This is true. An impotent Bini man is at liberty to marry. If he marries a young woman who is capable of having children he allows the woman to go 'out' and get pregnant and any product from such outing is a child of the house.
The interesting part of this contract is that the woman is not expected to have ONE lover and must be discreet about it. The reason for this is obvious.

bokohalal: A son-in-law is never a member of the wife's family. The case is different for the daughter-in-law. Why this is so,yours truly cannot answer.
The son-in-law is however under obligation to help the father-in law till his farmland and bring festive gifts. Modernity has overtaken this. Many sons-inlaw just send money now. And some? Not at all. This might not be unconnected with the song;
"Ukpo ni ye gua ne orhuan mwen"meaning "the year I went to till for my inlaw" and the song goes on to lament how terribly he felt afterwards.

.
Truly you are a bini man

I have never observed the custom or tradition in the event of suicide. Actually,I personally do not know of a Bini that has done that. I know that there must be something done differently in case of such.Can anyone help?

Culinary delights are few in Biniland but massively supplemented by its neighbours'.
There is no staple food in Biniland. Whatever is mainly eaten is due to the economy ,social class,education and or interaction with outsiders. It must be noted that Binis have been heavily influenced by its numerous neighbours.
However,three types of food will stand out in any house:Garri,rice and yams.

Before the introduction of cassava by Europeans it would be safe to say the Binis had yam as a staple.
Yam is in a class of its own. It is varied and is the only crop or food fit enough to worship the Gods.
There is no cassava, in any form, used at any shrine. A retired Police Officer neighbour till date has never eaten eba or drank garri. It is below his dignity to do so .
Unlike some people,eba or garri is not eaten at a Bini occassion.

Yam (iyan)could be eaten boiled,roasted,pounded,grated then fried or just fried in any oil.
The grated then fried yam is called 'igiogio'. The process is simple. A tuber of yam is washed in clean water to remove dirt. Then peeled and cut into small pieces. Thereafter,each piece is taken to a grate and rubbed against it. A thick gob of soft grated yam forms on the other side which is scooped with a spoon after spicing it as desired(some people add crayfish ,prawns or shrimps) and put in already heating pot of palm,ground or vegetable oil.
When done it is much like akara but in taste.

bokohalal: Before the introduction of cassava by Europeans it is safe to say the Binis had yam as a staple.
Yam is in a class of its own. It is varied and is the only crop or food fit enough to worship the Gods.
There is no cassava, in any form, used at any shrine. A retired Police Officer neighbour till date has never eaten eba or drank garri. It is below his dignity to do so .
Unlike some people,eba or garri is not eaten at a Bini occassion. Never.

Hello I am American and have no understanding about Edo culture. You stated Yam is the only food fit to worship the Gods could you explain this to me. Also I would like to know what does duwa in the Ede-duwa(Oduduwa) means. I asked it in another NL post but got no response. Thanks

coYah:

Hello I am American and have no understanding about Edo culture. You stated Yam is the only food fit to worship the Gods could you explain this to me. Also I would like to know what does duwa in the Ede-duwa(Oduduwa) means. I asked it in another NL post but got no response. Thanks

Skeptical about your American claim because non -Edos call us Binis.
To oblige you.
Yam as pounded yam(ema) is used during worship of Gods such as Ogun or Olokun.
Cooked yam porridge,without any oil but spiced and with the sacrificed animal,is eaten at Ogun shrine. It is one of the most delicious foods on earth.
Whole or cut up yam is burnt and placed on Esu shrine.
To keep death away from a house,yam is cut up,cooked and then mashed with red palm oil and cowries and placed around the house.
Same with sacrifices to 'elders of the night'(eniwaren ason). The yam dish is placed at junctions close by. This is called 'izobo'.
The mashed yam earlier mentioned is called 'obobo'.
No other food crop is so used. Corn/maize is sometimes substituted for yam at Esu shrine.

Binis claim Izoduwa(Oduduwa) as the exiled son of Ogiso Owodo. His given name was Ekaladerhan. Izoduwa came as an expression of how his fate turned out.
There is no Duwa in Bini language as names actually start with a vowel.
Ize-I choose
Ode-the way,path,road
Oghe-of
Uwa-wealth,riches,prosperity.

A Bini will call the above IZODUWA omitting the preposition 'of'.

Another translation of the above would make it
'I have chosen your way'.

bokohalal:

Skeptical about your American claim because non -Edos call us Binis.
To oblige you.
Yam as pounded yam(ema) is used during worship of Gods such as Ogun or Olokun.
Cooked yam porridge,without any oil but spiced and with the sacrificed animal,is eaten at Ogun shrine. It is one of the most delicious foods on earth.
Whole or cut up yam is burnt and placed on Esu shrine.
To keep death away from a house,yam is cut up,cooked and then mashed with red palm oil and cowries and placed around the house.
Same with sacrifices to 'elders of the night'(eniwaren ason). The yam dish is placed at junctions close by. This is called 'izobo'.
The mashed yam earlier mentioned is called 'obobo'.
No other food crop is so used. Corn/maize is sometimes substituted for yam at Esu shrine.

