The rooster is a bird some people would know as just a male fowl but it is a little bit more than that. It is a fully matured male fowl; mature enough to cry “cock-a doodle-doo!!!” But the features this creature portrays have a deeper meaning to the bini people. The rooster is popular for waking up people in the morning, being brave in the midst of its enemies and having a sense of responsibility over other fowls in its immediate territory. They make artworks of this creature to have as an idol. It is known to the people that in the household, folklore and court life that the rooster can be a sacrificial animal, the leader of the barnyard and a spy.



Known as Okpa in Edo language, its name is given to the King’s senior wife -usually the first wife – who is in charge of all feminine activities in the palace, in charge of the King’s other wives and the palace maids and so on. Paintings and sculptures of a rooster still reside in many shrines of significance. The picture below is an example of a Bini sculpture of a rooster.

This particular rooster, a court style 18th century sculpture shows the broad use of surface patterns and a technical proficiency in lost-wax casting that shows the uniqueness of the Bini Kingdom brass casters.

Read more: http://quazen.com/arts/visual-arts/the-art-of-the-edo/#ixzz1B4QhLF00

known as Okpa in Edo language

In Igbo language it is Oken Okpa.

There are much more similarities between the Igbo and Edo languages than we had earlier thought. Just today I learned that the stolen Bini rooster artwork in the UK is called 'okuko', meaning 'fowl' or 'rooster' in Igbo language. Also on this thread I just learned that a male fowl is called 'okpa' in Bini language and, coincidentally, a male fowl is also called 'oke okpa' in Igbo, where the 'oke' is used to denote masculine gender and the female fowl (especially one that has borne chicks) is called 'Nne okpa' or 'nnekwu'.