Gbe-speaking farmers, hunters and lagoon fishermen between the Mono and the Ouémé: the Aja round Tado and in the Couffo valley, and the peoples who later became the Fon of the Abomey plateau, the Gun of the Porto-Novo lagoon and the Xwla and Xweda of the coast.
Almost all of them trace their origin to Tado, and some further back to Ketu in the Yoruba country. The kingdoms that made this coast famous (Allada, Savi of the Xweda, Abomey of the Fon, Porto-Novo) were founded between the fifteenth and the seventeenth century, so on 1 January 1200 the Aja live in villages and small chiefdoms; Tado itself may already have its king, dated about 1000 in one account and later in others.
Who holds it
- Title
- The Anyigbafio ('king of the land') of Tado, if the kingship already stands; otherwise the lineage and village heads
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Self-governing; no overlord. No event dated.
Customs
Lineage heads and earth shrines; the vodun cults; salt boiling and fishing on the lagoons.
Assemblies
Village and lineage councils; at Tado, the king with the lineage heads (tradition).
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event.Depends on: Not applicable Stopped by: Not applicable
Where the sources disagree
- The Aja origin traditions run in both directions (from Ketu to Tado, and from Tado to southern Benin); their dates (about 1000, thirteenth century) are not anchored by archaeology.
Evidence: Late oral traditions; no excavated site of the twelfth century is cited for this coast.
On the map: A people's country drawn as a dashed outline; borders are approximate.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.