reporting historical research based on written records
Ife, Nigeria
Joined February 2025
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History & Knowledge retweeted
Oloi Idada Ohan Akenzua ll, wife of Òbá Akenzua ll, wrapped in the beautiful Èdó fabric and a perfectly adorned Òkùkú hairdo,c.1950s..
History of Lagos is not ambiguous to those who are genuinely interested in learning about it.
History & Knowledge retweeted
The Benin textile industry was the peak of ancient Benin industrial export from the 16th to the early 19th century....
In 1789 Cap. Landolphe the French officer in the Bight of Benin noted he bought 1,000 fabric from the kingdom of Benin, this clothe with high value were used to exchange gold in gold coast "ghana" and slave in Congo.
••••See frame added•••
"twenty thousand pounds of ivory, and a thousand cotton cloths [mats/carpets] manufactured by the Beninese. I dispatched everything to France in 1789. Unfortunately, this corvette perished. I have always remained ignorant of the location as well as the circumstances of its shipwreck".
Benin wealth were not made through slave trade or illegitimate trade with the europeans but build around the èdó texile industry.
In December 1633, a Dutch ship arrived on the Gold Coast carrying more than 6,000 pieces of cloth to exchange for gold.
The interesting part is where the cloth came from.
Not India. Not Europe.
Benin.
By the middle of the 17th century, Benin cloth exports had grown to more than 16,000 pieces a year, even as prices quadrupled. The trade became so lucrative that African mariners sailed directly to Benin to buy the cloth themselves, cutting out European middlemen.
So please, let us stop pretending trade and enterprise were foreign to Africa.
OBA Akenzua’s victory over the Iyase n’Ode is represented in a brass rattle-staff that portrays the Oba standing triumphantly on top of an elephant, used here as an allusion to the Iyase n’Ode, whose home village was the center of Benin’s guild of elephant hunters.
A Benin-style Olokun bronze pendant was discovered behind No. 3 Iyekere Street in Ile-Ife. Traditionally, such pendants are bestowed only by the Oba of Benin upon Olokun priests (Ohen). The Ifá verse attributing Aje-Olokun to the Oba of Benin’s daughter may reflect a historical connection.
Aje olókun: A Benin Princess..
Yorùbá: "Ìbà Ajé tíì ń ṣọmọ Olú-Ìbíní"
English Translation: "Homage to Ajé, princess of Ibini"
Ìba: Respect
Ajé: Orisha of wealth
Tíì ń ṣọmọ: who is the child of
Olú-Ìbíní: King of Benin
2nd Frame
Ajé lóde Ìbíní, obìnrin ní ń ṣe
"Ajé in the land of Benin is a woman"
These are the ìba of Aje the daughter of olokun whom every ifa practioner must worship as a lady from Benin or a princess of the Oba of benin before necessary rites are given to her, even during her festival in ife and environs the ìba doesn't change, establishing the primacy of Benin Kingdom in Aje worship.
Aje an Edo lady "A symbolism"
The wealth of the ancient empire of Benin: as Benin was the major point of european merchandise in the region which comes from the sea, and from Benin european ornaments which includes corals got into interior yoruba land, establishing Benin as the economic capital of the world.
Sea items like seashell in ancient times which was used as money got into interior yoruba land through Benin "prior to european coming", this influx brought about the worship of olókun in Yorubaland, Aje to be specific who is considered the yoruba goddess of wealth.
In West African cosmology, Olókun is the supreme deity of the deep ocean, raw wealth, coral beads, and luxury. In Edo tradition, Olókun’s earthly realm is centered squarely in Benin ( tied to Urhonigbe), and because of this it's however impossible to detach Aje olókun from olokun Benin origin, which is evident in her ìba. As every form of olokun is still traced back to Benin.
Because Ifá texts define Ajé as the daughter/child of Olókun (Ajé Olókun), attributing Ajé as "ṣọmọ Olú-Ìbíní" directly links the sovereign of Benin with Olókun’s divine ocean wealth. Benin is recognized as the earthly storehouse where the ocean's treasures such as cowrie shells (owó ẹyọ), brass, and coral flowed into the broader region.
References:
•Sexual and Gender Identity in Indigenous Law: Exploring the Concept of Complementarity and Balance in Ifa Jurisprudence.
•Akose Ifa Ati Oogun
The staff of office of the Ohen Okun, conferred by the Oba of Benin Kingdom.
As someone who has visited the Ohen Olokun N'Ughoton, were every preparation for Oba Ewuare journey and return from Eguae'Olokun, I would advise you refrain from speaking on issues you're oblivious of.
The journey has nothing to do with Orunmila and It's a popular lore in edo land, which like I said was introduced into Orunmila by Osamaro Ibie in his book ifism..
In ibie book on ifa, he's olokun was leaned towards the edo origin of divinity, a male god and one of the many lore he added was the contest between Olokun and Orisa/Ohisa - God Almighty, where Orisa/Osanobua proved, Olokun would forever be his son. Osaro ibie infused Benin view of olokun into Orunmila in the 70s.
Jokes 😃 on you ✌️