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Iyoba
The Iyoba of Benin is an important female titleholder in the chieftaincy system of the Kingdom of Benin, a Nigerian traditional state. She is otherwise known in English as the Queen Mother. History When King Ozolua died in the fifteenth century, he left behind two sons to dispute the royal succession: Esigie controlled Benin City, the kingdom's metropolitan center, while his brother Arhuaran was based in Udo - an important provincial seat 20 miles away. Neither prince was prepared to yield to the other, partisans soon declared for one or the other, and Benin was plunged into a civil war shortly thereafter. Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, the hitherto vassal Igala people declared their independence from Benin and seized a swath of territory to its north. In the span of a week, Esigie found himself confronted with what now seemed like the almost certain fragmentation of his father's kingdom. His mother, Idia, is reputed to have stood behind him at this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idia
Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people from 1504 to 1550 Historians do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war (1515-1516) because she played a role that led to a great Benin victory. It has been argued that Idia, therefore, was the true power behind the throne of her son. She played a significant role in the rise and reign of her son, being described as a great warrior who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people. Queen Idia was instrumental in securing the title of Oba for her son Esigie following the death of his father Oba Ozolua. To that end, she raised an army to fight off his brother Arhuaran who was supposed to be the Oba by right and tradition but was subsequently defeated in battle. Esigie’s mother became the 17th Oba of Benin. Idia first entered the royal household because Ozolua, the Oba from 1483 until 1514 saw her dance, and after the dance, he wanted to make Idia, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esigie
Oba Esigie was an Oba (king) of Benin who ruled the ancient Benin Kingdom, now Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria (c.1504 – c.1550). At the time of his father Oba Ozolua's death, Esigie controlled Benin City and his brother Arhuaran controlled Udo, a town about northwest of Benin City that was nearly its equal in size and influence. Following a bitter power struggle with Arhuaran, and with major assistance and support from his mother Queen Idia, "Esigie gathered the Benin army at Unuame on the river Osse and from there launched an attack which finally destroyed the might of Udo and his half-brother Arhuanran" (Egharevba, 1968: 26). Esigie became Oba of Benin. Esigie later fended off an attack from the Igala people. Esigie started a tradition in Benin by investing his mother with the title of Iyoba (or ''Queen Mother'') and providing the Eguae-Iyoba (Palace of the Queen Mother) in lower Uselu for her use. Esigie was responsible for the abolishment of the killing of the ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Benin
The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: '''') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa". It grew out of the previous Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD, and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897. Oral traditions The original people and founders of the Benin Kingdom, the Edo people, were initially ruled by the Ogiso (Kings of the Sky) who called their land Igodomigodo. The first Ogiso (Ogiso Igodo), wielded much influence and gained popularity as a good ruler. He died after a long reign and was succeeded by Ere, his eldest son. In the 12th century, a great palace intrigue eru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uselu, Benin City
Uselu is a densely-populated neighborhood of Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of Egor local government area. Uselu is the site of the traditional grounds of the Edaiken N'Uselu (Duke of Uselu) palace as well as the palace of the Iyoba of Benin. History When King Ozolua died in the fifteenth century, he left behind two sons to dispute the royal succession: Esigie controlled Benin City, the kingdom's metropolitan center, while his brother Arhuaran was based in Udo – an important provincial seat 20 miles away. Neither prince was prepared to yield to the other, partisans soon declared for one or the other, and Benin was plunged into a civil war shortly thereafter. Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, the hitherto vassal Igala people declared their independence from Benin and seized a swath of territory to its north. In the span of a week, Esigie found himself confronted with what now seemed like the almost certain fragmentation of his fat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Mothers (Africa)
Queen mother (also Queenmother) is a term used to describe certain female traditional rulers in African cultures. Though there is no general description of a "queen mother", as their roles have varied by society, political context, and culture, they generally play an important role in local government and "wield social power and influence." They are thus an important part of social, political, and cultural institutions across the African continent: the Akan, for example, recognize them as important local political actors and often trace inheritance through them in a matrilineal fashion; whereas in Uganda, the term may be used to describe women who ruled outright. The amount of power queen mothers currently hold has been diminished since pre-colonial times, though the 21st century has seen their influence grow in certain contexts. Many are members of the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network, a voluntary organization. History Queen mothers were once important polit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Mothers In Africa
