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Benin ancestral altars are adorned with some of the finest examples of art from the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria.
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Benin ancestral altars are adorned with some of the finest examples of art from the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria.
According to anthropologists Kulcher and Melion, art objects or visual images do not merely encode memory but actively engender modes of recollection. [1] A Benin ancestral altar is such a locus for constructing memory. Its purpose was to establish in the most lasting way possible that the deceased had successfully fulfilled his social destiny or akhonmioto. [2] Therefore, the role of the objects on ancestral altars was to construct memory and affirm social identity. [2] Additionally, altars serve as a site through which a living leader communicated with his ancestor via the latter's commemorative head. Ancestral altars ensure dynastic continuity and facilitate the consistent continuity of ideals of leadership.
Paternal ancestral altars, aru erha, consist of a raised mud platform set against a wall. A series of elongated wooden staffs, ukhurhe, rest against the wall. The upper segment of the staff is hollowed out and contains a clapper inside which can be rattled when the staffs are struck on the ground, a gesture that is performed to call the ancestors. The body of the staff is segmented to represent ukhurhoho, a wild plant with short branches that break off when they reach a certain length. As a result, the staff symbolizes a single lifespan, as expressed in the Edo proverb: "If ukhurhoho has not reached the promised day of one's destiny [the day of one's death], it will not break off." [2]
Sumptuary laws govern the shape and composition of ancestral altars, requiring differences between commoners, chiefs and royalty. A comparison of these three types of altar will demonstrate that an increase in socioeconomic and ritual status is paralleled by an increase in the elaborateness of the altar. [2]
The commoners' altar is a mud rectangle surmounted by a long row of rattle staffs, which reflect the activities of generations of senior sons. The staff finials depict a generalized ancestral head, devoid of any marks of status. One or more brass bells are placed in the center of the altar to be rung at the beginning of rituals. Occasionally, the senior son will add decorative elements that relate directly to his father's life. [2]
Chiefly ancestral altars have a similar form to commoner's ancestral altars but are more highly decorated. Specific to chiefly ancestral altars is the wooden commemorative head, or uhunmwun elao, which represents the chief by accurately depicting the regalia of his rank.
In order to ensure dynastic continuity, a newly installed oba is responsible for creating an altar dedicated to his father and predecessor. The altar holds objects commissioned to honor the leader being commemorated, and thus are adorned and activated on a regular basis with libations of food or animal blood. The oba does the same for his mother if she attained the title of iyoba, or queen mother
Royal altars differ from those of commoners or chiefs. They are round, not rectangular. The surface is fashioned of whitened clay, upon which are displayed rattle staffs, bells, stone celts, brass sculptures of various sizes, and other objects for ritual use.
While bells and rattle staffs are placed on all ancestral altars, ivory tusks and commemorative brass heads are made specifically for royal altars. Associated with trade, ivory and brass are durable and valuable, and their colors—white like sacred kaolin clay and red like fire and coral beads—relate to royal power. The images on the tusks represent former kings, great war chiefs, soldiers, retainers and symbolic animals. [3]
Carved elephant tusks function as a visual bridge between agbon, the material realm, and erinmwin, the world of spirits and ancestors. The whiteness of the ivory tusk is like orhue, a pure, white, kaolin clay considered to be the essence of harmony and spirituality. Orhue is ubiquitous in Edo rituals; it is applied to the faces and bodies of participants in ceremonies, blown into the air in powdered form as purification, painted in sacred designs on shrine floors, and mixed into the food offered to worshipers. In each of these uses, orhue insures calmness, health, and well-being. Orhue is also applied to the surface of the clay altar, which is constructed of symbolically charged earth and water and, in the past, was placed over the grave of the Oba's father. According to Barbara Blackmun, "The whiteness of the ivory tusk therefore enhances the sanctity and effectiveness of the altar. The motifs carved upon the ivories are only one part of a potent ensemble designed to furnish a point of contact not only between the reigning king and his newly- deified predecessor, but also with his ancestral lineage of divine rulers and other spiritual forces guiding the kingdom." [4]
Each large, carved tusk is supported by a heavy pedestal in the form of a crowned head of an Oba made of shining brass. The tusk protrudes upward from the center of the crown. Throughout Edo history, coppery brass has been considered more precious than gold. Before 1897, sumptuary laws limited the use of large, cast objects in copper and its alloys, brass and bronze, to the Oba and one of his highest ranking chiefs. [4]
Placed at the center of Benin royal ancestral altars, flanked by ancestor heads supporting the carved ivory tusks, and surrounded by staffs, brass bells, and other objects, in a cast brass tableau of figures standing upon a rectangular base. These altar tableaus (aseberia) depict the oba surrounded by courtiers, chiefs and other attendants who define their position. [5]
The creation of ancestral altars dates to the earliest days of the Benin Kingdom. Altars honor the deceased and commemorate their achievements. They are also important tools for maintaining communication between the living and the dead. As a divine monarch, the oba does not relinquish his influence when he departs this world. Ancestral altars are among the primary means by which a living oba transcends the earthly realm to commune with his predecessors for the good of the kingdom.
