The Aŋlɔ military, led by the Aʋadada — a hereditary leadership role — as War Minister, operates three wings, which together are known as: Aʋalɔgomefiawo, or Generals. The Aʋadada is Fiagã of the Dome — centre wing; the Ɖushifia is the Fiagã of the Ɖushi — right wing; and the Miafia is the Fiagã of the Mia — left wing. All three Kings traditionally resided in Aŋlɔgã. This permitted the Awɔmefiã, as the Aŋlɔ King of Kings, or Emperor, to summon the Aʋalɔgomefiawo at his convenience.

The war oracle, arsenal and food stock were kept in Atsifoame, where the Aʋadada traditionally resided with a council of military intelligence — known as the Aʋadzikpɔlawo. Atsifoame, a reservist war camp, provided reinforcement and ammunition for all the three aforementioned wings. In the event of war, the caution signal was by a distribution of corn seeds, through the Major General, to the Aʋakplɔlawo, or captains, of all brigades.

The number of corn seeds allocated to a brigade indicated the preparation time and specific day for attack. Everyday each Major General put by a corn seed, and on the final day, with only one seed left, the respective brigade proceeded to war. It was tradition for the Woe division to fire the first bullet, followed by the Lashibi or Aklɔbɔwo division, and finally, the Adɔtri, from the privileged central position they occupied, would attack the enemy to mark the commencement of war.

Military strategy and tactics were strictly concealed Aŋlɔ Empire secrets. The Agave clan of Aŋlɔ were exclusively entrusted with the sacred mysteries of the Aŋlɔ Empire’s military. A series of histrionic rituals and ceremonies were held within temples, under the auspices of the Togbui Nyigbla and the Aʋadada, performed to purify and purportedly make all warriors invincible to guns, swords, spears and arrows. This string of rituals was also a technique to sieve out soldiers who were fit for warfare.

The Aŋlɔ Empire’s military consisted of the entire effective male population. Aŋlɔ warriors were valiant and renowned for fearlessness. They triumphed, against all odds, over endless incidences of external aggression. It was the dream of every Aŋlɔ citizen to die in active service to the fatherland, rather than to perish by natural causes. Death on the battlefield was regarded as the most honourable form of civic achievement. In fact, by custom, Aŋlɔ Warrior-Kings were installed on the battlefield.

King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II served as Dufia — or City Ruler — of Anyako and Miafiagã of the Aŋlɔ Empire from 1873 and died on 18 June 1911, after he succeeded General Dzokoto I, his father, a mastermind for coordinated schemes of military expansion, who previously served in the same capacity from 1825-1866[1]. General Dzokoto I notably led the successful Datsutagba war effort and siege of the Keta Fort in 1865-1866, for which he was awarded, by the Omanhene of Akwamu, Nana Akoto, a laurel of valour.

Legend has it that King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II, after a dastardly assassination attempt by the Kingdom of Great Britain’s armed forces stationed at Keta, famously vanished into thin-air, leaving behind a cloth. This cloth was presented to Queen Victoria as a museum showpiece.

After Alakple, Kodzi, Fiawu and Dudu were burnt to ashes by the British, Miafiagã Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was forced into exile together with eminent members of the Yeʋe secret society, military personnel and royal servants[2]. All across Aŋlɔ, symbols of royal wealth were wrecked before the day was through. He returned to his ancestral home, Ŋɔtsīe, and lived there for almost a decade.

He later voyaged to German-administered Lomé, then referred to as Bey Beach, and petitioned the elders of Aveɖotui land for territory. He chose a site near Gaƒe, within close proximity from the Ziɔ River — the ancestral home of the Aveɖotuitɔwo. The elders initially pleaded with King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II to choose another site, since their people were never prosperous there.

But after much hesitation, the elders accepted his request. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II offered the Aveɖotuitɔwo: Ɖu ketre ɖeka — one keg gunpowder; Aha adzafi etɔ — three demijohns of rum; and, Atama aɖaka ɖeka — one box of tobacco. After a year, King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II transformed his territory into a prosperous society, to the surprise of the Aveɖotuitɔwo.They named King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II’s settlement ‘Tɛŋgɛ Kpedzi’ — which means ‘the stone on which Tɛŋgɛ sat’— at Gaƒe to honour him.

King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II took this as an opportunity to reorganise his military — and launched a chamber of commerce. He posted a regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Adabragã Preku, at Tsikalẽkɔƒe, the main entrance of his newly acquired territory. Tɛŋgɛ settled another regiment at Anyro, commanded by Lieutenant Kpogo, to ward off vandals from the Adzanju end. He subsequently embarked on visits to Assahoun and Tsevie, where other Aŋlɔs were domiciled, to develop relations with them.

James Ocloo remained behind at Tɛŋgɛkpedzi to deal with any correspondences and other confidential matters at the Aŋlɔ consulate of King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II then toured the rest of Togoland to form a network of aristocrats and merchants.                                                                              

King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was introduced to the German Governor-Resident in Lomé and enjoyed the full patronage of the German Government. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II became pro-German and favoured Otto von Bismarck’s foreign policy of non-interference in Eʋe affairs.

Until the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, Bismarck was disinterested in Africa, yet eventually felt it necessary to colonise Togo in response to Great Britain’s scramble for territorial power. Representatives of the German Government, from Lomé, visited the Aŋlɔ consulate at Tɛŋgɛkpedzi regularly, especially over the weekends.

