The Edo or Benin people are an Edoid ethnic group primarily found in

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

, Southern part of Nigeria. They speak the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the

Benin Empire 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 c ...

. They are closely related to other ethnic groups that speak Edoid languages, such as the Esan, the

Afemai The Afemai, also spelled Afenmai, are an ethnic group living in the northern part of Edo State, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Afemai people occupy six local government areas of Edo state: Etsako West, with headquarters in Auchi, Ets ...

, the Isoko, and the Urhobo. The name "Benin" (and "Bini") is a Portuguese corruption, ultimately from the word "Ubini", which came into use during the reign of Oba (ruler)

Ewuare Ewuare (also Ewuare the Great or Ewuare I) was the Oba (king) of the Benin Empire from 1440 until 1473. Ewuare became king in a violent coup against his brother Uwaifiokun which destroyed much of Benin City. After the war, Ewuare rebuilt much o ...

the Great, c. 1440. "Ubini", a word meaning Vexation, used by Prince Oranmiyan, son of the wealthy ruler of Uhe (Ife) to describe the frustration he encountered after he was invited to rule benin. ''Ubini'' was later corrupted to ''Bini'' by the mixed ethnicities living together at the centre; and further corrupted to ''Benin'' around 1485 when the Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare giving them coral beads.

History

Administrative region

Edo people can be found in Nigeria's

which got its name from the primary inhabitants of the region's most notable historical conglomeration,

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

, which is also the central capital homeland of the Edo people. Edo people also have many related groups in their immediate surroundings also encompassed by the political and administrative borders of Edo state. Most of these groups have traced their history back to the historical city center off the Benin people,

. Examples of such adjacent groups include various

sub-groups, the Esan people of Edo state and the

Akoko Edo Akoko Edo is a Local Government Area in Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Igarra. It has an area of 1,371 km and a population of 262,110 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 312. As of 2016, its populatio ...

people situated on the state's northern borders. Edo state was formerly part of the old Bendel state of early post-colonial Nigeria, also known as the

Mid-Western Region, Nigeria The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

. This region's influence and culture reflects that of the Edo, Urhobo, Esan and other Edo related peoples. Nigeria-karte-politisch-edo

Dressing

Edo people have fashion accessories typically includes red beads, anklets,

raffia Raffia palms (''Raphia'') are a genus of about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (''R. taedigera'') also occurring in Central and South America. ''R. taedigera'' is the sour ...

work and so on.

Traditional beliefs

In the traditional religion of the Edo, there exists, besides the human world, an invisible world of supernatural beings acting as interceders for the human world. Offerings are made to them in their respective shrines. Osanobua is the creator and Supreme God. His son/daughter Olokun is ruler of all bodies of water and is responsible for the prosperity and fertility of his/her human followers. Another son Ogun, is the patron god of

metalworkers Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scal ...

. The

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''Osanobua Noghodua'' mean ''God Almighty''. The word ''Osanobua'' encompasses a large number of divine principles - including the divine state of being merciful, timeless, goodness, justice, sublimity, and supreme. In the Edo belief system, Osanobua has the divine attributes of

omnipresence Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describe ...

(), omniscience (), and omnipotence (). The Supreme Deity is believed to be present everywhere and at all times. Met Queen Mother Mask (cropped)

Art and architecture

Traditional Edo art consists of widely identifiable sculptures, plaques and masks which reflect various spiritual and historical aspects of their cultural traditions. Some of the notable Edo art pieces include the mask of the Queen Mother

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 ...

and a vast collection of historical Edo art pieces called the Benin Bronzes which can be found not only in Nigeria but further dispersed around the world.

Notable Benins in Nigeria

* Ewuare II, the 40th Oba of Benin Kingdom from 2016–present. *Esther

Erediauwa Erediauwa (22 June 1923 – April 2016) was the 39th Oba of Benin, traditional ruler of the Edo people in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Formerly known as Prince Solomon Akenzua, Oba Erediauwa's full title was ''His Royal Majesty Omo n'Oba n'Ed ...

