Edo history and culture
The correct history of edo
by Naiwu Osahon
Historical accounts are vague as to when and if the Bini (Edo), migrated from the Nile valley. What is not in doubt is that the earliest rulers of Benin were called Ogisos. Thirty-one Ogisos in all ruled the kingdom of Benin between 900 - 1200 AD, which is the earliest period so far accounted for in Benin history. The Bini monarchy demonstrates strong affinity with ancient Egyptian gods and Pharaohs, with which it shares identical authority, grandeur and a great deal of reverence from their subjects.Read more..
Edo people’s renaissance
By J.O.S Ayomike
THE Benin Empire as described by Prof. Philip Igbafe in his Benin Under British administration represented "the unwieldy but fluid empire which was made up of a loose conglomeration of various people’s covering from most of present-day Delta and Edo States to Lagos and beyond. In fact, on a Dutch map drawn in 1705 , titled A New and Exact map of Guinea and reprinted in 1907 in English by Sir Alfred Jones KCMG- the founder of the Bank of British West Africa - the name BENIN is shown to designate what may today be called Nigeria South of the Niger and Benue.Read more..
Benin(Edo) Influence Before the British Invasion
by Professor Ademola Iyi-Eweka
According to Benin/Edo history recorded in artifacts( many of them now lying in the vaults of private and public museums in Europe), songs and stories, Lagos (EKO) was established as a WAR CAMP by Oba ORHOGBUA in the 1500's. It was an attempt by Oba Orhogbua to control the present day coastline ofpresent day coastline of Nigeria about 600 years ago Oba Orhogbua had been trained in Portugal in one of their naval schools. He understood the power of navigation and sea power because , the Portuguese power was based on naval power then. On his assumption to the throne, he organised either independently or with the help of the Portuguese, an expendition to established control over the present day coastline, extending from Togo, the present day Republic of Benin down to the borders of modern Gabon. He signed treaties of friendship with many of the local rulers. Garrisons made of Edo/Benin soldiers were established.Read more..
Language and unity of Edo People
By Uyilawa Usuanlele
The Edo like their other Nigerian counterparts exist in various groups, but are conscious of their common identity as one people bound by a common history, culture and language. The groups, which are today referred to as EDO, are the Benin, Esan, Afenmai, Ora, Akoko Edo and Owan in Edo state. But there are other groups in Ondo, Delta and Rivers states, who for political reasons shy away from being identified as Edo, but accept the nomenclature of Edoid language speakers. As a result the Edo people lack the necessary group cohesion and demography to critically affect their own development in Nigerian politics.Read more..
The Edo
By Professor Ademola Iyi-Eweka
EDO, is what you can describe as the "generic name given to a group of people who have a common ancestor and have a common language, with some different variants, depending on the distance between the group and the " tap root, " resident in and around the present day Benin City. In short, the land, the political state, the people, tribe, language and the principal city -Benin City is called EDO.Read more..
The Benin City Pilgrimage Stations
By Ekhaguosa Aisien
The Benin City Pilgrimage Stations stands out in its uniqueness of focusing on the processes an ennobled citizen has to undertake to consummate the royal offer. For the simple reason that the Chiefs constitutes an elite group, which assists the Oba in administering the vast kingdom, the knowledge of their coming to such position is of immense advantage not only to those who aspire to chieftaincy but also to the generality of society.Read more..
At Holy Aruosa, It's A Blend Of Tradition And Christianity
By Godfrey Okpugie
IT is where the Oba of Benin worships. And its doctrines as a church differ markedly from the general grain in christendom. For those pursuing the cause of ecumenism, the Holy Aruosa Church, located on Akpakpava Street in Benin City, the Edo State capital, there is a congruence of tradition and christianity in this place of worship.Read more..
