The Adja-Fon, the majority inhabitants of the South
The city of Tado, in present-day Togo, is the cradle of the southern Beninese peoples of Adja origin. The migration of these peoples is associated with a legend according to which the daughter of the king of Tado met a harmless panther one day, which gave her a son named Agasu a few months later. Raised at the court of the kingdom, he then became the father of many children. One of them, Adjahuto, killed the crown prince and fled with Agasu's skull and spear to Allada, where he founded a kingdom. His sons became kings: Meidji reigned over Allada, Zozérigbé over Porto-Novo and Do-Aklin over the Bohicon region, and the nephew of the latter, called Houégbadja, created the kingdom of Abomey. Their descendants are the Adja (in Aplahoué), Xwla, Xuéda or Huéda (on the coast), Ayizo (in Allada), Mahi and Gun (in Porto-Novo). But the most important branch related to the Adja is that of the Fon, at the origin of the powerful kingdom of Abomey. As the Adja group moved eastward, it assimilated with the existing Guedevi and probably Yoruba peoples. The Adja thus became the Fon, who later migrated eastward to Cové and Kétou, and northward to Savalou and Ouèssè. The numerical superiority of the Fon is very clear; they alone constitute 40% of the population. The Gun are in the majority in Porto-Novo and represent 15% of the population. The peoples of Adja origin and assimilated peoples thus represent more than half of the Beninese population and are essentially concentrated in the south of the country. The Fon have a strong presence in the Beninese administration and in the army. The importance of this ethnic group is reflected in the common use of the Fon language in everyday life.
The Yoruba, people from Nigeria
The Yoruba, called Nago in Benin, occupy the southeast and center of the country. Originally from present-day Nigeria, the Yoruba have been established in Benin for a very long time. It is said that Odudua, the mythical ancestor who founded the city of Ifé in Nigeria, sent his sons to found new kingdoms. The descendants of the kingdom of Ifé created the kingdoms of Savé and Kétou. Comprising 12% of the population, the Yoruba are concentrated in the southeast and east-central parts of the country. Most are traders and dominate the Dantokpa market in Cotonou. The Nago, who live further north of Porto-Novo, are mainly engaged in agriculture. Finally, the Afro-Brazilians, descendants of freed former slaves who returned from Brazil, are also of Yoruba origin and were distinguished in the past by their high level of education.
The Bariba, the horsemen who conquered the Northeast
Coming from Busa in Nigeria, the Bariba horsemen invaded Borgou about 500 years ago. Their chief was named Sounon Séro, and one of his descendants, Séro Sykia, founded the city of Nikki, which became the center of a powerful feudal kingdom that included the kingdoms of Kouandé, Parakou, Kandi, etc. The Bariba are mainly found in Borgou in the northeast of the country and make up 9.6% of the Beninese population. They are differentiated according to their social affiliation. There are the Wassangari, the aristocracy of horsemen from Busa, the Gando, formerly slaves and now farmers or artisans, and the commoners, also farmers or artisans, who are descendants of pre-existing populations. Finally, the foreigners, Fulani herders or Hausa traders, constitute the last social component. Unlike the Yoruba and Adja, the Bariba practice a traditional religion centered on the worship of ancestors and genies. However, they are increasingly open to Islam, as evidenced by the growing number of mosques in the north.
The Fulani, the nomads of the North
Also known as Fulbe and Fulani, the Fulani have been the subject of much research into their origins. Scattered throughout West Africa, this people of pastoralists is probably descended from populations that inhabited the Sahara during the Neolithic period and that painted the frescoes of Tassili. Nomads and cattle breeders, some have been Islamized (black Fulani), others have kept their traditional beliefs (red Fulani). In Benin, the Fulani cohabit harmoniously with sedentary peoples and are mainly found in the north of the country, grazing their herds of cows in the Niger River valley. They represent 7.1% of the population. Each year, at the end of the rainy season, the entire community gathers in Kandi to celebrate the great festival of Gereol. Cattle are their main source of wealth. They accumulate it in anticipation of drought, dowry and traditional exchanges, and they exchange milk for millet or manufactured goods.
Dozens of other ethnic groups
Among the forty or so other ethnic groups spread throughout Benin, the Betammaribé, known as Somba (6.9% of the population), have lived around the Atacora mountain range for several generations. This people took refuge in the mountains to escape the Bariba horsemen and the slave raids of the kingdom of Abomey. The Berba, the Yowa from Togo, and the Gulmaceba from Burkina Faso then joined this group. There are also the Dendi, who left Mali in the sixteenth century by going down the Niger River and who now live in the northwest of the country. As for the Mina (2.8% of the population), they originated in Ghana and populated the Grand-Popo region where, together with the Xweda of Adja origin, they formed the Popo, a term probably given by the Portuguese.
Dialects... and French of course!
The official language is French, and it is often also the language of communication between different ethnic groups, as it is the language of instruction in school. In general, therefore, those who have not attended school and who live in disadvantaged areas or remote villages do not master French. The majority of people in the south speak Fon, while Bariba and Dendi are the most widely spoken languages in the north. On the Nigerian border, Yoruba or Nago, in its local version, is heard, but there are many other languages: Adja-Ewé, Ditammari..