In 1897, the Kingdom of Benin was conquered by the British and incorporated into a British colony that eventually became the modern nation of Nigeria. This episode is referred to as the Punitive Expedition of 1897. Oba Ovonramwen, who was crowned in 1888 as the thirty-fifth ruler in his lineage, was sent into lifelong exile. [6] The British confiscated all of the objects from Benin City that they associated with divine kingship, and sent them back to London to be sold. No records were kept of their original location, context, or ownership. In this way, thousands of complex artworks were removed from Benin and dispersed in museums and private collections.
Before the British conquest, an oba's courtyard was the focal point for rituals in his honor. British troops reported 18 altars dedicated to previous obas when they took possession of the palace in 1897. [7] Today, all of the royal altars stand together in a single courtyard. [8]
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Benin River and 320 kilometres (200 mi) by road east of Lagos. Benin City is the centre of Nigeria's rubber industry, and oil production is also a significant industry.
The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition by a British force of 1,200 men under Sir Harry Rawson in response to the ambush of a previous British party under Acting Consul General James Phillips, of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Rawson's troops captured and sacked Benin City, bringing to an end the Kingdom of Benin, which was eventually absorbed into colonial Nigeria.
The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo.
African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, such as: African American, Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were created from the thirteenth century by artists of the Edo people. Apart from the plaques, other sculptures in brass or bronze include portrait heads, jewellery and smaller pieces.
Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, also called Overami, was the Ọba (king) of the Kingdom of Benin up until the British punitive expedition of 1897.
Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of African deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for traditional African religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport art". African masks were an influence on European Modernist art, which was inspired by their lack of concern for naturalistic depiction.
Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people from 1504 to 1550 Historians do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war (1515-1516) because she played a role that led to a great Benin victory. It has been argued that Idia, therefore, was the true power behind the throne of her son. She played a significant role in the rise and reign of her son, being described as a great warrior who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people. Queen Idia was instrumental in securing the title of Oba for her son Esigie following the death of his father Oba Ozolua. To that end, she raised an army to fight off his brother Arhuaran who was supposed to be the Oba by right and tradition but was subsequently defeated in battle. Esigie’s mother became the 17th Oba of Benin.
Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin.
The Yoruba of West Africa are responsible for one of the finest artistic traditions in Africa, a tradition that remains vital and influential today.
Ikegobo, the Edo term for "altars to the Hand," are a type of cylindrical sculpture from the Benin Empire. Used as a cultural marker of an individual's accomplishments, Ikegobo are dedicated to the hand, from which the people of Benin considered the will for wealth and success to originate. These commemorative objects are made of wood or brass with figures carved in relief around their sides.
The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire was a kingdom within what is now south-south Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa". It grew out of the previous Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD, and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
Ọmọ n'Ọba n'Ẹdo Uku Akpọlọkpọlọ, Akenzua II was the Oba of Benin from 1933 until his death in 1978.
Court and ceremonial art makes up a vital corpus of Benin art. Private and public ceremonies mark many of the important moments in Benin’s yearly calendar. In the past, an elaborate series of rites were performed throughout the year to secure otherworldly support for the kingdom’s well-being and to celebrate decisive events in its history.
African ivories are objects and materials that are created from ivory or include ivory material that comes from the continent of Africa. The ivory from Africa would become widely sought after by the 14th century due in part to the poorer quality of Asian ivory. While Asian ivory is brittle, more difficult to polish, and tends to yellow with exposure to air, African ivory often comes in larger pieces, a more sought after cream color, and is easier to carve. Ivory from Africa came from one of two types of elephant in Africa; the more desirable bush elephant with larger and heavier tusks or the forest elephant with smaller and straighter tusks.
The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897.
Chief Agho Obaseki was a paramount Chief in the Benin Empire from 1898 to 1914, and then Iyase of Benin from 1914 until his death in 1920.
Aiguobasinwin Ovonramwen, Eweka II was the Oba of Benin from 1914 to 1933.
This leopard head hip ornament was made by the Edo people of the Court of Benin, Nigeria sometime between the 16th to 19th centuries. It is made of brass and iron and was created using the traditional lost-wax casting technique. Hip ornaments such as this one would have been worn as part of elaborate ceremonial costumes by the king and other participants of palace rituals. This piece was made to be worn on the left side of the waist to cover the closure of wrapped skirts. It would have been held in place by large loops on the top, bottom, or back of the ornament. The leopard was of special importance so it was only to be worn by the king and war chiefs.
The Saltcellar with Portuguese Figures is a salt cellar in carved ivory, made in the Kingdom of Benin in West Africa in the 16th century, for the European market. It is attributed to an unknown master or workshop who has been given the name Master of the Heraldic Ship by art historians. It depicts four Portuguese figures, two of higher class and the other two are possibly guards protecting them. In the 16th century Portuguese visitors ordered ivory salt cellars and ivory spoons like this, specifically this Afro-Portuguese ivory salt cellar was carved in the style of a Benin court ivory, comparable to the famous Benin bronzes and Benin ivory masks.