic!) of a whole Community fleeing away from an allegeldy tyrannical Monarch. The answer to this question is to be found in the political Struggles and in the ideological Intentions at that time. At the political level, the collapse of the Kingdom of Tado since the end of the 16thCentury A.D. had opened the way to the emerging of new Kingdoms as offshoots. The first offshoot was in the East and was the Kingdom of Allada that evolved later to the foundation of the Kingdom of Dahome (or Agbome) by the beginning of the 17th Century A.D.. This situation had empowered the Elders and Dignitaries of Ŋɔtsie to make of their modest Town a powerful City-State that could also evolve gradually to a Kingdom able to play a major political role in the region beside the Kingdom of Dahome. Such a political hidden agenda of the Elders and Dignitaries for an expansion was stopped later in the West by the immigration of the Akwuamu people by the begining of the 17th Century A.D. towards the banks of Lake Volta ( or Amugã ) where they founded their Kingdom beside the different Eʋe-Chiefdoms that emerged after the progressive departure of many Clans from Ŋɔtsie. By claiming that the City-State of Ŋɔtsie was the common Capital from where all Eʋe-Clans escaped under difficult circumstances (even though it is not historically true!), the newly founded Eʋe-Chiefdoms just wanted to define themselves as a homogeneous Political Entity face to the Dahome Hegemony in the East and face to the Akwuamu Hegemony in the West. The success of this political strategy of Unity is illustrated by the bright Military Victories of the Coalitions of the modest Eʋe Militia Armies (Aʋakalɛnwo in Eʋegbe) over the very strong Asante Armies and over the very strong Dahome Armies during the 18th and the 19th Centuries A.D. At the ideological level, the mythical «Exodus» of the Eʋe Speaking People out of Ŋɔtsie seems to pursuit the simple goal of Self-Legitimation, of Self-Esteem and of Self-Glorification. The main idea behind this Self-Legitimation, behind this Self-Esteem and behind this Self-Glorification is that the Eʋe Speaking People that are structured through their local Chiefdoms must be considered globally as an autonomous, free and pragmatic political Entity beside the famous Kingdom of Dahome, beside the famous Kingdom of Akwamu and beside the powerful Kingdom of Asante, even though their previous Dream to set up also a famous and powerful Kingdom in Ŋɔtsie could not be fullfiled completely. The early linguistic, historiographic and litterary Works done by the first European missionars and their African followers and helpers since the beginning of the 19th Century A.D. (see for example Schlegel 1857 & 1906, Henrici 1891, Knüsli 1892 and Reindorf 1895 cited in the References) have absorbed these Myths without any deep and objective Investigation and without any systematic Reconstruction of the historical Facts from the perspective of the concerned people. These Works have even tried to stylize and adapt the Myths of the Eʋe Speaking People to the biblical myths about the Hebrews such as the funny story of the 40-years-“Exodus” out of Egypt, so that they appeared later as the “standard and official History” of the Eʋe Speaking People. Of course, these Myths have helped people over generations to be proud somehow of their cultural and linguistic Identity that goes beyond geographical and political boundaries. A concrete illustration of the constructive aspect of these Myths is the bi-annual celebration of the Festivities of «Agbogbozã» that bring Representatives of all the Eʋe Speaking People together, no matter which Citizenship, which political Opinion or which religious color they have. But it is necessary today to go beyond these Myths in order to restore objectively the Historical Truths in the interest of the forthcoming generations. Then a social group or a Community that had lost its True History is no more able to understand in the present some concrete Facts, some significant Events and some decisive Orientations for a better Future with new Challenges. That is why the Motto of the Eʋe Speaking People still remains the following:
Xoxoanu wo gbi na yeyea ɖo. (A new Rope is always woven by following the Patterns of the previous.)

Short Overview of the Timeline of the recent History of the Eʋe Speaking People.

Dates (Estim. & Dates)  Migrations/Historical Events
(Given Dates are Estimations and precise Dates in some cases.)
From ca. 900 A.D. to 1000 A.D.
  • Migration of the Adja-subgroup from Ɔyɔ (Oyo) to Tado under the leadership of Tɔgbui Anyi : Foundation of the Tado Kingdom together with Aza-subgroup and the Alu-subgroup.

  • Migration of the Eʋe sub-group from Ɔyɔ (Oyo) to Keto (Ketu), then later to Tado: Mining activities for the extraction of Iron on the site of Gunu Dondji near Dogbo and nickname «Dogboawo» given to the Eʋe Speaking People in Reference to these mining activities near Dogbo.
ca. 1200 A.D.
  • Migration of the Hwe-subgroup from Tado to the region comprised between the Mɔnɔ River (or Mono) and the Kuvo River (or Kuffo): Foundation of the town Adjahome.

ca. 1250 A.D.
  • Migration of the Ayizɔ-subgroup from Tado to the region comprised between Lake Ahe and Lake Nɔxwɛ (Nokoue) in the East.
ca. 1300 A.D.
  • Migration of the Xwla and Xweɖa-subgroups to the coastal region: Foundation of the towns Agbanakɛn, Guezɛn (Ghezin) and Glexwe (later known as Ouidah).
ca. 1450 A.D.
  • First Contacts between the Portuguese Seemen and West-Africans.
ca. 1500 A.D.
  • Migration of the Clan Agasuvi (known later as the Fɔn-subgroup) to the South-East : Foundation of the Allada Kingdom with the Ayizɔ-subgroup.

