12/05/2026
The Battle of Hlefi (c. 1828)
The Battle of Hlefi occurred around 1828. The battle was fought to end Akwamu sovereignty in and among Eʋedukɔ (Eweland). The battle was between the Ho, Sɔkɔɖe, Akɔviefe, and Peki against Tandmu, who were, joined by the Aŋlɔ, Toŋu, Ga, Volo, and other allied states.
The Peki led by Chief Kwadzo Dei of Peki (Krepi) previously defected from the Akwamu and the Akwamu Chief Akoto. The defection of Peki happened because of petty quarrels between the king of Peki and the Chief of Akwamu.
The quarrel was as follows: The son of the Peki king fell sick on the battlefield and therefore had to go home. The Akwamu Chief Akoto took 12 beautiful corn cobs and sent them to Chief Kwadzo Dei with a message that if he did not return to the war front, he must pay 100 hotu multiplied by the number of maize grains on these cobs.
Because of this the Peki Chief Kwadzo Dei joined all the Ɛʋê to form a confederation against the Akwamu Chief, Akoto. The Howusu (Chief of Ho) and the king of Peki united to fight Akoto and the Akwamus.
The Howusu had called 116 towns as confederates against the Akwamu and instituted Peki as their capital.
This is how Peki attained supremacy. In Hlefi a battle ensued between Akoto and Kwadzo Dei.
The Ewe had divided themselves into three troops before the battle and remained in that order from morning till the sun went down. When they were standing in this war formation.
An Aŋlɔ chief named Dzokoto watched and was overcome by fear. He said: "O behold the Êuê! We cannot fight with them. They are superior to us!
Another Aŋlɔ Chief named Gbadago answered Dzokoto and said: "Let us make an attempt on the Eʋe, nothing should go untested. Under all conditions, everything must be put to a test!"
The next morning in Hlefi the battle had started. There was fiery shooting from morning to evening. The Aŋlɔ took many Peki soldiers as prisoners of war and many Aŋlɔ soldiers also fell in battle because they were at the front line.
In the battle itself, Chief of Peki Kwadzo Dei himself was wounded. The shooting was both exhausting to the Akwamu as well as the Eʋe. The next day, the heavy fighting continued. They shot and fought.
The Aŋlɔ who had taken many war prisoners in the battle started leaving. They withdrew with their prisoners of war and went back home, taking their prisoners of war with them. During the fight many Aŋlɔ warriors were injured, they carried their injured from the battlefield and that tired them out as well.
So it happened that the Aŋlɔ fled from the battlefield. During the fight, it also happened that the Toŋu Êʋês fled home.
On that evening of that day, the Adaklu people reviled and mocked Akoto in a song: "Xe fonu dze ɖe vu dzi sigbe ɖe woamu nene, gake uu la memuna o. Zanuvɔe bia koklo bena, za la ava do dza; za yibɔ la ava do dza" meaning: The bird of prey perched on the silk-cotton tree as if it wanted to fell it, but the silk-cotton tree doesn't fall. The soldier ant asks the c**k whether the night would soon fall. The dark night will definitely fall."
In the night, when the Aɖaklu people noticed that the whole camp was asleep. They woke each other up and all of them left camp and fled. The Akwamu Chief, Akototo, was left behind. He started to lament: "Kwadzo Dei is coming to capture me with his bare hands."
Akoto then sent a message back home asking them to come and welcome him. Akoto then fled in the night to Anum and from there went back home. Thus the Akwamus and Akoto were defeated.
