₦airaland Forum

https://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3873/beninfemalecourtofficia.png


Two other female figures holding up a rectangular tablet/sheet. From the book Antique Works of Art from Benin (1900) by Pitt Rivers. The book displays "WORKS OF ART FROM BENIN, WEST AFRICA. OBTAINED BY THE PUNITIVE EXPEDITION IN 1897, AND NOW IN GENERAL PITT RIVERS'S MUSEUM AT FARNHAM, DORSET." (1900)

Ileke-IdI:
I'm loving the picture, PhysicMHD.

I guess it's now up to me to make a Yoruba arts thread. I'm inspired.

Who knows what I might lean. . . After the finals ofcourse.

Thanks. And yeah, you should make that thread after finals. There are a LOT of Yoruba art and architecture images out there, on and off the net. I could contribute to that as well when you make it.

ezeagu:
A court official is just randomly holding up a square piece of leopard skin. Maybe the people who know all these Benin ceremonies, rites and rituals should be asked back at Benin.

lol, that's exactly what I thought.

But another book says that it could be leopard skin or it could be an official designated to trade with Europeans coming to the king with a list (presumably in Portuguese) with items or amounts, etc., which I don't believe because there are at least two of these messenger figures that are women (maybe from the Queen mother's court at Uselu?), yet the Oba controlled all official trade and his agents were only male. The female messengers could not be traders and are unlikely to have been messengers for trade, so that tablet could be a message from the Queen mother's court to the Oba's court. According to European accounts, the Iyoba (Queen mother) and the Oba never saw each other after the Oba's coronation, so interpreting these figures as messengers between courts or between enogies and the Oba seems far more plausible to me than someone involved in trade with Europeans or randomly holding up a leopard skin rectangle.

Here's a description of the Queen mother:

As at many African courts, the Queen Mother is a woman of importance. Thus
Dapper says : "The king's mother is held in great esteem and has a splendid court,
at a little distance outside the town, beautifully and magnificently built, where she
resides with many women and daughters. She is consulted in all state affairs ; but by
dint of a special law the king and his mother are not allowed to see each other, as
long as they live." Lieut. King "was introduced to the Queen Mother, who resides
in a walled town which belonged to her, situated about three or four miles from Benin.
After having passed through two courts, he was conducted into an apartment where
all sorts of refreshments were offered him. The queen entered soon afterwards, her
right arm supported horizontally by one of her suite. She was dressed in European
silks and laden with coral ornaments, and wore a big festooned hat, like that of her
son. Through her interpreter, she addressed several questions to Lieut. King, such
as ' How do you do ?'
' What condition is your boat ?'
' How did you cross the
dangerous bar ?' " Mr. Cyril Punch informs me that in his time the king's mother
was called "lyoba ; she lived at a suburb called Iselu, about two miles north of
Benin. She did everything the king did. From the day that he fulfilled the last
rite which made him king, she never saw his face, but lived in her own quarter and
practically had her own court." - H. Ling Roth, Great Benin (1903)


So those female messengers are almost certainly officials of the Queen's court, and therefore are not likely to be traders.

(Note: The claim that the Queen mother was dressed in "European silks" is an assumption on the part of Lieutenant King, and there are several other assumptions in that book which have no backing. It's entirely possible they were European garments from trade. However there was a royal weavers guild (Owina n'Ido) in Benin and multiple European visitors (Landolphe, Burton, Punch, and more) noted the indigenous cloth making industry and the high quality of the cloth and Burton specifically noted the court weavers, so it's likely that Lieutenant King confused high quality cloth made by the royal weavers for "European silks."

ezeagu:
Uh, that's writing.

