210 Abibitumi Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

It has been suggested that “Benin” or “Bini” derive from the Yoruba phrase Ile-ibinu (land of vexation) which was purportedly uttered by Prince Oronmiyan declaring the fundamental fact that “only an Edo prince can rule over Edo land.” This Yoruba-based etymology of “Benin” or “Bini” is doubtful since there is evidence indicating that these… Read more

210 Abibitumi Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

The Edos have several traditions about how their people began life. According to the Edo mythology as recorded by Bradbury, the Edo kingdom was founded by the youngest of the children of Osanobua (the high God). With his senior brothers, who included the first kings of Ife and other Yoruba kingdoms and the first king of “the Europeans,” he… Read more

210 Abibitumi Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

By the middle of the sixteenth century, perhaps earlier, the Oba of Benin ruled over an area which spread from the region of modern Lagos to the Igbo-speaking communities of the present Delta State. Bradbury argues that it is clear that sentimental attachment to Benin and recognition of the Oba’s temporal and spiritual authority did… Read more

210 Abibitumi Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

The British

The British gradually replaced the Dutch as the main trading power in the western half of the Niger Delta. According to Basil Davidson, the first Englishmen to reach the powerful Edo Empire arrived at Gwato, the port of Benin, in 1553 during the reign of Oba Orhogbua. A Portuguese who was with them wrote afterwards that the Oba… Read more

210 Abibitumi Points

Rank: Unranked Newbie

The First Period

According to Egharevba it is said that thirty-one Ogiso’s (ogie –ruler, king; iso –sky) reigned during the first period. The names of a number of them, some of them women, are remembered, as are some of the titles of chiefs of their court. Though it is impossible to know the precise date of their foundation, some of… Read more