Thanks a lot....I am Black American living in Texas. I have no reason to lie about that. I am researching words, roots and West African culture to gain a better understanding. I found words through Google search that I wrote in the message.

Plantain is eaten in every form in Biniland.Ripe ones could be eaten raw. When a little over-ripe,it is mashed by the Binis into a moimoi kind of food called EMI-EKI. Not for diabetics(my opinion).
ULOKA is made with palm oil and eaten with AKASAN(agidi) when Shango or Olokun are being propitiated or worshiped. Uloka is ground peanuts made into a thick paste.
USI (starch) is from the Urhobos that Binis delight in consuming.IKPOWO (cottonseed)soup accompany it down the throat.
EKOR is not made by the Binis but almost,if not all homes in Biniland have it as breakfast. The Afenmai people make this cornmeal and hawk it around. The sellers have a way of scooping it from their basin into a wrap which forms into a ball.EKO is almost always eaten with akara.
AKPU is from the Igbos. The consumption of this food is more recent but large number of Edos have it as their staple food.

EMA(fufu),EBA(garri),ELUBO(amala) and Akpu are eaten with vegetable soup,ogbono,egusi or cottonseed soup.
USI(starch) is never eaten with ogbono.
OWO is the most popular Bini soup dish. The Urhobos also have OWO but their preparation is slightly different from the Binis. Potash is the addendum that turns meat and or fish with spices in a boiling pot of water to OWO. Owo can also be made without putting the pot on fire to cook. This is called OWO OTO.Owo is only eaten with yam,plantain and or cocoyam.
Meat and fish are used to make soup. Unless forbidden or for religious reasons every animal from the forest is considered meat.

Twins in Biniland are forbidden from eating apes and monkeys.
Some Ogun worshippers do not eat snails.
Most traditional people do not eat any animal that died naturally in the house such as chicken or goat(Animal must be killed).Same with bush animal.
Some Bini families do not eat a variety of cocoyam.
Most Bini families do not eat dogs.
Frogs,cats and rats are forbidden to be eaten.


Some Bini families actually forbid dogs living in the home. No dog as pet. Dog is good enough as sacrifice to Ogun.

y me:
My only problem is writing perfectly in bini
I was never taught how to in sch, and it is indeed a big shame! in primary schools we were never taught how to write or read in bini like few schools at that time
instead we were taught how to read and write in french all thanks to primary school i can still read monday to sunday in french

it is indeed a big shame Nigerians are losing touch with their dialect
if there is one thing I envy the yoruba's for, is the fact majority of them speak and can write in their language (tho they are very loud )

My sister u are so right.I was never taught also in primary school.Like I said in my previous post,our language is becoming extinct.Even the Benins here in America can't even speak Benin and as a result they tend to westernise and mostly like marrying from another tribe or race.Unlike d Yorubas ,they can speak and write their language and even teach their children here in America Yoruba.To make it worse some benins and majority of Esans speak Yoruba fluently at d expense of their language.Some even go as far as changing their names to Yoruba names.Its a big shame.Yorubas mostly marry their own,ibos,d same thing,but benins we tend to marry outside because because we are not really rooted in our traditions and culture

Bokohala thanks for this thread. Keep up the work. Uruese, osa afiagbwe.

Kudos to you Bokohala, I never visit this section of nairaland but am glad I did today. Very insightful thread though "ebho na ma hon, oghi gbo bhan". Am Edo proper seeeee!

After a meal( not snack) a younger Bini male says to his older of both sexes,whether they provided the meal or not, whether they are related to the diner or not,the word 'Kada'. This is now preferable to the fuller 'Kada bu kpe' .It is almost always said to only Binis (would not make sense to a non-Bini,anyway).
The female version of the male 'kada' is 'erhe ghi gbue'.

'Erhe ghi gbue' translated means 'may a stranger not overcome you'. The reason a Biniwoman says this after a meal is unknown to poster. Even more mysterious is the male 'kada' in both origin and meaning. My guess is that it is one of the few very ancient Edo words that has survived till today.

The English 'thank you' is said to non Binis.
There is a recent trend among Bini children in diaspora.Some young Bini women born and or bred abroad are finding the female 'erhe ghi gbue( pronounced ERHE GBUE) quite a mouthful and are instead adopting the 'simpler' male KADA as their after meal greeting making kada unisex.

