Forty Guns and Four Hundred CowriesOyo & Dahomey · 1726–1748“Now I speak of horses against muskets, and a tribute counted in cowries.”The Alaafin of Oyo commanded the finest cavalry south of the Niger — horsemen who could appear out of the savanna like weather. King Agaja of Dahomey commanded muskets, walls, and the famous Agojie, the women warriors Europe would later call Amazons.The lesson the elders kept: Tribute tells you who holds power today — and quietly teaches the payer what it must become to stop paying tomorrow.