₦airaland Forum

Y0ruba:
You keep touting this lie without any references to any literature whatsoever. I should remind you that sources, primary & secondary, do not agree with your claim up there.

Follow me:


3. Akure is next. Akure’s throne was of Ife origin but reinvigorated by a certain Owa Ilesa. Bini invaded this town but it did not settle. Bini’s invasion was more of punitive than occupational.

Conclusively, Bini’s emergence which coincided with Oyo’s collapse provided it with the right timing and points of interest to try its hands on expansionism with. Although Bini’s army had some incursion into the Eastern part of Yorubaland. It however failed in its military attempts but recorded a bit of success in cultural exchanges through diplomatic relations. Thus, Bini’s presence in Yorubaland has been due to its historical ties to Yoruba kings and the attendant diplomatic relations they share rather than military conquests which were not sustainable and as a result, ephemeral.

davidnazee:
Since you don’t know about Owo kingdom (a Benin vassal state and property) I will enlighten you on it. Read below about Owo’s relationship with Great Benin kingdom.

""Using a combination of oral traditions and written sources, this work reconstructs the history of a tropical African kingdom, the frontier Yoruba kingdom of Owo in southwestern Nigeria, from about the 12th century to the middle of the 20th century. One of a number of kingdoms springing up in this forest country in about the 11th and 12th centuries, Owo developed as a typical Yoruba kingdom, with a system of limited monarchy and careful balances of the interests of society. However, Owo was the closest Yoruba kingdom to another kingdom that was not Yoruba, that had a significantly different political system characterized by nearly complete monarchical absolutism.
Inevitably, Owo developed relationships with that kingdom, the strong, expansionist Benin kingdom of the Edo people - in trade, culture, etc. Owo seems to have grown slowly until it came under pressure of this much stronger neighbor. Benin’s ownership of coastal territory had positioned her to benefit from the coastal trade with Europeans beginning from the last years of the 15th century. Wealth from the trade and the acquisition of imported weapons of war (European guns), transformed Benin into a formidable adversary to her neighbors. Unable to match Benin’s military power, Owo strove for independent survival by entering into creative commercial and political arrangements with Benin. Over time, Owo-Benin relations attained a certain stability featuring much cultural interaction, friendly trade in each other’s domain, and traders from both kingdoms’ trading side by side far into the interior. Politically, Owo began to be impacted by the Benin system, thereby creating a long history of conflict and instability in the internal politics of the Owo kingdom. In spite of such, however, Owo continued to prosper economically. Owo also developed excellent diplomatic skills that preserved her independence and prevented frequent wars with Benin. Owo’s economic prosperity spurred cultural growth and revival, making Owo a great cultural center in Yorubaland. Although Owo’s political life never fully recovered from the disruptions imported by her contacts with Benin, Owo never ceased to be a prosperous independent kingdom. The same trends continued under the British and have continued in the context of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ryder and Bradbury only mentioned Owo in passing in their works. Ryder says that Owo was part of the Benin Empire that extended to eastern Yorubaland in the 15th century and Bradbury says that Benin conquered Owo, one of the Yoruba states and that Owo was intermittently part of the Benin Empire before the 19th century.
For example, Bradbury has emphasized the Benin factor in the history of precolonial eastern Yorubaland. He explains this in terms of the expansionist program of Benin and its impact on the surrounding polities, including Owo. According to Bradbury: ‘It is impossible at the present time to determine the extent of the Benin empire at any particular period in the past; the frontiers were continually expanding and contracting as new conquests were made and as vassals on the borders rebelled and were conquered....
On the northeast, Akure, the Ekiti country, Owo and much of what is now Owo Division were, though intermittently, tributary to Benin; the re-conquest of this area was attempted, with some success during the early part of the 19th century. It appears from the Edo traditions that Edo influence in this area dates back to the late 16th century.’
the Benin armies extended their conquests beyond the Edo regions, subjugating many towns and villages of Ekiti, Ikare, Afenmai and the western Ibo, among them the important towns of Owo andAkure.’ 85 Akintoye complements Bradbury and Ryder by looking at the imperial activities of Benin in eastern Yorubaland: how Benin succeeded in establishing her rule or dominance in the area, how she treated the subject peoples and how she was overthrown by the coming of the British in 1897

