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Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State in southern Nigeria. 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 Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people and head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Benin kingdom. The ancient Benin homeland has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo.
The Benin Bronzes are a group of more than a thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now modern-day Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best known examples of Benin art, created from the thirteenth century onwards, by the Edo people, which also included other sculptures in brass or bronze, including some famous portrait heads and smaller pieces.
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.
Oba means ruler in the Yoruba and Bini languages of West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba Ogunwusi of Ile-Ife, Oba Adeyemi of Oyo, and Oba Akiolu of Lagos. An example of a Bini bearer is Oba Ewuare II 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 South-South 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 only 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 import in Benin.
The Edo or Benin people is an ethnic group primarily found in Edo State, Nigeria. They speak the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Empire. They are closely related to other ethnic groups that speak Edoid languages, such as the Esan, the Afemai, the Isoko and the Urhobo.
The Yoruba of West Africa are responsible for one of the finest artistic traditions in Africa, a tradition that remains vital and influential today.
The Kingdom of Benin, was a kingdom in West Africa in what is now southern Nigeria. It is not to be confused with Benin, the modern-day nation-state. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo state. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa", it was formed around the 11th century AD", and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
Nigerian traditional rulers often derive their titles from the rulers of independent states or communities that existed before the formation of modern Nigeria. Although they do not have formal political power, in many cases they continue to command respect from their people and have considerable influence.
Erediauwa was the 39th Oba of Benin, traditional ruler of the Edo people in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Formerly known as Prince Solomon Akenzua, Oba Erediauwa's full title was His Royal Majesty Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa I. He was succeeded by Ewuare II.
Coronations in Africa are held, or have been held, in or amongst the following countries, regions and peoples:
An Oba's crown represents the highest level of authority vested in Yoruba rulers. Referred to as an ade, the bead-embroidered crown is the foremost attribute of the ruler. An oba's crown may also be referred to as an adenla, or great crown. Andenlas are elaborate conical headdresses, like the ade, but feature a heavily beaded veil that covers the face. In his article on the topic, Robert F. Thompson writes, "The crown incarnates the intuition of royal ancestral force, the revelation of great moral insight in the person of the king, and the glitter of aesthetic experience."
Benin ancestral altars are adorned with some of the finest examples of art from the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria.
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.
"Chief" Solomon Osagie Alonge (1911–1994) was a self-taught photographer and pioneer of Nigerian photography. He was the first official photographer for the royal court of Benin City, Nigeria, and a chief in the Iwebo palace society. Alonge's record of Nigerian royalty and social class is one of the most extensive and well-preserved collections from the period.
Aiguobasinwin Ovonramwen, Eweka II was the Oba of Benin from 1914 to 1933.
Okukor is the name given to a bronze statue of a cock from West Africa, held by Jesus College, Cambridge. One of the Benin bronzes, it was taken from the Kingdom of Benin by the British expedition of 1897, sent to punish the Oba of Benin after several British officials were killed. It became controversial in 2016 as a symbol of looted art and colonialism, with demands that it be sent back to Nigeria.
The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions in Nigeria and is legally recognized by its government.
George Osodi is a Nigerian photographer from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.
References
- 1 2 Osodi, George (30 January 2015). "Royals & Regalia: Inside the Palaces of Nigeria's Monarchs Recent Photographs by George Osodi". THE NEWARK MUSEUM OF ART. Newark Museum . Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ↑ Museum Associates. "Oba's Royal Crown". LACMA. Los Angeles County Museum of Art . Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ↑ "Nigeria: An Exhibition of Nigerian Royal Regalia, and Selection of Photographs, Arts and Crafts". 2004.
- ↑ "In pictures: Country of kings, Nigeria's many monarchs". BBC News. BBC. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2020.