IV.

Society

Dahomeans measured wealth in the number of people attached to an individual or family. Slaves, especially female slaves, were welcome additions to families because they provided farm labor and increased a family’s wealth. The children of slaves were normally considered members of the families of their owners, and over several generations the stigma of slavery tended to be lost.

Dahomean society practiced polygamy. Marriage was expensive since a husband had to give gifts to the family of the bride (bridewealth) and perform labor for her parents (brideservice). Wealthy women also might “marry” other women or acquire slaves. Women and men who wanted to rapidly expand the numbers of their dependents would find a mate for some of their wives or slaves. The children of such relationships were considered to be children of the “husband,” the person who had legal authority over the wife or slave, regardless of the biological parents.

Social and family relations were hierarchical, based on age. Each person within a family had a unique place based upon the moment of his or her arrival in the family. Wives held seniority depending upon when they had moved into the household; older children outranked younger ones regardless of gender; and even twins were ranked according to the time of birth.

Cross-cutting the kinship system and respect for elders were social distinctions based on wealth. Individuals might become wealthy in service to the king. They would be honored with a title that gave them rank in their lineages that rivaled the authority of the lineage heads. The royal family thus undercut the independence of lineages.

Religion in Dahomey involved the worship of gods or Vodun (known derogatorily as voodoo in the Western Hemisphere). There were two kinds of Vodun: popular Vodun (gods associated with natural forces and mythic figures) and royal Vodun (deified members of the royal family). In the 1800s the category of royal Vodun was extended so that people of common birth who were closely allied with royalty could also see their ancestors deified.