Kétou

The town of Kétou is located at the extreme north of the department of the Plate, in the south-eastern area of the République of Benign the. It is the Chef-lieu commune éponyme, which gathers 28 villages. The population of the city rises with 39.195 inhabitants according to the general census of the population of 2002. The town of Kétou is located at 140 km in the north of Cotonou and at 100 km of the capital Porto-Novo. The border with the Nigeria, is to 17 km in the east, in the village of Ilara. Kétou is a city mainly Yoruba (or Nagot), although the communities Fon, Mahi and Holli are strongly represented there. The city is also the seat of a very old Yoruba kingdom, recalling its origins directly with the cradle of the Yoruba people, with Island-Ife. The current sovereign, the king Alade Ife, was crowned 50ème Alaketu on December 17th, 2005.

Origins - of Ife with Ketou

The various tribes Yoruba recall all their origins to the town of Island-Ife in current Nigeria and to its founder Oduduwa. The dispersion and the migrations of Yoruba are the fact of the seven small children of Oduduwa, each one of them having created what is agreed to call the large Yoruba kingdoms, legitimate agents of the Yoruba crown. According to the tradition, Ketou is clearly regarded as an elder member of the Yoruba family. Indeed, with its death, Oduduwa left seven princes and princesses, ancestors of the various groups constituting the Yoruba people. Among them, the second child, a princess, became the mother of Alaketu, the ancestor of the Ketou people. According to the traditions of Ketou, certain Shopashan would be at the origin of the foundation of the kingdom. It would have left Island-Ife with its family and other members of her clan, to move towards the west, before settling finally in Aro, to the North-East of Ketou. Quickly, Aro became too small for the growing population of the clan, and the decision was made to seek a place more adapted to the needs for the group. New king Ede thus sought council near an old hunter of the name of Alalumon, which indicated the site to him of what was going soon to become Ketou. King Ede thus left Aro with 120 families and settled under the tree of the Alalumon hunter around whose the city was built and whose site is marked so far. The tour which led Ede until Ketou is still very present today in the memories and the traditions of Ketou since each new king must repeat it before his establishment. Thus, was founded the kingdom of Ketou such as it exists today. King Ede, although founder of the city, is only regarded as being seventh Alaketu, since it was preceded by six sovereigns by time by Aro.

First kings de Ketou

There does not exist any exact date concerning the foundation of Ketou and the estimates vary from XIe at the 14th century. The history of Ketou, like Africa as a whole, rests primarily on the oral traditions, often vague and contradictory. Thus, not large-thing is not known on the evolution of Ketou after the reign of king Ede. It however seems clear that Yoruba were not the first to be established in Ketou. The tradition indicates the former presence of an indigenous settlement in the area, in the village of Kpankou, a few kilometres from Ketou. The first Yoruba newcomers are indebted besides for them, since they lit their first fire thanks to the charity of certain Iya Kpankou. This gesture remained in the memory of Ketou, through a “ritual of the fire” which is held at the time of the death of Alaketu. With the advertisement of the disappearance of the king, any fire must be extinct in the city, while a Minister for the king goes to Kpankou to ask for fire in order to relight all the hearths with Ketou. Although relatively peaceful, the old story of Ketou is punctuated tensions and conflicts. The defense of the kingdom was partly assured by the existence impressive fortifications, still visible today. The walls and the kept door, single access to the city, were the work of the king Its, fourteenth sovereign of Ketou.