Akintoye has dwelt more extensively on some aspects of the precolonial history of Owo, particularly her relationship with the Benin kingdom than any other scholar.
According to him, Benin had an overwhelming political, economic and cultural control over Owo until 1897. He says, without any qualifications, that
‘.. .Owo appears to have been very closely controlled from Benin.’ 89 Akintoye gives his reason for Benin’s total control of Owo by saying that this ‘... was probably due partly to Owo’s comparative nearness to Benin and her location along the main routes.’
He adds that in practical terms ‘...The Olowo (i.e. the traditional ruler of Owo) sent tributes to Benin annually through a resident official and the Owo people had to pay to the Oba of Benin obeisance customarily due to an oba. For instance, in most parts of the Yoruba country any hunter who killed a tiger or leopard had to give it up to his oba. In Owo, any hunter who killed either of these animals had to carry it to the Oba of Benin.’ Akintoye adds that ‘Owo was made to surrender its princes as hostages in the Benin court. Many Owo rulers therefore had Benin education and were responsible for introducing Benin culture to Owo. This is why Owo shows much stronger evidence of Benin cultural influence, especially in palace ritual and manners, than other towns in the area under study.’""

So @moorish, you see that Owo is more Edo than Yoruba.

prolog2:
stop quoting me for your rubbish, The Oba of Benin was too busy fighting against thé british to talk about your useless alafin who couldn't put up à fight.

prolog2:
Not just eastern yorubaland, we own all of it bro, except oyo which is owned by fullani.

Moorish:
The british had to use mercenaries from the north, mostly fulanis (Usman dan fodio), to destabilize Yoruba

The illorin/oyo people have had friendly relations with the fulanis for many years, we trusted them when they came with the islamic doctrine, and many people were disenfranchised with alaafin due to promises of economic prosperity from the muslim proselytyzer who promised the new religious adherents equality.

They now saw our supreme Alaafin as an oppressor

Fulani infiltrated then sacked our buffer kingdom of nupe, who were Oyo tributary, and they were conscripted into their armies

They are regretting it today

Lisabi killed our administrators in Egba

They are also regretting it today

Afonja then marched on Oyo

We re-mobilized in ibadan, our new capital and defeated our invaders

The british simply watched the whole thing unravel, being the masterminds behind all this

They couldn't face us one on one

They were coy and slick, gotta give them props for their mastermind strategy

My point is that Benin was not as formidable as Oyo.

Britain conscripted 1500 soldiers to take benin

White boys slaughtered benin soldiers!

Your Oba was exiled bro!

That is not an honourable thing

I wouldn't be proud of that if I were you

They had to be more strategic with the Yorubas because we were the Mighty Force in the South

Moorish:
That is the problem with benin "scholarship"

No facts, no literary sources, no logic, just claims!

I usually believed their narrative, because I was born in their territory.. Since I came on this thread, You brothers have given me power to conquer these enemies to the east because now I have the knowledge, we are the sons of odduduwa, A god! A civilizer, a mighty one!

I have a lot to be proud of

The Owo kingdom has some beautiful arts

All I need now is a yoruba queen who can bring me into my culture!

I am also mixing up with true omoluabis for the first time in my life here in lagos

Man I did see some dark days in the old bendel land

i also had some good days, and I count one or two bendel sons as my brothers but the guys on this thread have made me rethink my benevolence

#FamilyFirst

Bro, I am going to send you a message if you don't mind

By the end of the middle of 15th century, Owo town had come under the influence of Benin kingdom. Thus, Owo became influenced by several factors:

·Architecture: The houses of Owo people have fluted walls like the people of Benin.

·Religion: The religious activities of the Benin and Owo people look alike. For example, the Owo people perform the same ritual of “Igwue” like the Benin.

· Politics: The Owo people adopt chiefly titles like the Benin people.

· Regalia: The royal regalia is common in both cities.

· Traditional Rulers: The Oba of Benin and the Olowo of Owo use the same type of ceremonial sword that has looped handle.

· Sculpture: The styles of their sculptures are the same; their ivory carvings are difficult to distinguish which city has them. · In Owo, the wooden ram-heads are placed in the ancestral shrines which are a common culture in both cities. In some shrines also, there are found carvings of human heads bearing ram horns, long and curve-like over the head. The face of the ram-head is smoothly modeled and the neck is encircled with bead-like rows of wood, recalling the Benin bronze head.

Similarly, as a result of the influence of Ife on Owo, both cities share common characteristics in their works of art. Both Ife and Owo heads have the following characteristic features in common.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/06/owo-culture-of-ancient-nigeria/

laudate:
I still do not understand the reason for all the tension on this thread, between the Ov'biedo and the O'dua people. In real life, there is mutual respect between both groups. In fact, I have lost count of the number of Bini/Edo people I have met, who also bear Yoruba names. In uni, anytime there was an election or campaign of sorts, the Edo & Yoruba chaps often aligned to vote together as a bloc. It was that serious!

Now, the ignoramus from the SE, who started the conflict between both groups on this thread has disappeared, but the online feud he created, is still going on. Na wa, o! Make una settle dis matter, nah! Chai!

