| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,280,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Benin | 1,090,000[1] |
 Togo | 190,000[1] |
| Languages | |
| Adja, French | |
| Religion | |
| West African Vodun, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Gbe peoples, primarily Ewe and Fon | |
The Aja or Adja are an ethnic group native to south-western Benin and south-eastern Togo.[2] According to oral tradition, the Aja migrated to southern Benin in the 12th or 13th century from Tado on the Mono River, and c. 1600, three brothers, Kokpon, Do-Aklin, and Te-Agbanlin, split the ruling of the region then occupied by the Aja amongst themselves: Kokpon took the capital city of Great Ardra, reigning over the Allada kingdom; Do-Aklin founded Abomey, which would become capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey; and Te-Agbanlin founded Little Ardra, also known as Ajatche, later called Porto Novo (literally, "New Port") by Portuguese traders and the current capital city of Benin.
- ^ a b c "Aja". Ethnologue. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ Asiwaju, A. I. (1979). "The Aja-Speaking Peoples of Nigeria: A Note on Their Origins, Settlement and Cultural Adaptation up to 1945". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 49 (1): 15–28. doi:10.2307/1159502. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 1159502. S2CID 145468899.