, the first wife of the 39th Oba of Benin kingdom, Oba Erediauwa. * Victor Uwaifo,

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, writer, sculptor, and musical instrument inventor. * Peter Odemwingie, professional footballer. * Charles Novia,

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, producer, screenwriter, actor and social commentator.african l * Osayuki Godwin Oshodin, former Vice-chancellor of University of Benin. *

Benson Idahosa Benson Andrew Idahosa (11 September 1938 – 12 March 1998), was a Charismatic Pentecostal preacher. He is the founder of Church of God Mission International, Archbishop Benson Idahosa was popularly referred to as the father of Pentecostalism ...

, evangelist, and founder of the

Church of God Mission International Church of God Mission International is a Christian denomination from Nigeria. The headquarters is in Benin City, Nigeria, is a megachurch. It was Founded by Benson Idahosa in 1968. See also *Christianity in Nigeria *Nigerian sectarian violen ...

. * Samuel Ogbemudia, politician and former military Governor of the Mid-West State * John Odigie Oyegun, politician and first national chairman of

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

(APC) in Nigeria * Victor Ikpeba, professional footballer. *

Godwin Obaseki Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is currently the Governor of Edo State. He was first elected governor under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the year 2016 where He de ...

, governor of Edo state (2015 to 2019 under APC, and from 2019 under PDP) and business man *

Gabriel Igbinedion Chieftain, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion (born 11 September 1934) is a Nigerian businessman and Nigerian chieftaincy, traditional aristocrat from Okada Town in Edo State. He holds the chieftaincy title of the Esama of the Benin Kingdom. Esama ...

, Nigeria business man and esama of Benin kingdom. * Erhabor Emokpae, artists, director * Mercy Aigbe, is a Nigerian actress and filmmaker *

Guosa Guosa is a constructed interlanguage originally created by Alex Igbineweka in 1965. It was designed to be a combination of the indigenous languages of Nigeria and to serve as a lingua franca to West Africa. Linguistic Properties Source Langu ...

Alex Guosa Igbineweka, Guosa Language Evolutionist, Creator: a Nigerian and ECOWAS indigenous zonal lingua-franca * Abel Guobadia, former Chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission *

Jane Igharo Jane Abeiyuwa Igharo is a Nigerian fiction writer of contemporary romance novels. She is best known for her debut novel ''Ties That Tether.'' Early life Jane Igharo was born in Nigeria to parents from Edo State and spent most of her childhoo ...

Nigerian-Canadian Nigerian Canadians are Canadian citizens and residents of Nigerian origin and descent. Nigerians began migrating to Canada during the 1967–1970 Nigerian Civil War. Nigerians were not broken out separately in immigration statistics until 1973. 3,9 ...

writer *Professor

Osasere Orumwense Osasere Orumwense (born June 20, 1954) is a Nigerian academic, author and professor of mechanical engineering. He was the ninth substantive vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or c ...

, Vice-Chancellor of University of Benin *

Suyi Davies Okungbowa Suyi Davies Okungbowa (born Osasuyi Okungbowa in 1989) is a Nigerian fantasy, science fiction and speculative writer and academic. He is the author of The Nameless Republic epic fantasy trilogy, beginning with ''Son of the Storm'' (Orbit, May 202 ...

, African fantasy and speculative fiction author *

Archbishop John Edokpolo John Enoyogiere Edokpolo (9 October 1918 – 17 June 1996) was a Nigerian businessman in the rubber industry and founder of Edokpolo Grammar Schools in Benin City, Nigeria. Edokpolo was also a property developer who created a number of residen ...

, Honourable Minister of Trade and Founder of Edokpolor Grammar School *Chief

Jacob U. Egharevba Chief Jacob U. Egharevba MBE (1893–1981) was a Bini historian and traditional chief whose writings specialized in the history of Benin Kingdom. Life Early life Egharevba was born in Idanre, Ondo State, His father was related to Ohenmwen, Iyase o ...

, a Bini historian and traditional chief *

Rema Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, music artist * Kamaru Usman, Nigerian mixed martial artist

Icons

Ewuare II

References

External links

Cultural Wars and National Identity - The Saga of the Yoruba and the Bini-EdoRoyal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Edo people {{Authority control Ethnic groups in Nigeria