Benin ‘Obaship’ as divine essence
The Nigerian Tribune
Monday 30th April, 2007
In Benin Kingdom, Edo State, South South Nigeria, its highly revered monarch, referred to, as Oba, stands alone in the hierarchy of mortals. Within the Benin cosmos, he has no equal. As the royal head of the Benin Kingdom, the Oba has in place what historians describe as “a sophisticated administrative system with a substantial spiritual component” because the departed Obas and God are consulted as a matter of routine in the running of the kingdom.Read more..
The Olokun - The Sea Goddess
The Nigerian Guardian
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Cynthia Iruobe
The Bini have a myth which says that the world was water and only a tree known as the "Ikhimwin tree" stands on that water. On that tree lives a bird known as the "Owonwon" (a double casque hornbill bird). This long-beaked bird features in a lot of African masks. It is referred to as the bird of creation. The myth went further to say that when Osanobua who is God Almighty wanted to create the world, he sent his three children as intermediaries. They are Obiemven, Olokun and Oguiwu the youngest. As they left for the earth, Owonwon seriosuly instructed them to take along a snail shell. They peddled and got to a spot where Obiemven, the eldest daughter, turned the shell upside and out came an endless stream of sand which turned the water into land. The chameleon tested the firmness of the land and so they settled there. Read more..
The Old Edo Historians - Need For a Better Appreciation
By Uyilawa Usuanlele
It is a fact that Talbot was the first to trace the "Origin" of Edo people to Sudan in the East . The colonial racist under-pinning of such historiography was to infuse the people with a perpetual feeling of inferiority, by crediting African achievements to their association with a caucasian hamitic race thereby denying Africans of their history. But this hamitic hypothesis has since been demystified and largely discarded, in spite of Chiekh Anta Diops seminal thesis on The African Origin of Civilization, in which he made a strong case for the linkage of African history with Egypt in order to establish the common origin and unity of African peoplesRead more..
The Edo of Benin
By Osamuyimen Stewart, Ph.D.
Although Nigeria was the creation of European ambitions and rivalries in West Africa, it would be an error to assume that its peoples had little history before its final boundaries were negotiated by Britain, France and Germany at the turn of the twentieth century. According to Crowder, this newly created country had a number of great kingdoms that had evolved complex systems of government prior to contact with Europeans. Within its frontiers was the kingdom of the Edo, whose art had become recognized as amongst the most accomplished in the world.Read more..
The Edo Society
The Indigenous Political Systems of Nigeria
Extract From a Symposium Paper Delivered at the 4th National Festival of Arts
Culled from Nigeria Magazine #115-116 1975 Edition
By Dr Opeyemi Ola
For a number of reasons the Edo were distinguished group in indigenous Nigeria. Numbering about one million, they are one of the major nationalities in Black Africa. Their complex political culture apart, the Edo possesses a remarkable culture whose beauty and creativity continue to marvel and inspire the modern artists the world over.Read more..
The Benin-Ife Connection
The Missing Link
Culled from VANGUARD Sunday May 23, 2004
By Okhorho Edun Akenzua
Nigerian newspapers have been awash with commentaries on the Benin-lfe connection since the public presentation of Omo n’Oba Erediauwa’s Memoirs on April 29. The high and the low; historians, the professionals and the pseudo, even cranks, have had a field day, taking sides with either the Oba’s position or the Ooni’s.Read more..
100 Years after the Invasion of Benin
Reflection
By Chief Richard Akinjide
Culled from the Guardian on Sunday, January 1997
The Year 1997 is the centenary of the conquest for the Great kingdom of Benin by the British. It is significant historical event for the black race everywhere. It was a great event which must revisited and interpreted correctly. The British have been, understandably, economical with the truth about that momentous event. Read more..
Education among the Edo
Excerpts From Traditional System of Education in Nigeria (Part 2)
Culled From Nigeria Magazine #120, 1976.
By Professor J.A. Majasan
The Edo-speaking people of the Old Benin Province and parts of Delta, Rivers and Ondo Provinces belong to the Kwa language family group of the Western Sudanic languages like Yoruba, Igbira, Igala, and Ibo. They are divided into four distinct sub-groups; Bini Edo, Ishan, Northern Edo and Urhobo and Isoko.Read more..
