Introduction Benin is known officially as the Republic of Benin. This phallus-shaped belt of land extends perpendicularly about 415 miles inland from the Gulf of Guinea – a part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean (World Book). The country is bounded by the Republic of Togo on the West and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the East. Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger border Benin on the North. Including both land area and water area, the country is 112,622 square kilometers, which is slightly larger
Benin is a small country on the west coast of Africa. In pre-colonial times, Benin was home to one of the great medieval African kingdoms called Dahomey. Even after independence from French rule, Benin still has strong French influence, French being the population’s official language. This small country is a tropical and sub-saharan nation and is home to many unique cultural traditions. Despite all of the struggles of the past and current challenges facing Benin, the small country is thriving with
This essay will attempt to discuss the reasons why the ownership and location of the art of Benin have been consistently debated between the European Museums and the people of Africa, specifically Nigeria who were once known as the Kingdom of Benin. How both parties are actively seeking a negotiated method that will allow both sides to have their needs met; this is of course a method that has yet to be resolved. The Museums, who want to display the artwork to the world next to countless other historical
This essay deals with the nature of a cross cultural encounter between the Benin people and Portuguese traders in the 15th and 16th centuries, which resulted in the depiction of Portuguese figures in Benin brass plaques. It will propose that this contact between people with different cultures was on the basis of 'mutual regard' (Woods, K. 2008, p. 16), and although the Portuguese had qualms about idolatry in Benin it will show that assumptions by Europeans up to the 20th century of the primitive
and negligence among health staff (Kadzandira and Chalowa, 2001). However in Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d’ivoire these factors has lead to continued low (performance, coverage and stagnating) immunisation services since 2005.This lack of services is leading to both high
Carved Ivory Tusks from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria INTRODUCTION The kingdom of Benin is used to be the most powerful kingdom in the west of Niger River. Benin rulers, which is also called Oba, are always attributed to their great spiritual power. This kind of spiritual power is transmitted by these altars. The carved ivory tusks are supported by the brass heads of kings and queen mothers. These brass heads are also casted according to each ruler’s achievement and individual characters (Blier
Modern day Benin is located along the Western coast of Africa. Benin is only 112,622 square kilometers, making it one of Africa’s smallest countries. Benin today however, differs significantly from the kingdom that it was during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The people, culture, and government have all changed due to colonization. (The World Fact Book, 2014) The great kingdom of Dahomey once resided where Benin is today. Dahomey’s origins can be traced back to the 1600s, during which two
The display of Benin art in museum and galleries reflect the attitudes and perceptions of Europeans towards non-western artefacts, especially African. Thus as European attitudes change towards non-western art since the discovery of Benin art in 1897, Benin art has been revaluated and re-categorised. Initially there was a great deal of debate about Benin art and its display, as it did not equate with the perceptions then held about Africa. Until the British conquest of Benin in 1897, little was
The Portuguese arrived in Benin, in modern Nigeria, between 1472 and 1486 to find an established and ancient kingdom with remarkable social and ritual complexity, with art that was comparatively naturalistic, and with a political system that was, on the surface, recognizable to the Europeans: monarchy. Even more importantly, they found a land rich in pepper, cloth, ivory, and slaves, and immediately set out to establish trade (Ben-Amos 35-6). Though we often imagine "first contacts" between Europeans
ndop sculpture could have been identified by his ibol, a royal mark that was exposed at the moment of his coronation. Portraits that used personal and historical motifs are also found among the cast brass and carved ivory sculptures of the kingdom of Benin. Obas (kings) and other citizens of the court were identified from one another through costume and ceremonial equipment as well as variations in scale and the most important sculpture in a gathering was the largest one. However, other motifs were used
Human Trafficking is a rife global glitch which occurs in almost every country of the world. It is a criminal activity which ferociously takes advantage of its victims as a result of their susceptibility due to extreme poverty, lack of social protection mechanisms, forced migration, social exclusion, disempowerment and failure of economic systems. Furthermore, it reflects a total contravention of an individual’s right to freedom in whatever form and supplemented by savagery and inhumane activities
Yoruba is one of many tribes located in Africa and is one of the largest ethno- linguistic groups. Majority of the native people of Yoruba are a part of Southwestern Nigeria and Benin. However, a great percentage of Yoruba is populated by modern day Nigeria. Moreover, the Yoruba culture was an oral tradition, and majority of the people were native speakers of the Yoruba language. The native name of the Yoruba language is ‘Ede Yoruba’. The language originated through the Yoruba people because they
Thomas Heesch Period 1 Mr. Holmes May 14th 2014 Benin When it comes to the country of Benin there may be some doubts and some incentives about building a manufacturing plant to produce consumer goods inside the country. Although there is some positives in the country of Benin, I do not think we should set up a manufacturing plant here. If there were to be a manufacturing plant here it would create more jobs and also become successful depending on the goods that it produces. Benin’s economics are
a syncretic system derived from deeply rooted Africanist beliefs and colonial French Catholicism. African-American religious systems and subcultures can be seen in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Antillean areas. In the Fon language spoken in Benin, vodun means an invisible force, terrible and mysterious, which can meddle in human affairs at any time. As a reaction to being torn violently from their roots, the slaves tried to resume their cultural and religious traditions. Ancestral spirits
Western attitudes to African people and culture have always affected how their art was appreciated and this has also coloured the response to the art from Benin. Over time concepts of ‘Race’, defined as a distinct group with a common linage, and ‘Primitive’ which pertains to the beginning or origin, , have been inextricably linked with the perception of Africa. The confusion of the two in the minds of people at the end of the 19th centaury, and some of the 20th, caused a sense of superiority amongst
Benin is a country in west Africa from 15th century until now. Benin has been renowned for brass sculpture production and there is a sort of encounter did happen between the Europeans and Benin .there were many of the positive and negatives to this type of encounter between Benin and European ,such as ,their encounter had artistic consequences in terms of the supply of raw materials for sculpture ,and Benin craftsmen developed their forms and subject matter to suit their new clients ,this was one
The Benin bronzes are a collection of commemorative Bronze plaques and sculptures that were used to decorate the royal palace of Benin. Located around what is now southern Nigeria, Benin was inhabited by the Bini people from around the eleventh century CE, and overthrown by British colonialists in the late nineteenth century. The extract, from 'Great Benin: Its Customs, Art and Horrors' by Henry Ling Roth (1903), will be discussed, along with the specified plates from the AA100 Illustration Book
importance of the symbol in the culture of the people of Benin. In the plaque, there is an Oba holding two leopards, which was an image that was explored in the film. In the film, the symbols were decoded for the culture of the Dogon people; In the Dogon context, the leopard represented the clan of one man, and if a leopard was harmed, it would translate to detriment upon his family. It could be probable that because the Dogon and the people of Benin had similar functions for the symbol of the snake, that
towards the display of Benin Art, adopted by European museums and galleries have dramatically changed over the 112 year period since their initial acquisition. This has been for a number of reasons including the societal transition from accepting colonialism to acknowledging cultural diversity, the gradual integration and cross-fertilisation across the academic fields of anthropology, ethnography and art history and the ongoing debate regarding provenance and repatriation. The Benin artwork seen in museums
explains how Benin masks were once used to protect the king by “[warding] off evil.” She elaborates describing how the “custodians of the mask” must “behead strangers” to bury their king. The tone of the narration implies that Nkem is grappling with the reality that no one - other than the king - is able to have protection. By “wishing [the young men] had a say,” Nkem alludes to the idea that by lacking their own kind of mask or protection, these men have no voice of their own. Although the Benin masks