I did acknowledge that it could be writing. I have seen about 6 or 7 other bronzes (brasses) depicting the same kind of thing and it always looked like the messenger was delivering a written message to me, but when I saw the circles, I bought the explanation of a leopard skin cloth/pouch written in a few of those art books. Though there was no explanation of what the function of such a leopard skin object was, or why it was rectangular and flat. When I remembered amazonia's post, it kind of put things in perspective and made me realize that it really could be writing. It kind of makes you wonder if there wasn't a stack of these somewhere in the Benin palace before the burning. I think this is the problem with keeping some things too secret. If the Benin priestly officials amazonia mentioned had published something about that writing system before the 1990s, that interpretation of these messenger figures would probably have also ended up in those art books in addition to claims about leopard skin objects.

Ethnic cleaning? Don''t be ridiculous. Edo central (Esan) came out in full force against ACN. PDP succeeded there so clearly his people responsible for those areas failed.

https://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/2356866.jpg

Ornate leaded bronze staff head, Igbo Ukwu, Nigeria, 9th-10th century

https://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/2356869.jpg

Bronze ceremonial wine bowl cast by the 'lost wax' method, Igbo Ukwu, Nigeria, 9th century.

Here's a site with some really great Igbo-Ukwu images that you'd normally have to scan from books., as some of them aren't the ones most commonly shown:

http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/publicportfolio.cgi?view=428

You can also click on each image to get a larger view.

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/images/objects/size2/1994.143_SL1.jpg

Hip Ornament with Human Face

Benin court officials wear a variety of brass ornaments as part of their elaborate regalia for ceremonial occasions. Hip ornaments such as this one are worn on the left hip, covering the closure of a wrapped skirt. The three inlaid metal scarification marks on either side of the forehead identify the individual portrayed as a royal Edo man.

* Culture: Edo
* Medium: Copper alloy, iron
* Place Made: Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
* Dates: 18th century (possibly)
* Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 4 1/8 x 2 1/4 in. (16.5 x 10.5 x 5.7 cm)
* Collections: Arts of Africa

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/images/objects/size2/56.6.31a-b.jpg

Box in the Form of a Leopard's Head

* Culture: Edo
* Medium: Wood, metal
* Place Made: Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
* Dates: 19th century
* Dimensions: 6 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (17.2 x 13.9 cm)
* Collections: Arts of Africa
* Museum Location: This item is not on view
* Accession Number: 56.6.31a-b
* Credit Line: Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta-Ramos
* Catalogue Description: Box in form of feline head, wood with metal tacks over surface, ears protrude, teeth and fangs represented. Condition: generally good, slightly chipped.

[img]http://feastbowl.files./2010/10/nigeria-plaque.jpg?w=378&h=500[/img]

Bronze plaque showing a central figure of an Oba or chief flanked by two attendants, made in Benin during the 17th century.

https://www.lessing-photo.com/p3/300401/30040110.jpg

Memorial head, terracotta, from Benin. Such memorial heads to an Oba (king) or chieftain, were placed on altars. Offerings were put into the opening at the top of the head. H: 24 cm
Private Collection (T.E.L.), Vienna, Austria

https://www.denverartmuseum.org/files/collection_object/1955.317_Benin_Large.jpg


"The royal palace of the oba or king of Benin was adorned with hundreds of elaborately ornamented plaques, such as this one, telling the story of court life. Cast in the lost wax technique by a highly skilled artisan, this plaque has the figure of a court nobleman or possibly a chief showing details of his regalia, including his helmet, an elaborate coral necklace, embroidered skirt, belt, and anklets."


A close up of one of the Benin bronzes depicting a messenger. The rectangular object in his right hand has been interpreted as a leopard skin pouch by some (which is possible, though there is not an accompanying explanation for what the use of leopard skin pouches was in the context of the Oba's court), but I noticed that the circles on the object could be like the aro-oko symbols amazonia mentioned earlier (although I don't see any x's). Note the similarity between the object in the messenger's hand and the one that the female court official is holding from an earlier post: 

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-582176.288.html#msg8113567


There are several other bronzes which depict the same kind of flat, rectangular object being held up by different court officials and I may post some others.

