THE GREAT BENIN KINGDOM
Hello guys!
So...there has been several important periods in the history of Nigeria,most especially the pre-colonial aspects.
It's funny how the Europeans concluded that the development they witnessed when they visited Africa could not have been invented by us.
They concluded that their ancestors,the early Europeans who visited earlier must have introduced these developments.
And Nigeria,being the giant of Africa has played a large role in the advancement and development of the Continent. In the same vain,the Bini ethnic group more than any other group has played major roles in the history of Nigeria.
Let me remind you guys that the great Benin kingdom was recognized in the marvel blockbuster movie "Black panther"😉😎
BINI
According to Hubbard, "the second half of the century saw the arrival of the first Europeans in Benin.,the Portuguese Ruy de Sequeira in 1472 in Ewuare's reign and Affonso de Aviero in 1484 in Ozolua's reign.
Source
The kingdom was the first in the West coast of Africa to exchange Representatives with a major European power. According to Egharevba(1960) Benin sent an ambassador to Portugal.
Political and social developments in Benin kingdom impressed the Europeans so much that one of them who visited compared it with a major European country of that time.
The Benin kingdom had a unique political system based around the Oba (the King). He was the head of the kingdom and the first surviving son succeeds his father after his death.
Source
According to Benin mythology; Benin was the youngest child of Osanobua (GOD). He and his brothers were asked by GOD to take whatever they wanted along with them to the world. While others chose wealth,the youngest chose a snail on the advice of a magical bird.
On arrival,they found that the world was covered by water. He then turned down the snail shell,and sand fell out of it and covered large part of the water to form land.
He then became the first ruler because he owned the land. And he became wealthy and powerful as he had to share portions of it with his brothers who became his subjects.
Are you guys still with me? Because it's a very interesting story,and I do not advice you blink😃
The first period of pre-colonial Benin history is known as the Ogiso era . This is because their rulers were the Ogisos (King of the sky). The first of the Ogiso's was known as Igbodo. He was succeeded by Ere, who created the guild system,encouraged craftsmanship and laid a solid foundation for the kingdom.
Ere was succeeded by Orire. The last Ogiso was Owodo. He was clashed with the nobles and fell victim of intrigues of his wives which led to his only son Ekaladeran,and heir to the throne banished.
With the end of Ogiso dynasty,Benin went through a period in which the elders established a form of Republican government headed by Evian who eventually attempted to usurp the throne.
This led to a serious political crisis,during which two factions emerged - the ones in support of the Republican government and the pro monarchy. It was during the course of the crisis that the elders are believed to have sent a delegation to the Ooni of Ife requesting him to send a ruler to Benin to rule them.
The Ooni sent one of his children,Oranmiyan. He had an affair with a Benin woman,and had a child,Eweka 1,who is credited to have established the present dynasty in Benin.
The point here is that although Oranmiyan cane from Ile-Ife,the monarchy which he established is indigenous to Benin because he was the son of a Benin prince (son of Ekaladeran) and his son,Eweka 1,was conceived,born and brought up in Benin. More research is being carried out to verify this version.
The Benin society was classified into two distinct classes
> the nobility (adesotu)
and the commoner (Ighiotu).
Source
The nobility were organized into three groups
•The Uzama
•The palace chiefs
•The town chiefs
The ordinary people were organized into a number of guilds and each of these guilds served the needs of the ova based on it's trade and specialization.
The guild system
The guilds were professional groups to which the common people of Benin belonged. There were a number of them such the Carver's, blacksmiths,Weaver's as well as doctors,drummers and diviners.
These guilds,which were affiliated to the palace societies supplied the needs of the oba and his household.
The kingdom of Benin had a great and glorious history which spanned several centuries. However,the empire witnessed a number of political upheavals and crisis which greatly weakened it. The role of the Oba changed from time to time. From leading the army to war,to being restricted to the palace.
This trend continued towards the end of the 19th century,when the kingdom had confrontations with the British,a situation which led to the British invasion of the Kingdom in 1897. The British subsequently deposed and deported the Oba to Calabar where he died in 1914.
Just like the end of the Ogiso era witnessed an interregnum in the political history of Benin,the years between 1897 and 1914 witnessed abother interregnum in the political history.
The installation of Eweka II in 1914 ended the interregnum which began in 1897.
I hope you found this educating and interesting.
Oba Ghato Kpere... Ise!!!
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