Last word: Owo people appear to have had closer contact with Benin kingdom, than all other Yoruba towns from what I heard.

EdoNation:
NO EDO PERSON BEARS YORUBA NAMES APART WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE THAT HAVE YOOOBA MOTHERS!!

In general, it is known that the high tide of Benin expansionism was in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - the period of the great warrior kings Ewuare, Ozolua, Esigie, Orogbura and Ehengbuda.3 According to Benin traditions, the Oba who undertook the first invasions of Owo, Ekiti and Akoko was Ewuare, who probably reigned in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century and is said to have "fought against and captured 201 towns and villages in Ekiti, Ikare, Kukuruku, Eka and the Ibo country on this side of the Niger".4 This has been widely accepted by writers of Ekiti traditions; but I have found that it is based on no other evidence than the Benin tradition which claims that the earliest Europeans came to Benin in Ewuare's reign, and the mistaken beliefs that Ewuare bought guns from them, and that the earliest massive conquests could only have been made possible by these guns. In the early eighteenth century, Barboté reported that the Oba of Benin "is perpetually at war, with one nation or other, that borders on the northern part of his dominions, and sometimes with another north-west of his kingdom, which are all potent people, but little or not at all known to Europeans, over whom he obtains from time to time considerable advantages, subduing large portions of those unknown countries, and raising great contributions (from them)". It seems very probable that Barbot derived this information from earlier sources, as the Benin kingdom was very weak in the eighteenth century. Bosman, writing a few years before Barbot, described the Benin kingdom as badly weakened by internal strife, its people unwarlike and cowardly, its army prac- tically non-existent.6 By the early eighteenth century, in short, the golden age of the kingdom had passed. The period of its active invasions of Ekiti, Owo and Akoko must then be assigned to the preceding two centuries, although it remains impossible to tell precisely when the earliest of these invasions occurred.

In Ekiti, the Benin armies did not at first go beyond the southern kingdoms - Akure, Ogotun, Ise, Emure and Ikerel Akure, where there was already a sizeable Edo trading community, became a sort of Benin military outpost, from where Benin armies led out expeditions into the Ekiti interior. A secondary post seems to have later grown up at Ikere. By the time of Ehengbuda (probably the last years of the sixteenth and the first of the seventeenth century), Benin armies are said to have penetrated as far north as Otun and to have been making unsuccess- ful attempts to go beyond. A small but strong Igbomina kingdom called Ewu, which was tributary to Oyo, solidly barred the way here1 - and this has probably led to the tradition in Benin that Benin and Oyo armies set a frontier at Otun.2 In the first years of the nineteenth century however, in a brief final spurt of Benin military activity, Ewu, beset by internal troubles of its own, collapsed before a Benin army and its citizens scattered in all directions.[/b]3 A[b]s military ventures, the Benin invasions appear to have been remarkably successful. Among the Ekiti, Akoko and Owo, most of the Benin victories are ascribed to the fact that the Edo used guns while their opponents used the tradi- tional weapons - cutlasses, spears, clubs, bows and arrows. However, as has been pointed out, the great campaigns of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not employ fire-arms - although it is true that when guns did begin to be employed later, they were so strange to the Ekiti and others that the noise made by Benin guns in battle were believed to be made by a sky god who was an ally of the Oba of Benin.4 Moreover, the truth of the assumption is questionable that fire-arms, especially of the flint-lock types, are inevitably superior to traditional weapons.5 It seems nearer the truth, therefore, to see the explanation to the Benin victories in the essential superiority of the Benin kingdom over the fragmented communities of the north-eastern Yoruba country. First, though the Ekiti regarded themselves as one group - a sub-section of the Yoruba - they could never express this 'oneness' in political forms, not even in co-operation against an aggressor from 'outside'. On the contrary, their sixteen or seventeen kingdoms, some quite large and others very small, were, not infrequently, involved in squabbles and conflicts. None of them was strong enough to resist Benin effectively for long. In fact, surrender appears to have been the usual response, and only in a few places have stories of resistance been told. The Oyo kingdom, making adroit use of the hills and forests, seems to have defeated a large Benin army 1

davidnazee:
@moorish, you know I always speak the truth, so I will give u a brief account of the Benin-British war of 1897..

The British forces that fought the war was about 10,000 soldiers. About 2,000 whites and the rest African conscripts (mainly western yorubas and Hausas).
The British attacked from 3 fronts: gelegele, sakponba and the main column. The main column made of about 2,000 fighters was the one that successfully reached Benin city after 2 weeks of non stop fighting with the Benin soldiers.
They had sneaked through bush parts unknown to Benin and by the time Benin realized this the column was not too far from Benin and they fought for 2 weeks before the city was captured.

