₦airaland Forum

i am just over 5ft tall.

Kisses and hugs ****

Are you female?

Being just over 5 ft tall and being female doesn't really carry any social stigma, or at least I don't think it usually does.

Waste of time and money and also an unnecessary government intrusion.

Director-General of National Orientation Agency, NOA

What's the purpose of this agency, anyway?

Negro_Ntns: The Yuribanies or people of Ayo, have less of the peculiar Negro features than almost any other natives of tropical Africa. . . . page 55. Which would suggest they are foreign to the tropical land.

There are very many disclosures in this book written from Eurocentric perspective but it confirms also many oral histories and accounts told from an Afrocentric view.

[url]http://books.google.com/books?id=yncYAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=eyeo+PEOPLE&source=bl&ots=lLsKlyCq2S&sig=0-eSjduprs30zydVAIjzxbxLqo0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QUaLT93PHsfu0gHlpcXSCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=eyeo%20PEOPLE&f=false[/url]

Actually if they have a tropically adopted body plan, then they wouldn't be foreign to tropical land in the sense of having come there at some late (rather than prehistoric) time, although of course the writer could not have known that at the time of his writing.

As for the so called "peculiar Negro features" it may not have occurred to this particular author that different ethnic groups in Africa could have different unique features regardless of admixture with non-black groups, but other European writers in the same century and other centuries had noted that certain African groups did seem to have different/distinct appearances.

nagoma: Crayola was Going on about "the resistance of ibos to British invasion ." Can you give me one detailed example such as the one you quoted about kano? Was there sincerely any organized resistance In the south. I don't expect them to have horsemen perhaps no Igbo man living in 1902-03 had ever seen a horse ( if they saw one they would eat it). How could such people organize any resistance to invasion. You will also need to read history books to know the circumstances around the British Kano expedition.
So there was no risk of defeat and they gave the young man VC ? You think VC is certificate of attendance doled out to any soldier just because he chased fleeing enemy? VC are only won in real and major dangerous combats not for minor resistance. Check out with the Brits.

If you want to make this about north or south or ethnic groups, that's your own business as I'm not going to get involved in that. I'm not here to hold brief for anybody in the south as information (in books and articles) is out there and readily available about what resistance there was and when.

I was just questioning the validity of the claim that they were seriously "at risk of being defeated". I don't think that was the case. Of course with the maxim gun a small number of troops could hold off or defeat a much higher number of troops fighting with more traditional methods but the truth is that British forces did sometimes withdraw if they felt they would lose and in this instance they stood their ground because they knew that they were owning without needing reinforcements.

By the way you're talking about horses and horsemen, but the only reason some groups (Nupe, Igala, Fulani, Oyo, etc.) used horses extensively is because the horses could survive well enough in their areas. In the south where the tsetse fly kills off the horses, they would merely have been items of prestige that would die off quickly. So having horsemen or not is not even particularly relevant.

Odenigbo Aroli: Mr. Physics,does the OBA of Benin wear the "Nze na Ozo" title hat ? I have seen it somewhere before but wasnt sure if that really the "okpu nmee" hat ! Please,tell me more about this.

This is the traditional headgear:

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/benin/artwork/189037

And variations on it such as in this picture: http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/fpimages/oba.jpg

Or other styles/variations that exist such as those seen in the art.

But I think I know the hat that looks like the "Nze na Ozo" hat that you're referring to and it's seen in this:

http://www.cityflavourmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/Oba-Erediauwa2.jpg

Or the white version:

http://edostatewebsite2010.99k.org/images/DSC_1202a.jpg

http://nationalmirroronline.net/thumbnail.php?file=/osh_426566851.jpg&size=article_large

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-qxJpLwqiYdr-0SNVAotQo9414kKvTe2STTYBNJJz0DfESOcjYnorTZmy


It's a recent/modern thing as far as I can tell. Prince Edun Akenzua wears a white version of the same hat in some pictures I've seen and I've also seen images where the heir to the throne and other title holders wear either a white or red version.

If I were to hazard a guess I would say it's a substitute for wearing full regalia on occasions where full regalia is not considered necessary.

I'm surprised you didn't know Mexico was doing better than Nigeria. I thought that would be obvious. Mexico is always listed as having one of the largest economies in the world and it has a somewhat smaller population. Anyway, Mexico has been independent since the 1820s so I don't think they're doing as well as they could be, but then again they've had a lot of civil unrest and wars and to some extent they still do have a lot of civil unrest (corrupt police, violent drug cartels, EZLN, etc.).

