Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh

She didn’t inherit command. She earned it with a sword. Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh was a leader of the Dahomey Amazons—an elite all-female military corps in the Kingdom of Dahomey, West Africa. In 1851, she led an army of 6,000 women into battle against the Egba fortress of Abeokuta. Her name means “God Speaks True,” and when she spoke, empires listened.

The Dahomey Amazons, formally known as the Mino (“our mothers”), were no ceremonial guard. They were trained in hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, and psychological warfare. Recruited from the king’s wives, volunteers, and captives, they were forbidden to marry and sworn to loyalty. They marched barefoot. They carried razors in their belts. They were known to decapitate enemies and deliver the heads to the king as trophies.

Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh rose through the ranks by sheer force of will. She was a commander under King Ghezo, who relied on the Amazons to enforce his rule and expand his territory. In 1851, he sent her to lead a campaign against the Egba people, who had resisted Dahomey’s slave raids and fortified themselves in Abeokuta. The mission was brutal. The fortress was strong. The resistance was fierce. But Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh led her warriors with precision and fury.

British explorer Sir Richard Burton, who visited Dahomey years later, described her as “a woman of action and authority.” Though the assault on Abeokuta ultimately failed, her leadership became legendary. She didn’t just command troops. She embodied the spirit of the Mino—unyielding, disciplined, and deadly.

The Dahomey Amazons were feared across West Africa. They trained with muskets, machetes, and clubs. They practiced storming thorn hedges and ambush tactics. In battle, they sang war songs and charged with terrifying unity. Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh was their voice, their blade, and their banner.

She wasn’t just a warrior. She was a symbol. In a world where women were often sidelined, she led thousands into combat. She stood at the front. She made decisions. She carried the weight of a kingdom’s ambition. And she did it without apology.

Modern historians debate the full scope of her life. Some accounts come from colonial observers, others from oral tradition. But her name endures because it hits every mythic beat: leadership, defiance, and the power of women in war. She’s become a symbol of resistance, strength, and tactical brilliance.