Amazons of Black Sparta The Women Warriors of Dahomey Alpern, Stanley B.

Hurst & Co.
Year of publishing: 1998
Place of publishing: London
ISBN: 1850653623
Language: English
Series: first

History is rife with tales of fighting women. More often than not, these stories prove more legend than history. Dating back to the amazons of ancient Asia Minor, myths of fierce, autonomous women of martial excellence abound.

And yet, the only thoroughly documented amazons in world history are the women warriors of Dahomy, an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western African kingdom. Once dubbed a "small black Sparta," residents of Dahomy shared with the Spartans an intense militarism and sense of collectivism. Moreover, the women of both kingdoms prided themselves on bodies hardened from childhood by rigorous physical exercise. But Spartan women kept in shape to breed male warriors, Dahomean amazons to kill them. Originally a praetorian guard, the Dahomeans developed into a force 6,000 strong and were granted semi-sacred status. They lusted for battle, fighting with fury and valor until the kingdom's final defeat by France in 1892.

Stanley B. Alpern has chronicled this remarkable history in depth for the first time. The product of meticulous archival research, Amazons of Black Sparta is defined by Alpern's gift for narrative and will stand as the most comprehensive and accessible account of the woman warriors of Dahomy.

Volumes

ALP_8.2. (Available)

Keywords

Xoliswa Ndoyiya: Ukutya Kwasekhaya

Xoliswa Ndoyiya: Ukutya KwasekhayaTastes from Nelson Mandela’s kitchen

A collection of recipes by Nelson Mandela's personal chef, this book contains the food served to visiting heads of state, celebrities, politicians for more than 20 years. Featuring some of the favourite former South African president's favourite meals including samp and beans, farm chicken, tripe, this book also features paella, peri-peri chicken, prawn curry, and myriad of other delights. With simple, delicious and nourishing recipes, it will interest those who wish to prepare meals that are both elegant and healthy.More

New arrivals

New titles in our library 12/2016

Our library has aquired a number of new and interesting books. Here is the list of the latest titles.

Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith
Fashion Cities Africa by Hannah Azieb Pool
Frantz Fanon: Toward a Revolutionary Humanismby Christopher Lee
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Robinson, James A., Acemoglu, Daron
Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures With the Ever-Living Poet by Edward Wilson-Lee
A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present by Richard J. Reid
Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture by Sarah Van Beurden
Children in Slavery through the Ages by by Gwyn Campbell, Suzanne Miers, Joseph C. Miller
Global Health in Africa: Historical Perspectives on Disease Control by Tamara Giles-Vernick
Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos by Gary Stewart
Women and Slavery, Vol. 1: Africa, the Indian Ocean World, and the Medieval North Atlantic by Gwyn Campbell
Women and Slavery, Vol. 2: The Modern Atlantic by Gwyn Campbell
Cahier d'un Retour Au Pays Natal by Aimé Cesaire
Healing Traditions: African Medicine, Cultural Exchange and Competition in South Africa, 1820-1948 by Karen Elizabeth Flint
Global Education Policy and International Development: New Agendas, Issues and Policies by Antoni Verger
Black Skin, White Coats: Nigerian Psychiatrists, Decolonization, and the Globalization of Psychiatry by Matthew M. Heaton