The other 2 columns, the gelegele column was defeated at Ughoton by Benin soldiers and all fighters killed.
The sakponba column succeeded in burning Abraka and Jesse towns and some towns before they were decimated by the Benin soldiers.

The fall of Benin city demoralized the Benin fighters but didn’t end the war. The war ended 6months later..

FYI Benin never thought they would loose the war against the British.

Don’t compare Edo people/Benin kingdom might to Oyo.. Even the British soldiers acknowledged they fought a real war in Africa.. Oyo was dead before the British arrived and any other Yoruba resistance was just a militant fighting for deve..

On another occasion, the people of Ado, rather than surrender, resorted to acts of passive resistance.1 These were ' about all the exceptions prior to the Benin invasions of the early nineteenth century. In Akoko, things were much worse still. Here, no kingdom on the scale of even the smallest Ekiti kingdom ever emerged controlling the human and material resources of a group of towns and villages. Every Akoko town or village was a kingdom in its own right, and though two or three of them might ally in times of war, such alliances never developed into permanent arrangements. In fact, each town was chronically incapable of living at peace with its neighbours.2 As a result, the Akoko country was always an easy prey to the Benin armies, as it was later to be to lbadan and Nupe invaders in the nineteenth century. [b]The clearest tradition of resistance is found at O wo. O wo was a considerably powerful kingdom with expansionist ambitions of its own in neighbouring Akoko. Probably in the seventeenth century, an Owo prince named Osogboye, who had lived as a hostage and Omo-ada (sword bearer) in the Benin court, organized his people for resistance against Benin. Following the example of Benin city, he had a great moat dug round Owo, and drilled his people into an efficient fighting force. Thus prepared, Owo crushed a powerful Benin army outside the walls and appears to have held out for some time thereafter.[/b]3 After Qsogboye, however, Benin control seems to have been re-established for some time. Of the full political consequences of the Benin invasions, not much is defini- tely known. As has been pointed out, the invasions caused some social disloca- tion and deliberate transplantations of population. Many towns abandoned their sites and fled up the hills or into the forests. Adó, Akure, Ogotun and Oye have stories of such flights, from which they sometimes did not return for years. In some cases, as in that of Adó, towns appear to have been deserted more than twice over. Moreover, because Adó was very difficult to hold down, the Benin forces repeatedly carried off the people of the Ado villages of Are, Afao, Iluomoba and Agbado and resettled them at lkere where there was a Benin garrison. The descendants of these villages still live in distinct quarters at lkere, under their old names.[b][/b] This changed the internal balance of power in southern Ekiti by transforming lkere from a comparatively small one-town kingdom frequently harrassed by its Ado neighbour into a mighty town capable of threatening neighbouring kingdoms.

About June 1897, a certain Joseph Williams, clerk and interpreter for the Niger Coast Protectorate, visited many Ekiti towns in an effort to prove that Ekiti ought to belong to the N.C.P. since it used to be part of the territory of the Oba of Benin. According to his report,2 he was told in public gatherings by the rulers of Ilawe, Igbara-Odo, Ogotun and Ara that they used to be subjects of the Oba of Benin to whom they used to pay tributes. However, the rulers of Effon, Ijero, Otun and Ado, though acknowledging that Benin had brought wars and destroyed their towns and villages, denied having been subjects of the Oba of Benin or paying tributes to him. These answers reveal that, besides Akure and Ikere, Benin control was more effective in southern and south- western Ekiti than in other parts. And the reason seems obvious - these are the areas nearest to Benin and to Akure. In the far-northern Ekiti, in fact, the kingdom of Obo appears never to have been touched by Benin invasions, while Otun was more an ally than a tributary of Benin and employed Benin armies in its local wars.3 Joseph Williams saw descendants of Balekales in southern, but not in northern, Ekiti. As for the majority of the other Ekiti kingdoms, the degrees of political connection with Benin varied between the extremes of the northern and southern kingdoms

