Note 341 — Chapter XII

When travellers talk of an African week, they unconsciously allude to the great markets, which give their names to the days, and which recur at different intervals in different places. Here there are four. The first is the Ajyahi, in Agbome: it was Ajyahi day on Saturday, February 6, 1864. The second is the Miyokhi, a large market at Kana; also the Uhun-jro, in Agbome: Sunday, February 7, 1864, would be called Uhun-jro day. The third is the Adogwin, at Kana, and the Fousa, a little provision market, near the Dahome Palace. The fourth is the Zogbodomen, near Agrime; also the Ako-de-je-go, near the Gau’s house at Agbome. The word means Ako (family), de (one), and jego (tuck up clothes to fight). All these old names are mysterious, and little known to the people—the missionaries call them “parables,”—and they admit of many interpretations. Some explain it by, “If the King leave his crown to one son, the rest must obey him”; others by, “If any people boast their valour, let them come to Dahome and see.”