Benin-Ife Connection
By Omo N'Oba Erediauwa
It is during the preparation for his coronation that the future Oba chooses the title or name he is to be known as at his coronation. How and where this is done began with the arrival from Ile-Ife of Prince Oranmiyan, the son of Oduduwa of Uhe, about 1170 years ago according to modem historians. Briefly, this is the account. Before the advent of Qranmiyan, the "kings" that ruled the people that came to be known as Edo or Benin were called Ogiso.Read more..
The Case of Benin
Memorandum submitted by Prince Edun Akenzua
I am Edun Akenzua Enogie (Duke) of Obazuwa-Iko, brother of His Majesty, Omo, n'Oba n'Edo, Oba (King) Erediauwa of Benin, great grandson of His Majesty Omo n'Oba n'Edo, Oba Ovonramwen, in whose reign the cultural property was removed in 1897. Read more..
Restitution of Benin art works
By Dr Kwame Opoku
The recent discussions on the question of the restitution of the Benin artworks have led me to some thoughts which I would like to share with all. The case of Benin is surely not the only one in Africa for there are claims from Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo Republic etc but Benin is the best known and the one case where the facts are very clear and the documentation is also rich.Read more..
Iha Ominigbon Divination
by Aimiwu Emovon
Culled from the Nigeria magazine, 1984,#151.
For many people before now, divination in West Africa and less so in Cuba and Brazil, had automatically meant Ifa divination and this has been due primarily to the research and writings of people like Bascom, 1959 and Wande Abimbola, 1976.Read more..
Putting Benin culture on the path of profitability.
by Chief Lugard Ehimatie Aimiuwu
However, we must claim and retain the patent right and fully exploit it to build business patents and franchise to cover Benin bonze, Benin ivory, Benin carving, Benin music, Benin dance, Benin moat e.t.c.Read more..
Olokun Symbols
By Prof Iro Eweka
The middle symbol Owen Iba Ede Ku,means the sun never misses the day.The symbol represents the SUN and therefore the Oba,Olokun and Osalobua,covering the world with radiant lightRead more..
Oduduwa…..Voice of the Oracle on Edo, Yoruba
By WOLE BALOGUN
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Oduduwa as a historical play emanates from the tradition of political affiliation between the Yoruba and the Edo people. It relays how Oduduwa who was previously known as Ekaledhrah, hailed from Edo and escaped a cruel death sentence passed on him by his father, the Ogiso (King of Edo). Read more..
Esan study documents 70 medicinal plants
Culled from GUARDIAN Thursday, February 28, 2008
NIGERIAN researchers have documented medicinal herbs used for managing some common ailments in Esan land, Edo State. The 70 plants were used in 115 different methods or preparation. About 83 per cent of the herbal preparations were given orally, while 17 per cent were applied topically. The aerial parts of the plants (84 per cent) were most frequently administered in the form of decoctions. Read more..
Ancestral worship in Benin Kingdom
By Uchechukwu Olisah
The belief within the Benin cosmos is that the departed ancestors are still living members of the extended family. An art/cultural historian, High Priest Osemwegie Ebohon, in his article entitled “1400 Years of Benin Kingdom: From the Ogisos to Oba Erediauwa”, noted that death only physically separates the dead from the living. Read more..
Bronze in Benin history, culture
By Uchechukwu Olisah
The sophistication of Benin works of art, particularly those that have come to be known as Benin bronzes perhaps, more than anything else, marks the ancient Benin Kingdom as a truly world great.Read more..
LANGUAGE VITALITY: THE EXPERIENCES OF EDO COMMUNITY IN NIGERIA
By Esohe Mercy Omoregbe
This paper raises an alarm at the noticeable gradual decline in the use of Edo language even in its home base. It examines the attitudes of the speakers towards their language and provides some recommendations as a way of checking this negative tendency and ensuring the survival of Edo in spite of the heterogeneous linguistic situation in the land.Read more..