  • Migration of the Dogboawo (known previously and later as Eʋeawo) from Tado to the West under the Leadership of Tɔgbui Afɔtchɛ: Foundation of the Ŋɔtsie (Notsie) Kingdom.

ca. 1600 A.D.
  • Downfall and decadence of the Tado Kingdom after several wars against the Ɔyɔ Kingdom.

  • Beginning of the horrible Atlantic Slave Trade between these social groups in the Gbè-Cluster and the European Slave Traders who started this dreadful Trade about more than 100 years earlier with other coastal social groups, kingdoms and empires like the Futa Tooro Kingdom and the Jolof Empire (both in actual Senegal), like the Gã Kingdom (in actual Ghana), like the Benin Kingdom (also known as the Edo Kingdom, in actual Nigeria) and like the Kingdom of Kongo (in actual Democratic Republic of the Congo, actual Republic of the Congo, actual Angola and southern part of the actual Gabon).
ca. 1680 A.D.
  • Migration of the Gɛn (or Guin) subgroup as a splitter-group of the Gã Kingdom from Gɛngbó (or Accra) to the East : Foundation of the Glidji Kingdom.
ca. 1700 A.D.
  • Migration of the La subgroup from Labadi and the Ningo (or Nungo) subgroup from the area of Gbugble (between the Adan Lagoon and Gɛngbó/Accra) which are all splitter-groups from the Gã Kingdom towards the East : Foundation of the town of Anɛxɔ (or Aneho/Anecho) with the Anɛ (or Adjigo) subgroup which was the first occupant of the area between Gbàgà (or Lake Togo) and the Atlantic Ocean by that time.
ca. 1720 A.D.
  • Successive Migrations of several Clans of the Eʋeawo from Ŋɔtsie (Notsie) to the South, to the South West and to the North West to flee away from the hard work required by their King Agɔ-Kɔli for the construction and the maintenance of the Fortifications known as Agbògbò.

  • Foundation of the so-called Eʋe-Chiefdoms (Eʋedukɔwo) in the whole actual Eʋeland together with the first Inhabitants.
From ca. 1750 A.D. to 1860 A.D.
  • Many other subgroups like the Kpessi migrated later to the sub-region and adopted the existing social and political structures.

  • Many Descendants of former Slaves known later as the «Brasilians» came back from the Americas after the abolition of the Slave Trade and joined the existing social groups by adopting the used Languages, as well as the existing social Values and the local political structures.
From 1869 A.D. to 1875 A.D.
  • War of the Asante (or Ashanti) Kingdom against the Western Eʋe-Chiefdoms : Military Defeat of the strong Asante Army by the Eʋe Militia Armies.


    (The Asante General Adu Bofo who fought against the western Eʋe-Chiefdoms.
    Credit: www.face2faceafrica.com )


  • War of the Dahome (or Dahomey) Kingdom against the Gɛn-Chiefdoms and the Eastern Eʋe-Chiefdoms : Military Defeat of the strong Dahome Army by the Eʋe and Gɛn Militia Armies.


    (One of the Amazons of Dahomey who fought against the Gɛn-Chiefdoms and
    the Eastern Eʋe -Chiefdoms. Credit: Frederick Forbes)
5 th July 1884
  • Treaty of Protectorate signed by the German Consul Dr. Gustav Nachtigal in the name of the German colonial Empire with Supreme Chief Mlapa III of Tɔgodo (township renamed later as Togoville by the French colonial Administration) : Beginning of the violent German colonial History among the Eʋe Speaking People and Creation of the German Colony of Togoland comprising the Eʋe Speaking People as well as other social groups in the landlocked regions.

August 1914 A.D.
  • Germans were defeated in Togoland by the French and the British colonial Armies: the whole Togoland was divided in two zones that were ruled respectively by the British colonial Administration in the Gold Coast and by the French colonial Administration in Dahomey.

  • The Eʋeland as well as the Territories of all other social groups have been divided by an artificial frontier from the South to the North, as consequence of the end of the German colonial Rule.

  • Mandate of the League of Nations to France over Eastern Togoland (from 1919) and Beginning of the violent French colonial History in the actual Republic of Togo

Since 1945 A.D.

© K. Kofi FOLIKPO, PYRAMID OF YEƲE, 2002 – 2020, All Rights reserved.

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