A paramount chief in Kandi, one of the constituent states of Borgu, in the north of the modern-day Republic of Benin.

A paramount chief in Kandi, one of the constituent states of Borgu, in the north of the modern-day Republic of Benin. 

Photograph by Georges Labitte, c. 1930-1950. 

Kandi was a small state established in the 16th century, when the local population asked for the protection of the king of Nikki, one of the capitals of Borgu, against raids by Fulani and Dendi warriors coming down from the north. The son of the then king of Nikki, Saka Baku, led an expedition to this region and eventually settled there as its new overlord.