₦airaland Forum

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_97.jpg

Staff for Oba's Representative

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
Height 33-1/2 in.
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/DT6586.jpg

Rattle Staff: Hand Holding Mudfish (Ukhurhe)

Date:
16th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 59 1/4 in. (150.5 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1979_206_265.jpg

Altar Tusk

Date:
18th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
H. 74 x Diam. 6 1/2 in. (188 x 16.5 cm)
Classification:
Bone/Ivory-Sculpture

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/DP110726.jpg

Altar Tusk

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
H. 45 9/16 x W. 2 1/8 x D. 5 1/4 in. (115.8 x 5.4 x 13.3 cm)
Classification:
Bone/Ivory-Sculpture

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_69.jpg

Box: Oba Ozolua and Unidentified Oba

Date:
19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Wood, sheet metal
Dimensions:
H. 14 3/4 x W. 3 7/8 x D. 2 5/8 in. (37.5 x 9.9 x 6.7 cm)
Classification:
Wood-Container

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_75.jpg

Bracelet: Crocodile and Leopard Heads

Date:
16th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 1 3/4 x Diam. 4 in. (4.4 x 10.2 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Ornament

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_74.jpg

Bracelet: Leopard Heads and Ceremonial Swords

Date:
17th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass, gilt
Dimensions:
Length 5-3/8 in.
Classification:
Metal-Ornament


[Edit: I see that the image is no longer showing so here's another direct link: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/50009212]

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_51.jpg

Waist Pendant: Crocodile Head

Date:
16th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass, copper alloy
Dimensions:
Height 7-1/2 in.
Classification:
Metal-Ornament

[Edit: I see that the image is no longer showing so here's a direct link: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50009189?rpp=20&pg=8&ft=Court+of+Benin&pos=159]

[img]http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/1978.412.334a,b_a.JPG[/img]

[img]http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/1978.412.334a,b_c.JPG[/img]

[img]http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/1978.412.334a,b_b.JPG[/img]

Vessel: Ram's Head

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Wood
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 6 9/16 x 4 1/4 x 11 13/16in. (16.7 x 10.8 x 30cm)
Classification:
Wood-Container

[Edit: I see that the images are no longer showing. Here's a link to the source: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50003356?rpp=20&pg=4&ft=Court+of+Benin&pos=76]

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/DT6558.jpg

Plaque: Warrior

Date:
16th–17th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 17 in. (43.2 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
Accession Number:
1991.17.12

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/1978.412.320.jpg

Plaque: Iyase with Sword and Attendant

Date:
1550–1680
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 15 3/4 x W. 7 1/4 x D. 2 1/2 in. (40 x 18.4 x 6.4 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture
Credit Line:
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972
Accession Number:
1978.412.320

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/1978.412.473.JPG

Plaque Fragment: Warrior

Date:
1550–1680
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 16 1/2 x W. 11 15/16 x D. 2 1/2 in. (42 x 30.3 x 6.4 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture
Credit Line:
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Samuel Rubin, 1962
Accession Number:
1978.412.473



[note: the "Warrior" figure of this plaque, is a past Iyase of Benin]

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_82.jpg

Bracelet: Three Heads

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass, copper alloy
Dimensions:
Diameter 4-5/8 in.
Classification:
Metal-Ornament
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
Accession Number:
1991.17.82

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_86.jpg

Altar Bell: Fish-Legged King

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 5 3/4 x W. 2 5/8 x D. 2 5/8 in. (14.6 x 6.7 x 6.7 cm) Other: W. 2 5/8 x D. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 x 6.7cm)
Classification:
Metal-Musical Instrument
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
Accession Number:
1991.17.86

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/mi/web-large/DT1530a.jpg

Eroro

Date:
19th century
Geography:
Nigeria
Culture:
Benin
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 17.8 cm (7 in.); Base; 10.3 cm (4 in. square)
Classification:
Idiophone-Struck
Credit Line:
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number:
89.4.2604

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/DT6590.jpg

Side-Blown Trumpet (Oko)

Date:
19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
Length 14-1/2 in.
Classification:
Bone/Ivory-Musical Instrument
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
Accession Number:
1991.17.107

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/vs1991_17_109.jpg

Side-blown Trumpet (akohen)

Date:
18th–19th century
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
Length 14-1/2 in.
Classification:
Bone/Ivory-Musical Instrument
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, 1991
Accession Number:
1991.17.109

https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ao/web-large/DT10214.jpg

