Dakodonou was the second King of Dahomey. He ruled from 1620 to 1645. In traditional Abomey stories, Dakodonou overthrew his brother, the previous King Gangnihessou, when the ruler was absent from the capital on a tour of the kingdom. Dakodonou is portrayed as a brutal and violent man. His symbols were an indigo jar (a reference to his murder of a certain indigo planter named Donou, whose body he made sport of by rolling it around in his indigo jar and whose name he appended to his own original name, 'Dako'), a tinder box, and a war club. Before dying, Dakodonou named his nephew, Aho Houegbadja, as his successor.
Today Tado is a centre of pilgrimage for Aja people from across the region, who visit the village each August to pray for their ancestral spirits.
Dakodonou is portrayed as a brutal and violent man. His symbols were an indigo jar (a reference to his murder of a certain indigo planter named Donou and whose name he appended to his own original name, 'Dako'), a tinder box, and a war club.
Houegbadja was the first of the dynasty to set up the kingdom in Abomey proper: he founded the city by building his palace (named "Agbome"in the midst of the ramparts) near the area of Guedevi, a few kilometers to the northwest of Bohicon.
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