This is kind of off-topic, but one thing I heard from a Mexican friend of mine in high school is that Cinco de Mayo is basically insignificant in Mexico itself, but for some reason it's seen as a major Mexican national holiday in the U.S. Don't know if what he said was completely accurate, but it would be kind of funny if that were true.

nagoma: But Kano was defeated and the British Commander Leutenant Wallace Duffield Wright ( who later on became BrigadierGeneral Wright) was conferred with the highest British Empire medal for bravery - the Victoria Cross and theKano Expedition( as the British call it) was classified as Battle of Honour , as the British clearly risked defeat.

"Risked defeat"? I don't think so.

Wikipedia: Wright was 27 years old, and a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, British Army, employed Northern Nigeria Regiment during the Kano-Sokoto Expedition, in Nigeria when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 26 February 1903 in Nigeria, Lieutenant Wright, with only one other officer and 44 men sustained the determined charges of 1,000 horse and 2,000 foot for two hours and when the enemy, after heavy losses, fell back in good order, Lieutenant Wright continued to follow them until they were in full retreat. The personal example of this officer, as well as his skilful leadership, contributed largely to the brilliant success of the affair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Duffield_Wright



I wonder why you would even bring him up.

2 cities? Hardly a 'revolution'. . .

But I'm glad to see that there is some slight improvement in quality of life going on.

Venchy: Can I say thank you for bringing such an amazing memories to the young ones who have no idea of the positive impact of the Colonial Era to the city of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole.
This is phenomenal, all credit to the colonial masters given us a base but we messed everything up, Good Master plan of roads and beautification of street rather than the Shamble
construction we are building upon.

This new generation lack class if I may say because there's no proper plan to follow or corruption have taken control of our lives rather than good foundation which the white man have left for us.

What a wrong approach to development, it's all false.......

I love colonial Era in my Opinion......when I remember Nigeria, Water ran away me eye ooo, aye oo aye oo water ran away me eye oooo.

Let's look back and build with sincerity and not False, Let's appreciate the white people and not BLAME GAME ALL THE TIME.

I said I wouldn't post on this thread anymore, but I just have to shake my head @ this.

Ok.

'According to Landolphe, "at the death of a great man, of a fiador or a passador,
he is buried in the apartment he preferred most when living. Before lowering the
corpse into its tomb it is placed on a wicker bier raised about three feet from the
ground. A fire is lighted underneath which melts the fat and dries the body. It is
then carried into a sort of alcove in a sitting posture. It is then built round with
clay in the shape of an altar three feet high. On the top are placed beautiful
elephant tusks each weighing forty to fifty pounds, well carved with images of lizards
and snakes. These tusks are set on crudely carved wooden heads of rams or
bullocks. I saw at least twenty tusks on one of these tombs. The chamber where
the deceased lies is only entered once and that is on the anniversary of his death.
All his friends and relations are present. At the foot of the tomb a small hole is
made about 6 inches square and 18 inches deep, into which libations of palm wine
and brandy are poured ; the kola fruit or cachew is also thrown in, after which an
infinite number of oramus are said, which I never thoroughly understood (II., p. 53)."
" The bunches of coral belonging to the dead are returned to the king, as his office not
being hereditary, his children are not patented until they are twenty years of age and
have done something useful for the state ; besides which, the favour must be
asked for by a majority of the inhabitants of the canton of the father. The body of a
well-to-do man is carried on a litter and is covered with a white cloth. Wailers
follow the corpse, which is carried round the village and then buried. As to the poor
man his body is almost thrown away. Sometimes it is thrown outside the village
into the ditches, where a multitude of vultures devour it. These birds, as big as
turkeys, pace the streets and it is forbidden to kill them because they hurt no one
and destroy lizards and other reptiles [ibid I., p. 54). Of these vultures we are told by
D.R. : " Especially do they fear the birds, and have a great abhorrence for them, and
no man dares do them any harm in any way, for there are men purposely appointed
to give them food, which they carry in a stately manner and with great reverence,
which food when so carried no man may see but those appointed to do it, and every
man makes way and then runs off when he sees these men come to bring the birds food,
and they have a special place so that the birds may always come there for their
food or nourishment." ' - Great Benin (1903), p. 42.



So vultures were off limits, not because they were considered sacred but because they were considered useful. Everything else was probably (though I can't be 100% certain) fair game.

[On a side note, from the above quotes it's clear that it's never a good experience to be poor, no matter what era one is living in, but at least we know from other observers that few people were considered poor in Benin for the majority of the kingdom's pre-colonial existence.]

emöfine2: @PhysicsQED thanks for the info. Were these particular animals with their special status thus perceived as sacred in the Bini Empire at the time?

Well, I can't say for certain what status they would have had, but my personal view is that they were not considered sacred.