One could write a whole book about a Bini burial.Bini burial,in the sense that poster is using it,includes the death of a person,the preburial planning,the interment proper,mourning period,post interment ceremonies and the devolution of property(if any).
Sibling rivalry,jealousy,intrigue and enmity are displayed. The death of a parent in many cases is the beginning of eternal enmity. Even if kissed and made up after,some people continue to hold grudges for a lifetime.This is mostly so when a man dies and had children from different women.When a woman(who had children for more than one man) dies the intensity of the rivalry is not as much. If all the children of the deceased are from a monogamy their only problem will be their extended family who play a major but behind the scene role.

The scenario to be illustrated in the funeral of a Bini and its aftermath is going to be based on that of an elderly man with wife(s)and child or children and property to inherit.

Once the death of a person is announced the immediate and extended family swing into action to accord the deceased a befitting funeral in line with the custom and tradition of the Binis in general and some particular to the family.
The most important persons in a summoned meeting after death are the OKA_EGBE (Head of family) and the OMO ODION (eldest son) of the deceased.Other members of the extended family,such as cousins,are allowed to participate at the meeting. There is, however, a distinction between an OVBI OKHUO (child of a woman)and those that are not. An Ovbi Okhuo is a deceased sister's child(nephew) and any other child who is from a woman of the family but born to outsiders.They can be seen but not heard.
If the eldest son cannot be present for any reason,he can either delegate his function to his younger brother of the same mother or postpone the meeting entirely until such a time he will be ready.
In an all female family(you do find them)the pattern follows as the above.
If there is an adult female and the first male is a minor both become as one with the older female actually carrying out all the burden but in her younger brother's name.
If all the children are minors a small version of a funeral could still be done with the whole family on both sides in support.Also, there could be just a burial but the traditional funeral ceremony to take place when they grow up.

There are cases of funerals months, years or decades after burial.Absence,minority and poverty of the bereaved are the reasons for delay in funeral ceremonies in Biniland.

The Binis say 'ama ze uhun no wegbe, ai le odion rhe' -if you are not strong willed you cannot be an eldest child.
Nothing epitomizes this saying more than at an IKO(meeting) OKA EGBE.

If a man had more than one wife, the wives are called URHO(Doors) and the children are identified by the various URHO for the purpose of the funeral.So, at a meeting, each URHO must have a representative,preferably the oldest sons. If the oldest overall son is present the other children can attend irrespective of gender unless the OKA EGBE ask for the males from each URHO to be present. Otherwise,the sisters can always relate the message to their brother(s).

EKUSU is a moimoi-like food but derived from corn.
Every process of making moimoi goes with it.
EKA-OKA is also a corn derived food. This time,it is Akara-like. However,instead of frying it ball shaped or wide and flat, EKONKA(most Binis call it this way) is fried long and straight.It is mostly eaten with coconut or by itself.

The child of a deceased during a funeral is called OVBI ORIMWIN ( IVBI ORIMWIN plural).

When a person dies the Oka-Egbe would be informed by a delegation from the deceased family.He in turn asks them to get ready.The Okaegbe could also be summoned to the deceased's house if the Okaegbe is not so powerful.

The most important questions asked at a meeting of the bereaved and the Okaegbe would be if the children are ready to bury their deceased and when.
If the answer is in the affirmative and a time proposed,the Okaegbe,relying on family tradition informs the family of what such a funeral entails and the portion and expectations due each person. This is were acrimony set in.

A normal Bini funeral lasts for seven days. Every other so called burial(christian and cult)are abnormal.They are not the the way of a Bini.

The Eldest son takes the lion share of responsibilities and in descending order till the last child or the children of the last wife.

Some children might feel that their deceased father was not really supportive of them while he was alive so they should not be tasked by the Okaegbe to do more than they intend or think is sufficient in the circumstance.
In some families, all the children come together and carry out the okaegbe's wishes. In others,especially were the wives have barely tolerated each other,the children almost come to blows(and sometimes do)over who and what should be deemed enough from each door.
In Biniland, a child that did not partake in a burial cannot inherit.Participation does not mean physical presence.

The yam you mentioned above is not just any yam. It is the watery yam or Water yam (has a scientific name too).
I'm not sure you can grate just any yam except water yam and yellow yam for (yam pudding)

nice job sha OP

bokohalal: Yam (iyan)could be eaten boiled,roasted,pounded,grated then fried or just fried in any oil.
The grated then fried yam is called 'igiogio'. The process is simple. A tuber of yam is washed in clean water to remove dirt. Then peeled and cut into small pieces. Thereafter,each piece is taken to a grate and rubbed against it. A thick gob of soft grated yam forms on the other side which is scooped with a spoon after spicing it as desired(some people add crayfish ,prawns or shrimps) and put in already heating pot of palm,ground or vegetable oil.
When done it is much like akara but in taste.