The Aja are an ethnic group of native to south-western Benin and south-eastern Togo.
According to oral tradition, the Aja migrated to southern Benin in the 12th or 13th centuries from Tado on the Mono River, and c. 1600, three brothers, Kokpon, Do-Aklin, and Te-Agdanlin, split the ruling of the region then occupied by the Aja amongst themselves: Kokpon took the capital city of Great Ardra, reigning over the Allada kingdom; Do-Aklin founded Abomey, which would become capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey; and Te-Agdanlin founded Little Ardra, also known as Ajatche, later called Porto Novo (literally, "New Port") by Portuguese traders and the current capital city of Benin.
Those Aja living in Abomey mingled with the local people, thus creating a new people known as the Fon, or "Dahomey" ethnic group. This group is now the largest in Benin. Another source claims the Aja were the rulers of Dahomey (Benin) until 1893, when the French conquered them. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 Ajas in an area straddling the border between Benin and Togo, 50 kilometres (30 miles) long and 30 km (20 mi) wide.
The Aja speak a language known as Aja-Gbe, or simply 'Aja'; only 1-5% are literate in their native tongue. According to one source, voodoo originated with the Aja. There are three dialects: Tàgóbé (in Togo only), Dògóbè (in Benin only), and Hwègbè (in both countries). Many are trilingual, also speaking French and Fongbe, the lingua-franca of southern Benin, while Ewe is spoken as a second language by those Aja living in Togo and Ghana.
Due to severe land shortages in the densely populated Togolese-Beninois border region mentioned above, many Aja have migrated in recent years, seeking arable land for subsistence farming or work in urban centers. There are a significant number of Aja living throughout the coastal region of Benin and Togo, southern Nigeria and Gabon. The urban centers of Cotonou, Lome, Lagos and Libreville all have significant Aja migrant populations.
The Aja, Fon, Ewe, Ga-Adangbe accounted for most of the people carried to the Americas from the Bight of Benin, Togo and Ghana in the transatlantic slave trade prior to the late eighteenth century (when Yoruba people became the more common captives from the region).
The Aja, or Adja, is the result of numerous settlements in the Central Southern region of Togo, where the Alu, the Azanu or Za and the Aja-Ewe met and united.
Tado is therefore the ancestral site of the Aja community and, during the colonial period, remained an isolated city.
Tado is today a small city located in the South-East of Togo, 3 km from the border with Benin and 15 km from Tohoun, in practice it is a border village and a city forgotten by the Togolese authorities; unfortunately this ancient ancestral city, rich in history, is in ruins.
Tado, however, is the place where, in September, a great festival celebrates the flourishing past of the city and of the powerful king Togbui Anyi, the founder of the kingdom.
At this celebration participate the sons and daughters of the Aja people of all social level, dispersed during the Diaspora following the fall of the kingdom, to go to Tado on this occasion is a sort of pilgrimage.
Because of the fall of the kingdom and the serious shortages of fertile land, in the Togolese-Beninese border region, many Aja emigrated, looking for arable land for subsistence agriculture or work, in urban centers.
Today, this population has about 500,000 people; there are a significant number of Aja living throughout the coastal region of Benin and Togo, in Southern Nigeria and Gabon.
The urban centers of Cotonou, Lomé, Lagos and Libreville all have a significant population of Aja migrants.
Note that de the Aja in South Sudan is a different ethnic group than de Aja in Togo and Benin.
Demography and GeographyThe Aja is a small ethnic community divided into two sections: The largest section living close to the Banda inhabits the upper parts of Sopo River; The smallest section is found scattered around Raga town. |
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The environment in which the Aja live in is similar to that described by the fertit tribes of western Bahr el Ghazal. The Aja economy like others, are predominantly agrarian and their activity is essentially subsistence. They keep fowl and goats.
The real name of Aja is Gbaya and their old home was at Gbotu, north-west of the Naka near the Buma . During Zubeir’s period they were ruled by Nur al Anqara representative of Suleiman but their tribal leader Mereke, spent most of his time with this overlord.
After Suleiman’s fall and during the subsequent Mahdiya, the Aja shifted gradually northwards to Mbere, Angbaya, Mukpa together with the Banda and other tribes as a result of being pressured from the south by Rafai’s raids. They settled on Kumu and Mbangana rivers but were badly beaten by Sanusi forcing them to flee into Bahr el Ghazal.
Those Aja living in Abomey mingled with the local tribe, thus creating a new people known as the Fon, or "Dahomey" ethnic group. This group is now the largest in Benin. Another source claims the Aja were the rulers of Dahomey (Benin) until 1893, when the French conquered them. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 Ajas in an area straddling the border between Benin and Togo, 50 kilometres (30 miles) long and 30 km (20 mi) wide.
The Aja speak a language known as Aja-Gbe, or simply 'Aja'; only 1-5% are literate in their native tongue. According to one source, voodoo originated with the Aja. There are three dialects: Tàgóbé (in Togo only), Dògóbè (in Benin only), and Hwègbè (in both countries). Many are trilingual, also speaking French and Fongbe, the lingua-franca of southern Benin, while Ewe is spoken as a second language by those Aja living in Togo and Ghana.
Due to severe land shortages in the densely populated Togolese-Beninois border region mentioned above, many Aja have migrated in recent years, seeking arable land for subsistence farming or work in urban centers. There are a significant number of Aja living throughout the coastal region of Benin and Togo, southern Nigeria and Gabon. The urban centers of Cotonou, Lome, Lagos and Libreville all have significant Aja migrant populations.
The Aja, Fon, Ewe, Ga-Adangbe accounted for most of the people carried to the Americas from the Bight of Benin, Togo and Ghana in the transatlantic slave trade prior to the late eighteenth century (when Yoruba people became the more common captives from the region).
The Aja language is a crossbreed between Kresh and Banda.
In terms of social organisation, language and traditions, the Aja are very close to the Kresh on the one extreme and the Banda on the other. This gives credence to the idea of being a crossbreed between the two tribes. The tribe has been affected by raids, foreign domination and oppression that most of their social norms and customs have been lost or eroded. In this context there is need for further research into the social organisation of the Aja. It is therefore pertinent that Aja people reading this page to kindly consider contributing to the knowledge
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