There is a story from Egharevba's Short History of Benin about how Oba Ewuare had a leopard and a snake sacrificed every year of his reign, but whether that is factual or not, the very idea of the story (that a leopard and a snake could be slaughtered in the king's honor) suggests that they didn't have any "sacred" status. There are also pieces of Benin art that suggest that leopards were not considered sacred, such as a plaque showing leopards being hunted, and a figurine showing a man pulling a small (perhaps a baby) leopard on a leash as though it were a pet. But for all we know certain communities could actually have seen these animals as sacred.

As for the crocodile, I know that crocodile hide was used sometimes for armor and according to my dad, crocodile meat was eaten decades ago in Benin when he was a kid. (I don't know if it's still eaten in any Edo-speaking areas though.)
So I don't think the crocodile was seen as sacred or something, but like the snake and leopard it was considered special in some way and used to represent people or ideas. But once again, certain communities may have actually seen it as sacred, so I can't be too sure.

Carved images of ram heads were used to represent ancestors among the Edo in earlier times and certain birds were believed to be omens of doom if they cried out, but I don't think these animals were seen as sacred either even if they were seen as having special or unique qualities.

The only animal which seems to have been off limits was possibly the vulture, but I haven't seen anything that indicates that the animal itself was considered sacred. I'm not sure exactly what the taboo was about killing vultures in Benin but I've read that in other places in Africa vultures were not killed because they were seen as useful.

RIP

Kobojunkie: What the heck has winning anything to do with this? You CONCLUDED there that he was INNOCENT of the man's death here. How do you know this? Has ANY INVESTIGATION commenced on this incident? Do you even know the circumstances of his death? What has what ACN to do with this man's death?

The same stupid nonsense was spread only last week when he was involved in a car accident. 3 people died and people immediately concluded even before an investigation was announced, that the opposition party was definitely to blame.

You're incorrigible. I don't know why I even bother.

@PhysicsQED There are a few recurring motifs I've spotted and I suspect they carry a lot of meaning and symbolism.
Maybe details as to their significance has been posted before so perhaps I can be directed to those pages but I wonder what some of these animal motifs mean i.e. the leopard, snake etc?

The leopard - the leopard invariably represents/signifies the Oba of Benin. The Oba is also sometimes addressed as the "leopard of the house" (ekpen n'owa) by Benin titleholders.

The snake - I think the snake is also a reference to power and prowess as well, but there is more to it than that depending on the context.

For example, the art showing snakes or other animals coming out of the nostrils (breath) of men are a reference to the magical powers these people were believed to employ in destroying their enemies.

"The snake and the long-nosed crocodile which appear on the face of the male mask illustrated here (figure 44) are considered to be "hostile" creatures, that is, to have supernatural powers of destruction. The crocodile appears emerging from human nostrils, a reference to the special capacities of especially powerful herbalists to vomit out hostile creatures and dispatch them to destroy their enemies." - Paula Ben-Amos, Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin, p. 115

[The mask referred to as figure 44 in that book is this one:

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/216/nmafamaskbeninkingdomco.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3410/ododuahelmetmask3.jpg]

But from what I've read the snakes that decorated the turrets of the palace were seen as protective symbols.

Btw Physics I do admire your work here on the culture section and the invaluable information you’ve shared. I’ve learnt so much from your threads.

Thanks.

Obviously he's been banned.

Kobojunkie: We already concluded that Oshiomole didn't kill him??

Great, so this man's death WILL NOT be investigated by this governor Instead we will quickly pin it all on the opposition because we love to hate them??

WOW . . . Let's also add his death to the high piles of "deaths that have gone UNINVESTIGATED at the end of the day" then.

Oshiomhole is going to win easily without needing to paint the opposition as bad in any way, and the man that was killed has been with him for years (like a brother and son to him).

People read strangerf's post, which is really just another display of his contempt for the ACN in general, and are now running with it as if it were really plausible.

As for "this man's death not being investigated by the governor", I have no idea what you're talking about. It said very clearly in the first post in the thread that the governor wants his killers found within 14 days and specifically:

Oshiomhole said if the police failed to do proper investigation on the killing of three journalists last week and that of Olaitan, he would convert his leadership of the state to find solution to the problem of insecurity in the state.

strangerf: I think Oshiomole killed that young man so he could blame PDP for it. Epic fail.

Like Tinubu like Oshiomole

Forget about Tinubu for a minute. I know you detest Tinubu and all, but this is a pretty sad situation and Oshiomhole obviously didn't kill him. He was basically killed for nothing for being Oshiomhole's secretary.

tunene: From your post and considering 3 cases (all Nigerians), Jerome Nriagu, Kunle Odunsi and Obafunwa. The only different person is Jerome who decided to leave his fellows in his profile. Both Kunle Odunsi (in US) and Obafunwa (in Nigeria) put the list of institutions were they are fellows after their names. The only other difference between Kunle Odunsi (in US) and Obafunwa (in Nigeria) is that Obafunwa (in Nigeria) is a fellow of more institutions than Odunsi (in US) and that is why that of Obafunwa is longer.