It means he just came.

jason123:
Blue flags: Private owned lands
Nigerian flags: Government owned Lands.

Ok, thanks.

Horus:
https://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6573/43681549.jpg

The flags represents which pieces of land had already been sold

What do the blue flags indicate (as opposed to the Nigerian flags)?

Great project. Great pictures.  How many skyscrapers can they really build there? (I'm looking at those future images) I didn't read through the thread and don't have much of an idea of the strength of the island, though I know they had experts build it. I ask because Nigerians have a tendency to overcrowd certain esteemed/lucrative/attractive areas.

ekt_bear:
Sorry if you two were offended, I respect both of you.

I probably went too far.

Thanks. No need to apologize to me, though, I've probably said more offensive things on here anyway. I just didn't want to see this discussion get too ugly, seeing as how you came in here genuinely wanting to know about Delta state and how it could be split to solve all the ethnic issues.

Beaf:
Really, can you tell me where on Earth a king rules from purchased land? lol
Find out what Ode-Itsekiri is and where it is. Further, research its history. It is also easy to find out where the villages in Warri are; Obiomah for example, is an Agbassa man whose village is bang in the middle of Warri, so you can understand his perspective.

Anyways, I'm not in the least interested in devisive issues, except in discussion with my fellow Deltans.

Purchased land? Purchased from who?

I guess the issue here is the name of the (larger) city, not the king. The king's title is indeed Olu of Warri and always has been, contrary to Obiomah and Ejoor's statements. I guess the confusion arises because the rest of the settlements around the smaller city that is the center of the historical kingdom of Warri just took the name of the kingdom that was the power in the area, instead of taking a different name for the large parts of (modern) Warri that were not tied to that kingdom.

[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQQ7EA4ona2qGaebL8cKcacCfbIFsbuDYjivHCn_EHkyN4KIuyQLw&t=1[/img]

"Regnum Awerri" (Kingdom of Warri), 1743.

ekt_bear:
Heh. The insults have only hardened my heart.

Imagine, a man whose townsmen were hunted like animals and enslaved, a man whose only claim to fame is that he was born on a patch of land some dinosaurs died on millions of years ago thinks he is something. Smh.

May those who plunder and pollute your lands continue to do so. As they carted you away in ships to be sold as slaves, may they continue to ravage your land.

A fool that stumbles into luck and thinks that he made it himself. Smh.

Not to spoil a good fight, but this is really hitting below the belt in my opinion. He couldn't find anything to attack your state with other than it being more rural than his, or having less oil derived wealth than his, so you should hit back with something less objectionable than this.

Beaf, could you explain why Ejoor, Obiomah, and various other Urhobos keep up with this claim that the Olu of Warri, an Itsekiri king, was originally titled Olu of Itsekiri? I took it at face value originally, but after further reading, it's clear that the claim is patently false. So why do they persist with that claim? What's their basis? I just want to know as an outsider. Is it just political propaganda?

Some Nigerians may be rude now, but Nigerians in general were probably not rude in the past. The friendly and well mannered conduct of various Nigerian groups towards foreigners, strangers, and relatives was noted in the past by many visitors to Nigeria prior to the colonial era. Perhaps the gradual disappearance of the "natural" social structure with its class distinctions, rank distinctions, customs, and notions of propriety may have something to do with the apparent widespread rudeness you see today.

A description of part of the deliberate burning of Benin:

"This compound consisted of about a hundred houses, whose roofs
made a good blaze. Behind the buildings there
was a huge garden, which we never had time to
explore, but it must have been quite a hundred
acres, surrounded by a high red wall. It is not
unlikely that it was the walking place of the King,
and formed part of his compound, which the Juju
prevents him ever leaving.
That afternoon began the demolition of houses
near the King's House, so as to make that portion
of the town defensible by the Houssas after we had
left. The destruction of those mud houses was a
matter of some difficulty, gunpowder could not be
used except in small quantities, when the difficulty
of tamping rendered the charge useless ; the danger
of firing the thatch from large charges was a risk
not to be run. It was wearisome work, the red
dust from the hard mud irritating the nose and
throat to an amazing extent. The same afternoon a
large party under Captain Campbell proceeded to the
Queen Mother's House and destroyed it, so burning
one more of the headcentres of vice in the city." -R. H. Bacon, Benin: the City of Blood (1897)

biina: 2. beastiality: Again, while not accepted by the mainstream society, bestiality has always been part of the rituals of some religious sects in Africa