Figure: Horn Player

Date:
1550–1680
Geography:
Nigeria, Court of Benin
Culture:
Edo peoples
Medium:
Brass
Dimensions:
H. 24 13/16 x W. 11 9/16 x D. 6 3/4 in. (63 x 29.4 x 17.2 cm)
Classification:
Metal-Sculpture
Credit Line:
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1972
Accession Number:
1978.412.310

[img]http://3.bp..com/_u_KW4nuKg9k/SMNHYAvdxHI/AAAAAAAAFyc/xeHb7I50dpI/s1600/ben103.jpg[/img]

[img]http://1.bp..com/_u_KW4nuKg9k/SMNHXtkZyUI/AAAAAAAAFyE/YBkUBYkLPsg/s1600/ben101.jpg[/img]

^^^^^

Saying that Nigeria does not have more than 50 languages is incorrect. Maybe whoever said that should have said that Nigeria does not have more than 50 distinct "cultures", which is more plausible.


Much of the linguistic diversity leading to the "250" or "500" claim probably has to do with languages in the Northern part of the country.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5128/5254826510_8320e04c0b_z.jpg

^^^
Probably either a depiction of Oranmiyan of Ife/Oyo or of the Atta of Igala. Or it could be somebody else entirely.

Your "900 CE" map pretty much excludes Ife and it excludes whatever polity made Sungbo's Eredo (maybe the predecessor of the Ijebu kingdom?). A little more familiarity with even the limited archaeological work that has been done in southern Nigeria would be useful before anybody made a thread like this.

Also the "1500 CE" map is definitely not an accurate account of the territorial extent of some polities. Among other things, if you (or whoever made the map) were familiar with the existence of  Igala political suzerainty up as far as Nupe, you (or whoever made the map) might have drawn the map differently. Don't know how accurate the "1700 CE" map really is either.

Apart from the fact that multiple kingdoms were excluded, there are also the extremely questionable "influence range" borders drawn for each of the states for all of the different maps.

If I were to elaborate on all of my objections to each of the maps, it would be a very long post, so I'm not going to bother seeing as how this is nothing official.

This single post is as much as I'm going to say on this topic because I don't really see the purpose of this thread except maybe to revise history or provoke controversy.

Adios.

NRI PRIEST:
Look patriot2 or whatever they call you; Do not come here and start brewing confusion! Benin in all its population in not up to one million,no compare that to about thirty million Igbos! Benin didnt have the history nor institution to father Igbos ! I will advice you stoutly and politely to not continue with such assumption!  Yes,some midwestern Igbos have Benin migrants but the original inhabitants of these towns were Igbos who crossed the niger for expansion,trade and farming but some later returned(Onicha) following a clash they had with the Oba of Benin!
And has anybody ever asked himself why Benin made the Big wall around the Benin during it hay days? Like i have always stated,people always exaggerate the influence of Benin! Good example is the propaganda that Benin kingdom extends to DAHOMEY!
I will have bad blood here with anybody who will open their mouth and say benin are the fathet of  ALMIGHTY IGBOS!

Not to join sides here, as I don't agree with the slant of patriot's argument (trying to claim some influxes of Edo people into other groups actually means the entire ethnic group is connected as blood relatives to Edo) but the population of Binis is well beyond a million and the Benin empire did, in fact, extend into Dahomey (Benin Republic) at one point.

"On the West, Benin rule undoubtedly extended, at least from the 16th century, to Lagos, Badagry, and Wydah . . . Lander, who visited Badagry in 1830, reported that the corpse of the late chief of that town had been sent to Benin and Landolphe reported that Wydah (Juda) was tributary to Benin in his day. (Landolphe, 1823, vol. II, p. 62)" - R.E. Bradbury, The Benin kingdom and the Edo-speaking peoples of south-western Nigeria (1957), pp. 21-22

The thing to remember is that the borders of Dahomey/Benin Republic are not really that far from Badagry (less than 20 miles, I think), so it wouldn't take too much effort for an organized military force to extend even further westward if they used Badagry as a base. What some over-claimers do that could be annoying, is claiming that "Dahomey" derives from an Esan general of the Benin empire named Isidahome, which is completely spurious. Benin penetrated west of Badagry, establishing some authority over the kingdom of Whydah, but it did not have any connection to the actual kingdom of Dahomey.

Negro Ntns, Africans are entirely capable of deciding their own origins and the distributions of cultures around the continent independent of others. But I think you're getting a bit too hung up on terminology. I noticed your use of the phrase "Congo classification" in one of your responses earlier.

