Dutor Torgbuiga Wenya I and the founding of the Anlo Kingdom.

THE SOJOURN AT NOTSIE:

Notsie is a place between Lome and Atakpame in the present Republic of Togo. It is about one hundred kilometers from Lome, the capital of the Republic and is reached by train and lorry. 

Notsie was another walled town, so it was also called Glime (enclosed in walls). The ruins of the old walls are still seen today. At Notsie the Ewe prospered. They were not troubled much by enemies. They had good kings who ruled for their welfare. Elders wise in counsel guided their affairs and the tribe multiplied.

It was at Notsie when Torgbiga Wenya (then called Amega Wenya) head of the Dogbo (the people who arrived at Notsie from Dogbonyigbo were called as such), learnt that his nephew,Kponoe his sister’s son, born to Adza Ashimadi, a chief of Tando (Atado) was in trouble with his half-brothers over the succession after their father’s death.

 He at once dispatched people to Tando to rescue him from the molestation of his (Kponoe’s) half-brothers and to bring him to Notsie. The people went. There was a short scuffle but they succeeded in rescuing Kponoe who took the stool and brought it to Notsie. Safe at Notsie, Kponoe was after a short while, made chief of the youth of the Dogbo section by his uncle, Torgbiga Wenya. His responsibility was to organize the youth for, and lead them in communal labour.

In introducing him to the Dogbo youth, Torgbiga Wenya, admonished the youth to revere the new chief, Kponoe. “Metsofia mi, miasroe da” he said. (Reference is made to Parrinder: Ketu, An Ancient Yoruba Kingdom, pp.8-10) ‘So, sroe da’ became the appellation of the new chief and was later corrupted to “Sroe” (Sri). We learnt that in the scuffle at Tando some people lost their lives, particularly one Aleawogbe (Anagba) and his sister Gbo who were carrying the “Akaklaku”, the war Scimitar of the Tando. However, the “Akaklaku” was safely brought to Notsie by one Afenu who came to be known as Tsamla.

During the course of time, Fia Sri became very popular with the youth and was liked by the various sections of the community. This resulted in a bad blood between him and Ago-Koli who had then ascended the throne of Notsie. Fia Sri was therefore quietly looking for an opportunity to retaliate.