Throughout the eighteenth century, Benin's power suffered a decline, marked only occasionally by short periods of recovery.2 Even in places like Qwo and Akure, this led to a long spell of independence from Benin and comparative freedom from Benin invasions. Moreover, guns and gunpowder had gradually entered into the trade, with the result that many people became familiar with their use.3 The consequent defiance of Benin led to acts of violence against Benin agents and settlers in many places. At Akure, a chief (Chief Osagwe) sent to chastise the people for installing a Deji without first seeking the sanction of the Qba of Benin, was murdered - according to Talbot, in 1815.4 About the same time, an assault on a Benin trader named Ogonto in the Akure market led to violent disturbances in which a number of Edos were killed. At Igbara-Odo, an incident similar to the latter occurred, leading to the murder of many Çdos and the burning of their belongings. These incidents led to the Benin invasions of the early nineteenth century in which guns were massively used. Owo easily repulsed a Benin army. At Akure, the Deji was captured and beheaded and his son Osupa taken in captivity to Benin.5 From Akure, Benin forces fanned out into Ekiti. In most places, they met stout resistance. At Qtun, the Benin warrior chief, finding the Qtun forces too strong, gave up fighting them and joined them in a local war.[/b]6 [b]Neighbouring Ewu was however not so lucky. All the great leaders of these invasions - the Ologbosere, Ezomo and Imaran - died in the campaigns, and many of their followers settled in Ekiti. These proved to be the last Benin invasions of the north-eastern Yoruba country. Moreover, though until quite late in the nineteenth century we still occasionally hear of Benin messengers sent to remind Akure of its duties to Benin,7 the early nineteenth century invasions were followed by disappearance of Benin's political influence. From the middle forties, Ibadan gradually con- quered and reduced to tributaries almost all Ekiti and Akoko without encoun- tering Benin resistance anywhere - although individual Benin settlers like Asa of Itaogbolu featured in Akure armies until the Ekitiparapo war, 1878-93

Moorish:
....

In fact, the measure of Benin's weakness ,can be seen in the fact that about 1876-7, a group of Ekiti and Ijesha warriors (comprising Ogedengbe of Ilesha, Aduloju and Falowo of Ado) conquered the towns and villages of the Afenmai area of the Benin kingdom and penetrated as far into the heart of the Benin kingdom as Iruekpen near Eho.

Y0ruba:
Source: Akintoye S. A., THE NORTH-EASTERN YORUBA DISTRICTS AND THE BENIN KINGDOM, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. 4, No. 4 (June 1969), pp. 539-553.

prolog2:
SHUT THE HELL UP, Nobody believes your lies which are mostly illogical.
For your information, the sultan of sokoto was also exiled and so was the emir of Kano.
The Kings who put up a good fight were exiled or killed in battle.
oyo was a doormat, the british just walked over it with ease.
Why can't you just accept the truth !
Does it serve you to continue telling your stupid lies ?

Moorish:
British Conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate 1903

Benin Expedition of 1897

You can never find anything Online or in Books related to Oyo British War or British Conquest of Oyo

You can also never find anything online or in Books related to Karnem Borno British War or Conquest of Karnem Borno

Those are the only two peoples who were never conquered.

prolog2:
I stopped reading from here because I realized you were crazy. Making sense doesn't seem to matter to you.
You just say whatever rubbish makes you feel good.
Please go and have your conversation with other crazy people.
I'm done, even a 5 year old could school you on this.

Moorish:
An Edo man, who knew his forefather was the brother to mine

He said Yorubas invented langauge, Math and the concept of the University, first pyramid in sudan was built by the yorubas

Watch it man

Moorish:
I sense that you are being subvertive

Because I gave you facts

It's ok not to admit defeat.

prolog2:
So because a guy who you claim to be Edo said something, therefor I shoudl believe it as gospel truth ?
Yeah, yoruba invented language ! Yoruba invented mad people language to be precise ! Go back to the mental asylum.

prolog2:
Actually I refuse to engage in a discussion with you because you say illogical things which should be obvious for even little children !
You clearly don't have the mental faculties to discuss with an educated adult.

Moorish:
You can research these things yourself

prolog2:
You make a claim and I should "research it myself". Because you are some sort of genius who has proven himself and I have time to spend researching your own claim ?
What a morron you are !
Prove your claim yourself or shut the hell up.

prolog2:
One yoruba quoting an other yoruba trashing Edo.
What is the point which you are trying to make ? where are the historical documents which led your guy to claim these claims ?
If you are not aware, 1877 and 1969 are almost one hundred years appart.
You guys are just too daft, you want to serve us your own propaganda and have us believe it.
It is not as if the yoruba were already trying to rewrite Edo history in 1969 ?!
slowpoke !
It is funny that the things which are claimed by your yoruba brither in 1969 weren't noticed by europeans in 1877.
Out of a sudden, akintoye is supposed to have found out around 100 years later while those who witnessed that period of time never noticed this. This is why nobody takes yoruba "historians seriously". They are mere revisionists trying to rewrite yoruba into glory.



And the fool proudly puts the yoruba name of the author and the year (1969). What a morron.

