Dahomey's Royal Architecture

Dahomey's Royal Architecture examines the West African kingdom of Dahomey, located in present-day Republic of Benin. The book explores the Royal Palace of Dahomey's relationship to the religious, cultural, and national identity of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Dahomey (c. 1625-1892), colonial Dahomey (1892-1960) and post-colonial Benin (1960-present). The Royal Palace of Dahomey covers more than 108 acres and was surrounded by a wall over two miles long. When the French colonial army arrived in Abomey in 1892, the ruling king set fire to the palace to keep it from falling into enemy hands. Though much of the palace structure was subsequently left to ruin, a portion of it was restored from which the French ruled for a short period. In 1945, the colonial administration transformed part of the palace into a museum, and in 1985 the entire palace was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list. This book documents the palace's physical transformations in relation to its changing purposes and explores how the space maintained religious significance despite change. The palace's construction, destruction, and restorations demonstrate how architecture can be manipulated and transformed according to the agendas of governments or according to the religious and cultural needs of a populace. The palace functions as a historic record by discussing aspects of documentation, revision, language, and interpretation. Covering almost four centuries of Dahomey's history, this book will be of interest to researchers and students of African art and architecture, religious studies, west African history, and post-colonial studies.

Lynne Ellsworth Larsen is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA.

List of Figures Introduction The Palace's Plan, Fabric and Function Chapter Outlines Methodology and Acknowledgments Chapter 1 - The Fish that Escaped the Net: The Establishment of Dahomey Coding Gender: Hangbe Interpreting and Capitalizing on the Code: Agadja Conclusion Chapter 2 - Like a Jar with Many Holes: The Palace in Pre-colonial Dahomey Instability in the Eighteenth Century The Contributions of Tegbesu, Kpengla, and Agonglo Reshaping the palace and succession: Adandozan Architecture of Power and Reception: The Palaces of Guezo and Glele Conclusion Chapter 3 - The Foot that Stumbled but did not Fall: The Palace under Colonial Rule Fire and Restoration: Behanzin and Agoli-agbo I Setting up Government: Victor Ballot and the Palace Agoli-agbo's Exile and the Rise of the Chefs de Canton The Formation of the Historic Museum of Abomey and l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire Interpreting Dahomey through France's Civilizing Mission The Museum in its Colonial Context Chapter 4 - The Shark and the Egg: The Post-colonial Palace Modernization of Materials The Palace's Official Partnership with UNESCO Cooperative Projects in the Museum The Museum as a Post-colonial Entity Conclusion Chapter 5 - Nothing can Force the Buffalo to take off his Tunic: Dahomey's Palace in Contemporary Abomey Royal Vodun Religious Purposes of the Pre-colonial Palace: Funerary Architecture and the Grand and Annual Customs Tohosu and Nesuwhe Dadassi The Gandaxi Conclusion Chapter 6- Conclusion Bibliography Index