The fall of Ketou

From the 18th century, the history of Ketou enters during one time of disorders and conflicts, with for backdrop the competition which opposes the Fon kingdoms of Dahomey and Yoruba of Oyo. Serving as “buffer zone” between the two great powers, Ketou undergoes full whip the aggressiveness of the Dahoméens sovereigns and was committed in many battles with the kings of Abomey. A first incident of major importance proceeded close to Ketou in 1858, with the assassination of the king Ghézo in the village of Ekpo, a dependence of Ketou. The event caused a great agitation with Ketou. Fearing a Dahoméenne response, king Adegbede hesitated, thus attracting himself the lightning of his subjects. The general confusion, added to the unpopularity of the king, involved a fine tragedy since Adegbede was seen constrained to commit suicide. With the accession with the throne of the king Glélé, the Dahoméennes heats went then on the other Yoruba kingdoms. On both sides, one showed Ketou of complicity with the enemy and it seems indeed that the Dahoméenne army was accustomed to being supplied in Ketou. In 1883, a banal argument of provisioning involved the fury of Glélé which the Jura to break Ketou. In August, benefitting from a quarrel adverse Ketou and Ibadan, Glélé launched its troops on Ketou without defense. King Ojeku at once was captured and decapitated, whereas its kingdom was put at fire and blood by the army of Glélé. In spite of this crushing victory, king Glélé had not put an end to his hostility with regard to Ketou. With the rectification of Ketou, he sought other means for definitively demolishing his enemy. Learning by an adviser that the new military strategy of Ketou was primarily defensive, it launched in 1886 an offensive of scale against Ketou. The attack was of short duration and particularly loophole for the Dahoméennes troops, since the wall of Ketou proved to be insuperable. It was thus decided to encircle the city and to weaken it by the blockade and the famine. At the end of a three month old seat, Glélé personally supervised the total destruction of Ketou. The city was plundered, the temples and furnace bridges were destroyed and all the burned houses. The majority of the soldiers and people of Ketou were led attached until Abomey to endure shame and cruelty, while their chiefs were pitilessly carried out. It is necessary to wait eight years and the Dahoméenne defeat with the hands of the French troops of the Dodds general, to see the rebirth of Ketou. It is thus in 1894, under the reign of king Oyingin that Ketou is raised definitively. Since then, Ketou knew four sovereigns, of which current king Alade Ife, on the throne since December 2005.

Current king Alade Ife

At the end of the reign of the 49ème king Adetutu on September 3rd, 2002, and after consultation of Ifa oracle, the choice was related to called Basile Gbotche to take up the royal duty. Born in Ketou about 1948, it had made career in the public administration as a statistician with the Ministry for the Plan and the Development. It was crowned on December 17th, 2005 under the name of reign of Alada Ife - the carrier of the crown of love. Like all the kings before him, it was sacrificed to the ritual of the pilgrimage, taking again the route which led the first king of Nigeria until Ketou. Thus it went, to carry out the sacrifices of use, in Idofa, Imeko, Illikimou, Idigny, Irokogny and Opometa before entering in Ketou by the door Akaba Idena. Before being crowned, the king must also familiarize himself with the secrecies of his function. Thus, it will be initiated during several royal retirements with sciences divinatoires and with the religious affairs allowing him to exert takes care. Once these stages carried out, the king can officially take up duty.

Ketou today

Ketou is presented today in the form of a great rural community, still little developed. The essence of the saving in Ketou rests on agriculture and the trade. The completion of the road axes Ketou - Ilara and Pobé - Ketou should disenclose the city and make an important commercial crossroads of it. As chief town of the commune of Ketou, one finds downtown a certain number of services, of which a gendarmerie, a customs house, a military camp, a hospital, a receipt postal and telecommunications authorities, a bank of micro credit, several elementary schools and two colleges. The city is electrified and the tap water is available there. Moreover, Ketou profits from a twinning with the French city of Mothe-Achard (the Vendée) and since November 2006 with the town of Vauréal (Val of Oise). The mayor of the east city currently Mrs. Lucie Sessinou.

The cultural heritage, tourist and artisanal

Cité history, Ketou has several sites of interest. Tourism industry is not developed at all there although there are several hotels and inns, of which one of good standing. The visit of Ketou is articulated around the following sites:

the Palais Royal, where it is possible to meet the king;
the museum Akaba Idena (the magic door), where one find the fortifications of the city, the old single entry of the kingdom as well as many religious furnace bridges and Yoruba sculptures;
the Aïtan-Ola fetish, buried under a heap of refuse crowned, top which one has a unspoilable view of the city;
markets of the city, very animated and of which largest is the market Assena.

Moreover, one can on the spot find a great number of dances and religious ceremonies Yoruba (worship Orisha), like the masks Gueledes (classified with the world cultural heritage of UNESCO), Eguns, etc… To also note, the strong influence of the traditions of Ketou on the African religions of the Brazil. One finds in particular the Candomblé Ketu in the area of Salvador de Bahia.

Sources

Goeffrey Parrinder - Vicissitudes of the History of Ketu ;
Samuel Johnson - The History off the Yoruba ;
Justin Folahan - Special edition Crowning Alade Ife;
the Duck of North - edition from December 26th to 30th 2005.

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