Thesis Three The principal critiques of the thesis of early Ife political, dynastic and cultural primacy in the post -dispersal era are, as we saw earlier, those of Ryder, Williams and Obayemi, When Ryder and Williams wrote their critiques of the idea of Ife primacy vis-a-vis Benin, these were both timely and to the point. For the arguments used to justify this idea were, in those days, somewhat less than adequate. The use of oral evidence from oral tradition was selective and uncritical, and the leap from form -sequence to time -sequence in the case of the Benin brasswork was surely a "Howler". However, the force of both critiques has been eroded, over the years, by a succession of new obser- vations and discoveries. Some of these were in fact accessible to one or both authors at the time they wrote, but were either discounted by them or unloioXvn to them. Others have emerged only subsequently.

Both our authors are strongly influenced by d'Aveiro's reference to the Ogane as a great potentate residing to the east of Benin. Even though Ryder acknowledges that this reference is by no means an insuperable obstacle to identifying the Ogane with the Oni , it is clearly the small niggling fact that drives him on to look eastward and north-eastward for the antecedents of the Eweka dynasty. And in this train of thought, Williams follows him faithfully.

Curiously, Ryder, in pursuing his argument, does so in full awareness of a fact which one might have expected to moderate his enthusiasm for it. Here, I refer to the ritual in which the Oba of Benin addresses prayers to his forefathers at Ife through an eastward facing window at dawn, thus making an identification (albeit a symbolic one) between Ife and the East.33 Far from sounding a note of caution in the face of this fact, he regards it as yet further evidence that the original home of the Eweka dynasty was not Ife but some more easterly or north-easterly centre. His reasoning seems to be that, since the symbolism of dawn and the east is alien to Ife or indeed Yoruba religious life, the ritual must represent a relatively recent grafting of the idea of Ife as dynastic home, on to a more ancient practice directed to the real dynastic home in the east or north- east.

In fact, as further information now makes plain, Ryder's interpretation of this ritual is misguided. To start with, if we turn to Dahomey, on the opposite margin of our region, we find much the same identification. [b]Thus Maupoil, in his classic account of Dahomean religion, tells once more strong association of Ife with dawn and the east. He adds that although in this area the association is one that actually does correspond with geo- graphical reality, in the minds of the people it is not so much a summary geographical observation as a highly appropriate piece of symbolism. Dahomeans, dawn and the east are in this context first and foremost symbols of certain admired attributes of Ife.34 Again, as several scholars have noticed, there is an epithet widely current in our region which praises the city as: "Ife, creator of the world, whence comes the dawn".[/b]35 Far from being something isolated and alien, then, this symbolic association of Ife with dawn and the east is something highly characteristic of the region.

Had Ryder known of this background to the Oba 's dawn prayers, he would surely have drawn somewhat different conclusions. For it is clear that such a wide -spread and time-honoured association, over -literally interpreted, could have led all too easily to the early reports of an O gane whose city lay far to the east.36 And had he taken this into account, he would surely have been less enthusiastic about his "look anywhere but west" approach.

Further information has also cast doubt on the iconographie arguments with which Ryder buttresses his case. Thus we now have several examples of the Maltese -cross symbols on terra-cotta materials excavated at Ife. 37 And the presence of this symbol in the city's archaeological deposits vitiates the argument, based on its alleged absence from the deposits, that Ife could not have been the source of the cross sent by the Ogane to mark his approval of a new Oba of Benin. Again, we now have several examples of the "cat's-whisker" facial mark on terra-cotta heads excavated at "classical" Ife sites. And the presence of this mark vitiates yet another argument.[/b]38 [b]Ryder, it will be recalled, notes that brass figures allegedly representing messengers of the Ogane characteristically bear "cat's- whisker" facial marks, and argues that since this has never been an Ife indeed a Yoruba mark, such messengers cannot have hailed from Ife from anywhere else in Yoruba country. Oddly, he himself acknowledges a footnote the existence of one "cat's-whisker" head excavated at Ife. But rather thàn allow it cast doubt on his argument, he treats it as the exception that proves the rule. With the discovery of several such pieces, however, such special pleading, already dubious, becomes totally unacceptable. Nor are the Maltese cross and the "cat's-whisker" the only Bini motifs for which Ife counterparts have been established over the past few years. On the contrary, recent excavations at Ife have revealed a whole series of motifs previously thought to be peculiar to Benin.39

Along with the new iconographie findings, we have also acquired an impressive series of dates. Application of carbon- 14 and thermoluminescience techniques to excavated materials has enabled us to assign approxi- mate absolute dates to several major Ife settlement levels and to the terra- cotta and brass works associated with them. Dates for terra-cotta pieces range from c. A.D. 1000 onward; whilst dates for brass pieces range from c. A.D. 1275 to c. A.D. 1440 Application of these techniques to materials from Owo and Benin has also enabled us to assign dates to some of the "classical" terra-cotta and brass-work associated with these cities. Significantly, the Owo and Benin date-series begin slightly later than their Ife counterparts. One particularly interesting Benin date is for a brass piece previously assessed by Fagg and Dark as early on the ground of its Ife-type naturalism. Thermoluminescence tests give it a date of c. A.D. 1420- just what it should be on the premises adopted by these authors.

