The most that outsiders know about the Bini has to do with its unique monarchical system,European contacts and its acclaimed artworks. There is more to the Bini than the mentioned. This thread is an attempt at exposing an ordinary Bini and his ways from conception to interment. It will attempt to answer questions,debunk misconceptions and explain contradictions(like prostitution) in the Bini.
Healthy interactive contributions are welcomed from Edos and non Edos alike. Wa bo itota!

gha gie we? uhun noba magie! mtshewww....

ezotik: gha gie we? uhun noba magie! mtshewww....

Very funny. Oma.Vbo logho?

evbin hia ma.

There are said to be eighty-four Bini families. The Bini is known by his Morning Greeting. Each of the eighty-four families has a unique morning greeting. Every Bini male or female is supposed to know the way in which his or her family greets. Infact, if there is anything a Bini would teach his child,even if born in Samoa or Tajikistan,it is his family morning greeting. So, if two Binis who have never met all their live get to know that they greeted the same way,right away they know they are related.

removed.

Done

I would have loved to list out every Bini family and its greeting but that would take too much time. It is however interesting to note that, traditionally,Esans and Ekas(Ikas)fall into the Bini family umbrella because they greet same way as the Binis. Colonialism and ethnic nationalism has created an unnecessary discord among the Edos.

I didn't understand half of the words in the main post

Anyway, how fluent is an ordinary Bini person in his/her language these days? I watched a movie and the amount of english was very disturbing.

bokohalal:
That will be for another time. This time is for ordinary Bini folks.

oma, ghe gui oo, idawenhor.

and when i have any input i will add.

ezotik:

oma, ghe gui oo, idawenhor.

and when i have any input i will add.

Uru ese. Oni e ri ho ni hon.

StarFlux: I didn't understand half of the words in the main post

Anyway, how fluent is an ordinary Bini person in his/her language these days? I watched a movie and the amount of english was very disturbing.

Erm...cannot help that.

The greetings has enabled the Binis,in the absence of tribal marks and ethnic identity cards, to know their own. It is why we are vehement in our belief that the Edos did not sell their own into slavery.Even if you spoke Bini fluently the question would inevitably arise: du ukhu nu tue?(how do you greet?). If answered within any of the Bini greetings,you were free to go.Same applied in cases of curfews and hunting for human sacrifice.

The said families are equal unless in matters pertaining to the Palace.
No one is expected to marry from within the same family. However, there are exceptions. Some of the families have become so large and the degree of relationship so dim that one could go ahead to marry and consumate.

The primary way of being a family member among the Binis is like in any other pary of the world;birth. That is not however all the way for the Bini. To enable us get to the other ways of becoming a Bini we have to talk about the various relationships,including servitude and apprenticeship and of course,marriage.

A man could send his child to any close or distant relation or friend,for any reason, to go live with.
A child could follow a female relative to her matrimonial home.
A stranger,waif, anybody,could be brought into a home and brought up in the home as a Bini and over time would be so accepted.
In our first case,the child remains a member of his birth family unless....

This is called' Ogu omwan dia( live with someone/person).He or she is not a servant or slave. He or she is not an adoptee in its proper sense. The child is entitled to all the benefits of the family aside inheritance. Also, they cannot properly partake in the funeral of their deceased caregiver.
The child does his / her chores which cannot be seen to be onerous or would not otherwise be done by a child of the house for physical or mental reasons. He or she is,in every sense,a child of the house.

bokohalal: The greetings has enabled the Binis,in the absence of tribal marks, to know their own. It is why we are vehement in our belief that the Edos did not sell their own into slavery.Even if you spoke Bini fluently the question would inevitably arise: du ukhu nu tue?(how do you greet?). If answered within any of the Bini greetings,you were free to go.Same applied in cases of curfews and hunting for human sacrifice.

we greet dalahe. but ive noticed some family members greet it as dalai and lahe. i guess the intonation has changed over the years.

ezotik:

we greet dalahe. but some ive noticed some family members greet is as dalai and lahe. i guess the intonation has changed over the years.

That is my mother's family from Usen.

bokohalal:
That is my mother's family from Usen.

t'ewanta! ogbebor n'usen?

ezotik:

t'ewanta! ogbebor n'usen?

Ogbebor n'Usen. See what Bini greeting does? Amazing.

Delauhe is also for Yorubas that migrated to Edoland and became Binis.
Uhe is the Bini for Ife.

On my father's side it is La'Umogun.

lol, this is funny. so it will not be hard to fish u out in TO.

anyway, ogbebor who became ogbebor n'usen story is actually worth telling on this thread of how he became a chief in benin.

The Ogumwandia is expected to go back to his or her natural family at anytime. Even if there was a fixed period or event it is never strictly adhered to. That is were the cases of some people becoming members of another family sometimes apply.

The Ogumwandia could be a relation,a friend's child whether Zaghawa,Jukun or Bini even from another race. No matter. I personally know an Igbo woman and a Hausa girl who are today Binis from abandonment by their parents. While my father told me about the woman's heritage,as for the girl, she grew up in my presence in a late chief's house.

When a woman marries, she becomes part of the husband's family. She changes from her parental greeting to her spouse's. In the event of divorce she reverts back to her father's greeting. If the husband dies she is at liberty to continue her husband's thereby remaining part of her deceased husband's family.
If she remarries she has to change.
If a Biniwoman marries a nonBini she retains her father'greeting. She is not lost. Only on 'loan' even if married to a Bini. Which is why whenever she dies,her parental family carries out her burial according to their custom.
Yes. Every Bini family has some perculiar burial
rites. Sometimes,this perculiarity is even within branches of a family.
Much later on burial.

Ezotik,expect an e-mail from me.

no shaking.
but can u edit ur post where u quoted the post i removed? i wouldnt mind that. uwese.

bokohalal: There are said to be eighty-four Bini families. The Bini is known by his Morning Greeting. Each of the eighty-four families has a unique morning greeting. Every Bini male or female is supposed to know the way in which his or her family greets. Infact, if there is anything a Bini would teach his child,even if born in Samoa or Tajikistan,it is his family morning greeting. So, if two Binis who have never met all their live get to know that they greet the same way,right away they know they are related.

...good job bokohalal! this contribution is long overdue.

in response to the eighty four families and their greetings, are these families divided into totems and do you know if each has a tattoo or some body mark or symbol for identification, outside of just greeting or verbal exchange?

Negro_Ntns:

...good job bokohalal! this contribution is long overdue.

in response to the eighty four families and their greetings, are these families divided into totems and do you know if each has a tattoo or some body mark or symbol for identification, outside of just greeting or verbal exchange?

Good question. I doubt if there are totems or body marks as family identifications. I may be wrong. The Omo n Oba however has a leopard as a symbol of Royal strength. Does every other member of the extended Royal Family? I could for a fact tell you they do not.
Greetings is all I know.

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.