Queen mother (also Queenmother) is a term used to describe certain female traditional rulers in African cultures. Though there is no general description of a "queen mother", as their roles have varied by society, political context, and culture, they generally play an important role in local government and "wield social power and influence." They are thus an important part of social, political, and cultural institutions across the African continent: the Akan people, Akan, for example, recognize them as important local political actors and often trace inheritance through them in a Matrilineality, matrilineal fashion; whereas in Uganda, the term may be used to describe women who ruled outright. The amount of power queen mothers currently hold has been diminished since pre-colonial times, though the 21st century has seen their influence grow in certain contexts. Many are members of the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network, a voluntary organization. History Queen moth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erelu Kuti
The Erelu Kuti of Lagos is the traditional aristocrat charged with the bearing of the ritual essence of Oloye Erelu Kuti I, an eighteenth-century Yoruba royal who aided in the consolidation of her homeland. Erelu Kuti I was born the daughter of Lagos' paramount king, and was therefore the sister of his two immediate successors. Subsequently she became the consort of one of Lagos' chiefs, then thereafter a chief in her own right. She finally became Lagos' first queen mother. Her life was so entwined with the early history of her family's kingdom that her lineal descendants have gone on to serve as the ruling branch of its royal dynasty. A Series Of Excerpts From The Oral Records Of Lagos It is now believed by scholars of tribal history that due to Akinsemoyin's magnanimity, he did not see the need to perpetuate his branch of the dynasty by having one of his elder daughters serve as regent, pending when the eldest of his subsequent sons would come of age. As a sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin Art
Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin. Importance of Art in Benin Culture The Kingdom of Benin was powerful, but Benin culture has not been given proper recognition by western scholars. The story of how the Kingdom of Benin began as a culture and n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oba Of Benin
The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Dahomey) has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo (also known as Benin ethnic group). In 1897, a British military force, of approximately 1,200 men, under the command of Sir Harry Rawson, mounted the Benin punitive Expedition. The force dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of a British party, at Ugbine village near Gwato, on the 4th January 1897, by a group of Benin soldiers, acting without orders from the Oba; the ambush had led to the deaths of all but two of the British party. The British force captured the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, sacking and burning the city while forcing the Oba of Benin, Ovonramwen, into a six-month exile. The expeditionary force consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iyalode
The Iyalode is a high-ranking female chieftain in most of the Yoruba traditional states. The title is currently within the gift of the obas, although Njoku asserted in 2002 that the process of choosing an Iyalode in pre-colonial Nigeria was less of a choice by the monarch, and more of the accomplishment and involvement of the woman to be so honoured in economic and political matters. History Historically, therefore, the Iyalode did not only serve as a representative of women in the council, but also as a political and economic influencer in precolonial and colonial Nigeria. Referred to in Yoruba mythology as Oba Obirin or "King of the Women", an Iyalode's views are normally considered in the decision-making process by the council of high chiefs. In 2017, Olatunji from Tai Solarin University of Education likened the role played by an Iyalode to that of modern day feminism. He went further by explaining that a 19th century Iyalode, Madam Tinubu, was one of the richest people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's origins in ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best-qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favorably with monarchy, rule by an individual. The term was first used by such ancient Greeks as Aristotle and Plato, who used it to describe a system where only the best of the citizens, chosen through a careful process of selection, would become rulers, and hereditary rule would actually have been forbidden, unless the rulers' children performed best and were better endowed with the attributes that make a person fit to rule compared with every other citizen in the polity. Hereditary rule in this understanding is more related to oligarchy, a corrupted form of aristocracy where there is rule by a few, but not by the best. Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Royalty
African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethnic groups of Africa *** Demographics of Africa *** African diaspora ** African, an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to the African Union ** Citizenship of the African Union ** Demographics of the African Union **Africanfuturism ** African art ** *** African jazz (other) ** African cuisine ** African culture ** African languages ** African music ** African Union ** African lion, a lion population in Africa Books and radio * ''The African'' (essay), a story by French author J. M. G. Le Clézio * ''The African'' (Conton novel), a novel by William Farquhar Conton * ''The African'' (Courlander novel), a novel by Harold Courlander * ''The Africans'' (radio program) Music * "African", a song by Peter Tosh f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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