Taken together, the new iconographie and dating discoveries would seem to have swung the balance of the evidence back in favour of the consensual thesis of a "classical" political and artistic tradition which originated in Ife and subsequently spread to Benin. This is not to say that some of the facts to which Williams in particular has drawn attention pose no difficulties for the consensualists. But it is to say that the difficulties are no longer insuperable. Indeed, I myself can think of at least one way in which one might plausibly reconcile the undeniable technical differences between the Ife and Benin brass traditions with the consensual postulate of Ife inspiration of the Benin work. Thus one can start by supposing that when the Ife brass-casters went to Benin, they encountered an already flourishing terra-cotta or mud-sculpture tradition, in which considerable quantities of dung were mixed with the moulding clay, and in which complex armatures were used to hold large figures together. Given the dependence of brass-casting on clay work, the in-coming Ife technique might well, in such circumstances, have been grafted on to the indigenous Benin terra-cotta or mud technique to produce a new tradition. Such a tradition would have been distinct in technique from both its sources, but would also have owed something to both.41 Other ways of reconciling the new facts with the earlier orthodoxy may occur to the interested reader.

As regards the alternative interpretations offered by Ryder and Williams, the recent evidence makes these look decidedly improbable. By-passing Ife and looking to the Benin confederacy, Jukun or Idah as possible homes of the O gane now seems far-fetched, to say the least. By-passing Ife and looking to sixteenth -century Portuguese craftsmen for the origin of the Benin brass tradition would now be nothing short of perverse.

So much for Ryder and Williams. Let us now turn to Obayemi's critique of the broader thesis of post -dispersal Ife primacy in the region as a whole. Once again, some of the same objections apply. Obayemi's earlier and more restrained attack on Thesis Three was timely and to the point. Oral traditions of Ife primacy were being treated very uncritically, and without any awareness of the extent to which they might be products of modern pan- Yoruba ideology. Though there was archaeological evidence of a substantial early urban culture based on Ife, with an opulent royal court and a generally high level of technological and artistic achievement,42 datings were, uncertain, and evidence of temporal priority vis-a-vis other important regional centres was slim. His more recent and more full- blooded attack on Thesis Three , however, has come at just the time when these defects in the evidence for it look like being remedied. In the first place, the new iconographie and dating discoveries outlined above provide strong corroboration at least for those oral traditions which assert the political and cultural primacy of Ife vis-a-vis Owo and Benin. Secondly, the new dating discoveries make it probable that, if Ife did enjoy a period of straightforward military and political dominance over the region, this was prior to the advent of European explorers and traders on the Yoruba coast. Once we grant this probability, the absence of reports on such dominance from even the earliest European records follows as an expected consequence. And Obayemi's attempt to cast doubt on the thesis of early Ife power on the basis of this absence loses forces.

Thirdly, we have now become aware of an interesting regional correla- tion, between oral -traditional and ethnographic findings, which does much to strengthen our confidence in the broad historicity of the traditions. [b]Thus in most places where we find detailed and widely-agreed traditions of a kingship deriving from the Oduduwa dynasty at Ife, we also find a still -vigorous Obaship with a rich material symbolism, an elaborate palace organisation, and a dramatic palace -town dualism, all of which clearly mirror kingship at Ife. On the other hand, in most places where such detailed and widely- agreed traditions of Ife dynastic origin are absent, we find a less elaborate and less centralised community headship which has little in common with kingship at Ife. This latter assertion applies even to those polities of our region which are clearly Yoruba in speech and general culture. In peripheral areas such as Kabba, Ife-Togo, Ikale and Ilaje, for instance, we find essentially Yoruba cultures which lack both the traditions of Ife dynastic origin and anything resembling Ife-type Obaship. [/b]43 Here, surely is further impressive corroboration for the traditions of Ife dynastic creativity.

Obayemi's own attempt at an alternative interpretation of the data also contains major flaws. The first of these flaws is to be found in his dismissal of the remarkable concentration of technological and artistic features in the culture of ancient Ife as due to nothing more than skilful borrowing. For this dismissal falls foul of another and very cogent argument which is quite central to his own reconstruction of Yoruba socio-cultural history. Here, I refer to the argument that concentrations of economic and political power have acted recurrently as magnets for artists, craftsmen and specialists of all kinds, thus leading to concentrations of cultural opulence. He has demonstrated this quite convincingly for a number of major Yoruba urban centres; 44 and there is no reason why we should suppose Ife to be an exception. On the basis of his own argument, the cultural magnificence of ancient Ife is almost certainly an index of the city's prior economic and political pre-eminence over a wide area.

