Waistbeads and War

When Dedevi set out from her ancestral home in Atakpameh of Old Dahomey, she did not know that her journey would take her into a new life in Porto Novo, and then in Old Eko. In a culture where arranged marriages were the norm, she left her exalted position in Dahomey’s female Ahosi army, eloping with the Chief of Ajase, and becoming the matriarch of an old Lagosian family. Her decision leads other women to challenge the dynamics of traditional marriage. This historical romance retells the story of Dedevi’s choices and the relevance they have to challenges facing today’s African women. In the oral style of ancient griots, it unfolds in West Africa around the Abolition of the Slave Trade and traces the tribal conflicts and interwoven cultures of modern day Togo, Benin, and Nigeria.