Some fulanis are said to sleep with their cattle to gain firmer control over the animals. Also, among the yorubas, some sleep with animals as part of rituals to gain wealth or spiritual powers. The Europeans did not define our traditional beliefs, and in fact tried to get rid of some practices that were deemed barbaric.

SOURCE?


I'm aware of pre-colonial homosexuality existing in Africa, but bestiality rituals? I think you need a source for that kind of statement.

Ileke-IdI:
@the cocx pix.

Dont think there's any Nigerian man that can boast of a cocx that long.

^

Diick examiner?

A bridge in old Benin?


"Just at Ikpoba it broadened out
into a pool some twenty yards wide, quite shallow,
but in the centre about six feet deep, with a nice
sandy bottom, an ideal place for a bathe. There
were the remains of a bridge which once had been
a fine piece of native work, but had fallen into
irretrievable disrepair. The water was excellent,
in fact it is said that the Ikpoba water, carried down
from the old city in demijohns, used to be sold in
New Benin, sixty miles away, as a luxury" - R. H. Bacon, Benin: the City of Blood (1897)

^^^^

The book this quote is from has an exaggeratedly negative and low opinion of Benin owing to the attack on the intrusive and unwelcome expedition to  Benin led by James Robert Phillips' party in January 4, 1897, that resulted in the death of Phillips and several European officers. For Bacon of all people (who uses extremely negative and sensational language against Benin throughout his book) to admit that the bridge was a fine piece of work means that even its remains were impressive.

ekt_bear:
So yeah, you'd need an accurate census, documentation of who owned what historically, etc. But once you have that, shouldn't be hard to partition the city.

That's easier said than done. Based on the kind of claiming that was going on after the Warri crisis, I doubt that it wouldn't be hard to partition the city.

See here for example:

http://www.waado.org/Warri/Obiomah.html


There are many more articles full of claims and counter claims about Warri.

Hmmm. And all this time I thought Orikinla was Igbo based on his comments about Biafra and Igbos from way back. Because of those comments I still think he's Igbo. I don't know how people are getting that he's Ijaw or Yoruba when he hasn't identified as such.

^^^^

You grew up in an African household? You don't know how lax an African parent can or cannot get compared to their counterparts. If you don't know what that fundamental difference is, I'll give away a major part of it: deference to parents at all times and little room for disrespect. The African (actually, I'm only familiar with the Nigerian household based on my own experience and my own conversations with other Nigerians, I can't speak for the other parts of Africa - that's something the original poster might have taken for granted) household and system of child rearing is not necessarily superior but it's definitely distinct from the typical household in some other countries.

PhysicsHD:
https://www.galerie-herrmann.com/arts/art3/Ife_Benin/38_Krieger/Krieger_gr.jpg

Warrior
Benin, Nigeria
about 1880
Bronze
32 cm

This warrior from Benin wears a tall, ornamented helmet, a shield, a spear and a wrap-around skirt with stiff appendage. The tall and pointy appendage is very typical for pieces from Benin.

This is a depiction of an Iyase of Benin, apparently, going by the hat he's wearing.

Sarahluv:
It's refreshing to see politicians accepting the results of the elections honorably. It's a good thing as long as such elections are free and fair.

Who's this woman:

[img]https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?action=dlattach;id=420077;type=avatar[/img]


That you're referring to as your "idol" in your profile?

I need to know immediately.