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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 9494213, member: 8267&quot;]It is interesting that when I did a google image search of the photo, the results&nbsp; were all 19th century actors in costume, or circus performers.</p><p><br /></p><p>The costume of Dahomey warriors, both men and women (the &quot;amazons&quot; depicted in a recent movie), consisted of a sleeveless tunic and shorts -</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.antiquers.com/attachments/dahomey_amazon2-jpg.423599/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="https://www.antiquers.com/attachments/dahomey-amazon-1-jpg.423598/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a dance group from Dahomey, photographed in Paris in 1891. The costumes bear a slight resemblance to your fellow - the crossed bandoliers and feather headdresses on the men at the back -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]447271[/ATTACH] </p><p><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Groepsportret_van_de_zogenaamde_%27Amazones_uit_Dahomey%27_tijdens_hun_verblijf_in_Parijs_TMnr_60038362.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Groepsportret_van_de_zogenaamde_%27Amazones_uit_Dahomey%27_tijdens_hun_verblijf_in_Parijs_TMnr_60038362.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Groepsportret_van_de_zogenaamde_&#039;Amazones_uit_Dahomey&#039;_tijdens_hun_verblijf_in_Parijs_TMnr_60038362.jpg</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The description of this photo notes that &quot;it is almost certain that there were no &#039;real&#039; Amazons among the dance group members. A French journalist discovered that ten women were Egba (Yoruba) and the rest were from Dahomey but did not belong to the armed forces (1999: 196). Edgerton shows that it was not unusual for an Egba to become an Amazon, for example, a girl captured in 1851 during the siege of the Egba city of Abeokuta was raised as an Amazon in Dahomey.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>There were a series of fierce wars between the Dahomey kingdom and the Egba (Yoruba) people of Abeokuta in the mid 19th century. There may be some echo of this in your fellow&#039;s name, Abeokuts.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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