The second flaw is to be found in his attempt to explain away the persistent traditions of Ife dynastic origins in terms of a felt need to account for an Ife monopoly of the manufacture of ade , bead crowns. This suggestion raises more questions than it answers. For instance, why should people have wanted to get their crowns from Ife in the first place? Or, why should they have wanted head crowns rather than, say, iron crowns or brass crowns or feather crowns? Or yet again, why, if they wanted bead crowns, did they not just take over the technique of making these crowns themselves? In trying to answer these questions, moreover, we find ourselves edging back to that very explanation from which Obayemi is trying to push us away. Thus, in the light of our general knowledge about African royalty, it would appear that d[b]ynastic founders have often been princely scions of older dynasties, and have made assiduous use of this status to validate their claims. [/b]Characteristically, they have adopted crowns made in imitation of those used by their parent dynasties as symbols of this legitimating authority. So, if kings of other states in the region used ade crowns made in Ife, one plausible explanation is that this was because the founders of their dynasties were scions of the Oduduwa dynasty. Again, it would appear that, in choosing both materials and manufacturers of crowns, those concerned are guided first and foremost by considerations of symbolic appropriateness in. the context of power and authority. Other things being equal, then,it seems likely that, if the royal dynasties of our region insisted on capping their kings with bead crowns made at Ife, this was because the ancient city was already recognised as the fount of power and authority.

The third flaw is to be found in Obayemi's attempt to explain away the traditions of early Ife primacy as tools of modern pan-Yoruba ideology. Now it should be acknowledged at the outset that, in taking this line, Obayemi has done historians of the region a signal and courages service. A signal service, since it is increasingly clear that Ife has become the symbol par excellence of modern Yoruba unity, and that, vested with this symbolic function, it is now the subject of deplorable exaggerations, many of them emanating from scholars who should know better. A courageous service, since those who question the historic position of Ife are automa- tically assumed to be questioning the roots of pan-Yoruba unity, and are therefore apt to be regarded as traitors to the cause. Nonetheless, duly warned as we now are, we must avoid the temptation of swinging in disgust to the opposite extremer. A cool look at the field suggests that, amidst the welter of exaggeration, there is a solid bedrock of evidence that simply cannot be explained away as the product of modern ideology. Also, there is the striking way in which oral traditions of early Ife primacy are corro- borated by both archaeological and ethnographic evidence. Such corro- boration could hardly have been engineered by the modern Yoruba elite! Summing up, I would say that Obayemi's critique, like the efforts of Ryder and Williams before him, has been rendered out of date by fresh information.

laudate:
Wrong! I have met several Edo people that bear Yoruba names, and their mothers were never remotely related to Yoruba.

Moorish:
You call my most adept brother a m.oron, yet you cannot spell the word correctly

You seem like the m.oron to me

davidnazee:
Now lets discuss your #3 Akure. Benin occupied and administered Akure. You can only punish who you occupy when they go against your rule.
Read below about Akure.

"The Oba's Palace in the centre of the town was built in 1150 AD.[5] During its long history, the city-state of Akure was at times independent, at many times subject to Benin Kingdom. There is a sizable population of Edo origin in Akure. When the Benin monarchy was restored in 1914 the Edo community in Akure made strenuous efforts to reestablish ties with the Oba. They were stopped by the British. A tribute they had sent to Benin was actually returned!
Akure was the main base for Benin's trade in the area, and at times seems to have been considered within the western frontier of Benin. Historians refers to suppression of resistance by "rebellious Akure" during the reign of Oba Ewuare of Benin (1440–1473), although the king was allowed to remain as nominal ruler. Another rebellion is recorded a century later during the reign of Oba Ehengbuda of Benin.[6]
Akure had regained independence by the early 19th century, but around 1818 it was recaptured by Benin forces and the Deji was executed.

Oba Osemwende ordered the Akure punitive expedition of [1818AD] to revenged the murdered of Osague the Benin empire goodwill ambassador to Akure who was murdered with the order of Arakale the Udezi of Akure. when the news of his killing reach Benin city Battalions of royal troops under the general command of Ezomo Erebo assisted by ologboshere and Imaran were sent.
Akure was captured, but Arakale manage to escape to Ado for help, he was expelled by Ewi of Ado for fear of Benin royal troop invasion. Arakale fled from Ado to Uju from Uju to Uhen there he was finally handed over by Arinjale of Uhen to Ezomo.
Arakale was later trialed and executed. Osemwende also conquered Ekiti kingdom."

Now we shall discuss your #4, which is Benin's colony of Lagos which the whole world knows belongs to Benin.