Born: 1767 or 1777, Benin
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Brazil
Also known as: NA
Agontimé was a queen of Dahomey in the early 1800s, one of multiple wives of King Agonglo. When her husband died in 1797, there was a power struggle between his sons, with the elder Adandozan taking power. The younger brother, Ghezo, who was likely Agontimé’s son, overthrew his brother in 1818 and named Agontimé his Kpojito (queen-mother, an important role in the Kingdom of Dahomey). Agontimé had been sold into slavery and sent to Brazil when her stepson came to power because she reportedly attempted to place Gezo (then known as Prince Gakpe) on the throne. In São Luís, in the state of Maranhão, she may have been the founder of the Casa das Minas (House of Minas) – this woman was baptised as Maria Jesuína, but her original African name was never revealed. Also known as Querebentã de Zomadônu, this was an important temple that originated the Tambor de Mina, an Afro-Brazilian religion, establishing the cult of the ancestors of the royal family (voduns). According to some versions, Ghezo was able to secure her release from Brazil and bring her back to the kingdom, although evidence of this is not definitive and, according to historian Ana Lucia Araujo, is unlikely to be true. However, it would not have been unprecedented – it’s generally accepted as fact that a Dahomean prince sent to Brazil decades earlier had returned and even competed for the throne.