Warrior Women: The Amazons of Dahomey and the Nature of War

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Although warfare is typically conducted by men, in various places and at various times women have fought bravely and well, and in the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 19th century, they formed the elite corps of a successful army. Many European visitors to Dahomey commented favorably on their military bearing, finding them more impressive in discipline and maneuver than male Dahomean soldiers. When France invaded Dahomey in the early 1890s, their superior weapons won the war, but all those French officers and men who wrote about their bloody battles against Dahomey declared not only that these women warriors were superior to male Dahomean soldiers, but also that they were the equals of the French. Robert B. Edgerton describes the history of these "Amazons" (as they became known) and their recruitment, training, and battle experience. Of particular interest to scholars interested in culture and gender today, these women believed that in order for them to carry out their martial roles, they had to transform themselves into men. How this was done, how the Amazons lived and fought, and what their experiences might mean for the understanding of women and warfare both in the past and the present are the subjects of Warrior Women.


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In the West African Kingdom of Dahomey large parts of the professional standing army was composed of women who were acknowledged by many to be better soldiers than their Dahomean male counterparts and at least the equals of their 19th century French foes. Edgerton (anthropology, U. of California) examines their rise to military prominence beginning with the founding of an exclusively female palace guard for the Dahomean King and explores the implications of this for theories of the existence of gender hierarchies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


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