United by a common enemy, Great Britain, the Germans and King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II established a formidable alliance. When King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II constructed a military depot, with an enormous horse-stable, the Germans provided the required financial backing. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II began to recruit and train new soldiers.

Colonial officers of Great Britain, domiciled in Keta and Cape Coast, heard of the German-backed rearmament programme of King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II in Togoland, and grew suspicious of his increasing political influence. The colonial officers viewed this as a direct threat to British monopoly within the Gold Coast, and were prepared to ceasefire.

The British handpicked and lured a handful of perfidious Aŋlɔ statesmen with bribes and gifts. They, in turn, provided the colonial office with information about Miafiagã Tɛngɛ Dzokoto II and his Batɛ clansmen. William Henry Klutse Kobla Chapman, former District Commissioner of Keta, travelled to Togoland and formally initiated dialogue with King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II. They assured King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II that the motive behind the ardent request for his presence by the British in the Aŋlɔ Empire was not at all ominous.

These treacherous few encouraged King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II to lead an Aŋlɔ delegation to Accra, Gold Coast and discuss a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Great Britain, as the official guest of the British Government.

W. H. K. Chapman cautioned King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II not to journey extravagantly, with the usual pomp and pageantry, but to show up unannounced. By the time King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II reached Kedzi, news had quickly spread and a mammoth crowd of Aŋlɔ citizens flocked to welcome the formidable Warrior-King. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II had no choice but to address the commoners.

He kept his speech concise, and said to the jubilant crowd: ‘Nyemegbɔ ɖe aʋa dzi o. Amesiame neyi aƒe. Mayi Gɛ agbɔ na mi loo’.

‘I have denounced all wars and hostilities against the British. Everyone must return to his base camp. I am bound for Accra and shall return unharmed shortly’, King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II declared.[3]

King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was received by a government envoy and temporarily lodged at the Keta Fort. He led a delegation of senior Aŋlɔ statesmen and boarded the S. S. Adolph Woeman ship from the Keta Beach to Accra. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II sailed for Accra with Chapman, Ƒomenya, Kwasi Ahīakonu and the colonial District Commander, Mr. Obrien.

A report was made to the Governor that King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II had arrived at the Christiansborg Castle. The Governor ordered that King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II should be locked in the cell. No sooner had the officer-in-escort locked the door of the cell before he came to find King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II outside of the cell, with a snuff-box in hand, calmly seated, one leg over the other, as he stroked his long beard. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was thrice locked up in the cell but thrice came out.

After the plot failed, King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II and the Aŋlɔ leaders were graciously received into the official residence at the Government House, Osu, Gold Coast. After a few days of relaxation and round-table diplomatic activity, a conference was convened. King Tɛngɛ Dzokoto II led the Aŋlɔ-Anglo peace talks. The British expressed embarrassment and apologised for all the battles, and referred to their turbulent history as a trial of strength between two brave belligerent cocks.

They acknowledged that he was the greatest Warrior-King they had met among the Aŋlɔs. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II, at the conference, was declared paramount ruler from the Volta estuary down to Ave Afiaɖenyigba.

The British offered to expand the royal palace of King Tɛngɛ Dzokoto II as compensation for the ruins of countless edifices they had destroyed at Anyako. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was recognised as the Supreme Ruler in Aŋlɔ, or the Awɔmefiã, with authority to adjudicate in all matters civil and criminal within the Empire.

King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II thanked the British Government and replied: ‘Your hospitality to me and my team has been wonderful. I am deeply grateful for your fund of goodwill and for your recognition of me as paramount ruler of the Aŋlɔs’. The Awɔmefiã-elect discussed and agreed to the peace terms.[4]

After 21 days of diplomatic negotiations at the Osu Castle, the British Governor ordered that 50 soldiers and bearers escort King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II and the Aŋlɔ deputation back to Aŋlɔgã, Aŋlɔ Empire. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was carried in a palanquin all the way by the beach through to Anyako. The Awɔmefiã-elect’s delegation was seen off with 21 Kegs of gunpowder, 21 cases of stork gin and 21 rifles. The journey to Aŋlɔ took 7 days.

When the delegation reached Aŋlɔgã, a great durbar of royals and commoners, at the insistence of the British Government, was held. The peace terms were then read over to Aŋlɔs. Cannons and artillery were fired to salute and celebrate the heroic return of King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II. The British, once more, presented King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II to the Aŋlɔ Empire and recognised him as the supreme traditional ruler.

The King thenceforth continued, along with the convoy, the trip back home to Anyako. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II enthralled onlookers with a display of mystical powers as he crossed the lagoon. The convoy successfully entered Anyako and slumbered at the grand three-storey palace of the King. This bastion of governance functioned as a permanent residence, courthouse and guesthouse. The next morning, after a delightful banquet, he bade them farewell. King Tɛŋgɛ Dzokoto II was a legendary military genius and a mesmeric royal.

Reference:

Charles M. K. Mamattah, The Eʋes of West Africa.

V. L. K. Djokoto is Managing Partner at D. K. T. Djokoto & Co and Editor-In-Chief of the Accra Evening News. He is an avid chess player, music enthusiast — regularly watches the Accra Hearts of Oak.

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[1] Sandra E. Greene, West African Narratives of Slavery: Texts from Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Ghana, p. 161

 

[3] Charles M. K. Mamattah, The Eʋes of West Africa, p. 433

[4] Charles M. K. Mamattah, The Eʋes of West Africa, p. 435