People should stop making Nigerians look like terrible people. People use titles all over the world and it is not localised to Nigeria or Nigerians.

All of the links I posted were of Nigerians. Charles Rotimi is Nigerian, and the other two are Fulani Nigerians.

I get what you're saying but my point is that listing too many degrees and fellowships after one's name looks ridiculous. After a certain number it just doesn't look reasonable and doesn't even impress anyone in the way intended. Dr. Obafunwa can just list 2 or 3 of his fellowships after his name and place the rest somewhere else in his profile.

My other (unstated) point, which was less obvious, is that more accomplished researchers seem to be listing fewer degrees and fellowships trailing their names, which is somewhat ironic.

^^^

@ shymmex

I don't plan on posting on this thread again after this, so the argument is basically over.

[edited]

Antiquities from the city of Benin: and from other parts of West Africa in the British Museum by Charles Read and O.M. Dalton
^^^^^

This is a rare, older book I was able to find and look at recently that has some extraordinary pictures of Benin soldiers and dignitaries (in addition to some art depicting other subjects), several of which I have seen in no other books on Benin and which are nowhere on the internet. This book is very slim and has far fewer images of Benin art than most of the larger modern books I've mentioned earlier in this thread, but it has some (unfortunately, black-and-white) very rare images of some very cool and impressive looking people. I may photograph or scan and then post some of the images I'm talking about from this book if I'm able to obtain a personal copy at some point. I just thought I should mention this book as another important (although harder to find) source of great images of Benin art.

People say a picture is worth a thousand words and I have to say I would really prefer it if we as Africans had many more images whether in art or drawings of the soldiers and dignitaries of Mali, Songhai, Nupe, Oyo, Igala, Kwararafa, and other prominent West African kingdoms. It would really be nice if we had more images displaying the level of sophisticated organization we were capable of in the past than what we do have. Even what we have now in terms of images isn't really enough in certain areas (such as architecture) for any African kingdoms except maybe Ashanti, actually.

I recently came across some interesting facts relating to Benin and its architecture.

Two comments by Frank Willett:

"In Benin the houses which still survive from the pre-Expedition period, i.e. which date from before 1897, have large numbers of small impluvia, which allow adequate light to enter, but not too much heat. The thick mud walls also help to keep the building cool; they are thick enough to accommodate cavities which serve as shelves. Major storage, however, is provided by the completely enclosed rooms which lie beneath the ridge-pole." -Frank Willett, African Art: an introduction, p. 131

"Chief Oghiamien, whose house is a national monument, told me that before Western education was introduced one of the main duties of the children of the house used to be to bring clean 'sand' from the river and to help in restoring the weathered surfaces. Now, however, they are in school most of the time, and it is necessary to pay to have this work done, although there are now relatively few workers trained in this old craft. Dmochowski designed a new museum for Benin with an area on the scale and in the style of the King's Palace where works of art intended for the royal cults were to be exhibited, and an area on the scale and in the style of a chief's house for displaying art works of humbler origin. Traditional materials were to be used, with some modernization to inhibit fire, in order to save from extinction the dying craft of wall maintenance. Unfortunately his plan was rejected in favour of a concrete building with totally inappropriate circular rooms." - African Art: an introduction, pp. 132-133

^^^^

As interesting as that looks and as necessary as it probably is, I honestly have to say that I'm not too keen on a Benin Cultural Heritage Center built with non-Benin style architecture. Sure, most of Nigeria, including Benin, has European style architecture now, but some attempt should be made to incorporate Edo architectural elements into the building if it's going to be a permanent and important place.

But those languages don't even have an alphabet and they are not written. You people use letters from the latin alphabet in phrases like "na wa O"
Why do people use a language doesn't have its own written form?

1. Those languages have alphabets that have been developed. For Igbo and Yoruba, alphabets were developed following colonization, although Yoruba has been once or twice written in an ajami script prior to colonization. Hausa and Fulfulde have been written in an ajami script prior to colonization as well.

2. For the record, the "Latin alphabet" is just a modified version/reproduction/alteration of the Phoenician alphabet, which derives from the Proto-Sinaitic script, which itself originates from Egyptian hieroglyphs. So the "Western world", the "Islamic world", the "African world" and South Asia (India, Pakistan, etc.) are all really writing in different forms of corrupted Egyptian symbols.

3. Why are you using English when English doesn't have its own written form and instead relies on the script of a dead civilization (Phoenicia via ancient Egypt) for its symbols? This comment of yours is not a valid objection/criticism.