Igbo, Edo, and Yoruba were at one time called "Western Sudanic Langauges", and the so-called "Kwa" group was claimed to be a subgroup of the "Western Sudanic" language group. The terminology changed from "Western Sudanic" (a geographical area) to "Niger-Congo" on the premise that the "Western Sudanic" languages were part of a larger super group which included Bantu languages. Some other linguists have also suggested that these "Western Sudanic" languages are, on the contrary, actually part of a larger super group or "macro phylum" called Niger-Saharan on the premise that the so-called "Nilo-Saharan" languages (rather than the "Bantu" languages) and the "Western Sudanic"/"Niger-Congo" languages formed a larger super group. 

I personally think "Western Sudanic" was a more accurate label, but now that the terminology was changed (by Joseph Greenberg), I don't see what is gained by reverting back to "Western Sudanic".

Afro-asiatic is a name for a group of related languages, not a cultural group. That there are some shared cultural elements between the speakers of these languages is understandable.

If "Niger-Congo" or "Western Sudanic" languages were at one time closer to "Afro-asiatic" languages (and other language groups, as well) than they are today, as would obviously be the case, then there are going to be some shared remnants of that common origin in the languages and cultures of both groups. That's all I'm saying. I don't need to read the patently ridiculous articles of Dierk Lange or the works of hyperdiffusionist historians or linguists to reach the conclusion that "foundational" (with respect to ethnic groups and communities) migrations into West Africa from elsewhere in Africa probably happened much much earlier than the hyperdiffusionists would find acceptable for their theories.

What I would like to see is much more convincing evidence than just what Odudoye has written (and I have now read his book (Words and Meaning in Yoruba Religion: Linguistic Connections in Yoruba, Ancient Egyptian & Semitic)). I think if you're serious about this, you and like-minded people (like Odudoye) should get together and compose a real tome on this, arguing over hundreds of pages for your viewpoints, and promoting the theory seriously in academic circles so that it is open to criticism or review by other researchers, whether these researchers are Yoruba, Hebrew, Egyptian, German, or from elsewhere.

alagbatomoye:
Nothing is impossible.

I didn't state, suggest, or even imply that it was in any way impossible.

My point is that

a) when this breakthrough is made it certainly won't be achieved by a group whose boss is an obscure media entrepreneur with no background in the area of science he's trying to initiate a revolution.

and

b) merely having "100 scientists" doesn't mean anything. It's quality, not quantity, that matters. I could, if I were a multimillionaire, hire 100 new Ph.D's from various fields, give them a lot of money to play with and a directive ("make this or that specific scientific breakthrough happen" and it doesn't mean that they would actually get anything significant done without  1) some of them being very highly gifted/talented in their field beyond what is required to get their degrees 2) having a lot of time to think and significant experience researching in the field (neuroscience) beyond just what was necessary to get their degrees and 3) having connections or access to ideas from some of the leading researchers around the world in that field of science.

People with the ability to initiate the kind of scientific breakthrough that Itskov wants are drawn to more reputable institutions like universities, research institutes affiliated with universities (or at least led by prominent academics that were formerly at universities), or at the very least, companies like IBM or Bell Labs.

and

c) the very fact that he thinks that this is achievable in only 10 years suggests that he doesn't understand anything about the current state of the field he's trying to revolutionize (neuroscience). Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how memory and thought works. You have scientists like Eric Kandel, Earl Miller, or V.S. Ramachandran at the forefront of figuring out how the brain works, and they and other researchers whose work is of similar quality are nowhere near being able to do what this Itskov guy suggested. Yet merely by hiring "100 scientists" he's going to figure out in 10 years much more than they have in their entire careers? Highly improbable.

Itskov, a 31-year-old media entrepreneur, says that he aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years

claims to have hired 100 scientists to reach this goal - and is now looking for other scientists to help with the project.

lol, a regular Manhattan Project for the brain huh?

These scientists are scamming the pants off this guy and he's totally oblivious.

Rest in peace.

koruji:
What is amazing is that for months and months BH was terrorizing the north with no concrete move from the northern elite.

As soon as it looked like the S-S might allocate itself a lop-sided share of the national cake they quickly gather their egg-heads together to complain, and formulate a plan of action.

It is now clear why SLS was linking BH to the derivation - the only problem they have is that BH is like a mad dog on the rampage. It knows no one - owner or stranger will get bitten equally if they don't put it down quickly.

The clouds are omnious for Nigeria, and the spoilt bourgeois are caught in their own folly, like a deer caught in the headlights of a rushing train.

Truth.