Kétou

Kétou is one of the oldest Yoruba towns in Benin, founded long before Dahomey and defended by earth walls of which the Akaba Idena gate survives, a stone and earth structure that was the main entrance. The town is a centre of Gèlèdè, the masked performance honouring the power of women and elders that UNESCO recognised as intangible heritage shared between Benin, Nigeria and Togo. A royal court still functions there.

History

Kétou is said to have been founded by Ede, a grandson of Oduduwa, who ruled the Yoruba kingdom of Ife, and its king bears the title Alákétu. Many Gbe-speaking peoples, Ewe, Adja and Fon among them, trace their origins to Kétou, which their oral history calls Ketume or Amedzorfe, place of human origin, and the Ketu North and Ketu South districts of Ghana are named after it; Dahomey conquered the town in 1886, and it was restored under the French protectorate in 1893 (Wikipedia, Kétou, Benin).

The main sights

• The Akaba Idena gate - the surviving entrance of the old town walls.
• The Gèlèdè tradition - the masked performance the town is a centre of.
• The royal court - the palace and court still functioning in the town.
• The Yoruba foundation - a town predating the Dahomey kingdom.

When to go

November to February is the cool dry season. Gèlèdè performances follow occasions rather than a calendar. Market days bring the town to life.

Things to know

Gèlèdè performances cannot be booked and depend on occasions. The gate is the only substantial survival of the walls. Facilities for visitors are minimal.

Nearby

Porto-Novo is southwest, and the Nigerian border is east.

Key facts