Were the Mino/Ahosi Lesbians?
Also called "Fon Amazons", the Mino/Ahosi were an all-female corps of soldiers who could fight as well as men on the battlefield. Is it true that they were same-sex attracted?
Such claims appear in Blackwood & Wieringa's (1999) Sapphic Shadows, in which they state: "The Amazons [Mino/Ahosi] fought in battle and were renowned for their prowess; it was said that no Amazon ever died with a wound in her back. The most attractive of them seduced enemy chiefs for reconnaissance purposes. Karsch-Haack mentions that these Amazons, who were not allowed to marry and have children, had hetaerae (female attendants or courtesans) at their disposal to serve them sexually (1911:480)."
This description of "hetaerae" originates in the writings of Richard Francis Burton.
"The Dahoman is essentially a polygynist; and the History is correct in asserting “The Dahoman women do not admit the embraces of their husbands during pregnancy, nor at the time of suckling, which continues two or three years, nor while under the catamenia, during which they retire to a part of the town allotted to their reception. The prostitutes, who in this country are licensed by royal autority, are also obliged to confine themselves to a particular district, and are subject to an annual tax.” The latter class, called ko'si (twenty-wife), because the honorarium was twenty cowries, is supplied from the palace; and the peculiar male and female system which pervades the court rendering eunuchesses necessary as well as eunuchs, demands Hetaerae for the women as well as for the male fighters. I was hardly prepared for this amount of cynicism amongst mere barbarians; although in that wonderful book, the “Arabian Nights,” which has been degraded by Europe into mere Fairy Tales, the lover is always jealous, not of his own, but of the opposite sex." (Burton, 1863)
"As a rule, these fighting célibataires [Mino/Ahosi] prefer the morosa voluptas of the schoolmen and the peculiarities of the Tenth Muse [Sappho]." (Burton, 1864, p. 68)
"In the Empire of Dahomey I noted a corps of prostitutes kept for the use of the Amazon-soldieresses." (Burton, 1886, p. 247)
As you can see, Burton doesn't provide much detail or evidence to support this claim. Authors from this time period were not always reliable in recording their observations, and other sources do not describe the Mino/Ahosi as same-sex attracted. As such, it is impossible to verify Burton's statements.
In Boy Wives and Female Husbands, Murray & Roscoe (2001) also describe the "Amazons" as having "masculine gender identification". Here, they cite the following writings of Frederick Forbes:
"The amazons are not supposed to marry, and, by their own statement, they have changed their sex. 'We are men,' say they, 'not women.' All dress alike, diet alike, and male and female emulate each other: what the males do, the amazons will endeavour to surpass..." (Forbes, 1851a, p. 23)
"Again all rise; whilst an amazon makes the following speech. 'As the blacksmith takes an iron bar and by fire changes its fashion, so have we changed our nature. We are no longer women, we are men. By fire we will change Abeahkeutah..." (Forbes, 1851b, p. 119)
However, Herskovits (1967) explains that these proclamations are "hyperbole" that was commonly used in the culture of Dahomey, and are not meant to be taken literally.
In conclusion, it is impossible to determine whether or not same-sex sexuality occurred among the Mino/Ahosi. It is not unbelievable, considering that it was an all-female battalion, and same-sex sexuality tends to be more common when individuals are isolated from the opposite sex. However, I would caution against associating them with "Queer" identity, as they continue to be a source of pride among the Fon in the present day.
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