Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research, 2010

Most societies in pre-colonial times experienced one form of relationship or the other with their neighbours. More often than not, these relationships came in form of commercial, cultural and political relations. Characteristic of these relations were intermarriages, linguistic borrowings and other interactions dictated by the needs of the societies involved. In the case of pre-colonial Benin and some parts of Eastern Yoruba land, their relations always ran against the tide. But the issue for consideration here is not so much of the contradictory nature of these relations, but the preponderance of the Benin influence on virtually all aspects of the existence of the communities in focus. This study is necessitated by the need to straighten the record that the relations that once existed between the Benin and these Eastern Yoruba towns were purely commercial, and that the Benin elements in these communities are war captives. The paper interrogates the pervasiveness of the Benin socio-cultural and political influence particularly on Akure and Ikere. It seeks to investigate the circumstances for instance, where a Benin representative became a king and established a dynasty in Ikere where Benin elements had overwhelming influence and power under a recognized ruler not answerable to the Onikere of Ikere (King of Ikere); and in Akure where the Benin 'ambassador' acts like a potentate in Akure. The piece also seeks an explanation to the avalanche of titles of Benin origin found today in not only Akure, Owo and Ado but also in Ita-Ogbolu, Igbara-Oke, etc. The paper concludes, based on copious empirical evidence, that most communities and towns under review must have been for years, under the Benin suzerainty during which time, the Benin foisted its socio political influence on them, before the vast empire became too unwieldy to be administered by the central administration.

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History in Africa, 2003

A detailed analysis of Bini and Yoruba versions of the oral tradition, as well as of other sources has let to infer that the legendary founder of Benin Second (Oba) Dynasty, the Yoruba Prince Oranmiyan could be a historical figure and his advent to Benin could happen about 1250. The hidden motives of his arrival and the course of events are reconstructed. It is shown that as a compatriot of the First (Ogiso) Dynasty rulers, Oranmiyan was to symbolize restoration of the pre-interregnum order. It is also revealed that traditional versions of his arrival (as a conqueror and by Benin titled chiefs’ invitation) do not contradict each other as far as Oranmiyan was invited by chiefs of the Bini origin but had to struggle against the chiefs representing autochthonous, pre-Bini population (Efa).

EJMSS JOURNAL VOLUME 3 NO 2, 2023

The hegemonic roles of the Benin Kingdom over other Edoid groups and the neighouring polities cannot be contested. Lasting legacies of Benin's influence on the socio-cult 1 ural and political institutions of other Edoid communities are a reminder of the historical links between Benin and other mini states in the Edo area. Yet, not much attention has been paid to the history of the Edoid peoples outside of the Benin nucleus. The current study attempts a historiographical interpretation of the relationship between the Iuleha clan, a northern periphery of the Edoid nation, and the Benin kingdom, which was the core of the Edoid nation. Using historical narratives, the study examines traditions of origins and migrations, as well as enduring sociopolitical practices to connect Benin's influence on the Iuleha clan and vice versa. Based on empirical evidence, the study maintains that Iuleha clan was largely outside the real imperialist enclave of the powers of the Benin state because of geographical and strategic considerations. Accordingly, the clan was tangentially affected by Benin's conquest and actual subjugation. As a result, the relationship between the two groups was more of kinship cooperation rather than imperialist subordination and exploitation by the imperial Benin state.

Some short articles on water, religion, livelihood security and magico-occult practices in Benin, Westafrica; exctracted from: Judex, M. & H.-P. Thamm (Ed.) 2008. IMPETUS Atlas Benin. Research results 2000-2007. 2nd complete revised edition.

Social Evolution and History. 2015. Vol. 14, № 2. P. 46-76., 2015

The article provides an anthropological analysis of the socio-political system of the Benin Kingdom from coming to power of the Oba dynasty presumably in the 13th century till the British conquest in 1897. The course of this system formation and its basic characteristic features are outlined. It is argued that the Benin Kingdom of the 13th – 19th centuries was a supercomplex society which yet was not a state, as it was lack of the latter’s fundamental parameters. Particularly, the Benin society was not based on suprakin (territorial) social ties and there was no professional (bureaucratic) administration in it. The kin-based extended family community always remained this society’s focus, and the supracommunal institu-tions were built up by its matrix, what is impossible in a state. So, notwithstanding its over-all socio-cultural supercomplexity, Benin was not a state but rather a specific alternative to it, labeled “megacommunity”. Its structure can be depicted as four concentric circles form-ing an upset cone: the extended family, the community, the chiefdom, and finally the king-dom. A number of other African and non-African examples of this underconceptualized and understudied by now type of socio-political organization are offered.

2013

2017

In recent times there tend to develop some element of curiosity among some persons within Ekpeye academic circle with the intent to question or cast a doubt on the veracity of the claims of a Benin ancestry as espoused in the oral tradition of the Ekpeye people and some ethnic nation especially among those found within and around the niger delta region. These doubtful opinions were been developed essentially when the geographical location of the Benin empire is extremely positioned farther away from the current location of the Ekpeye nation and her neighbours and this is even more questionable when the cultural relationship between the Benin and Ekpeye is quite dissimilar. This is further enhanced by the organised political structure of the Benin Empire, a social element that is conspicuously missing in the social organisation of the pre colonial Ekpeye nation. Against this backdrop, this work will attempt to support the claim of a Benin ancestry against an igbo focused sentiment with the proof that certain events actually did occurred that culminated in the relocation of the Akalaka (Ikhu’raka, in urhobo language) people from the Benin kingdom to their present location in Rivers State. I will commence by pointing out that the period of reference in this discourse which is the Ogiso era is quite distant and without much available data other than oral tradition. On the other hand the Oba period coincided with the arrival of the Europeans in West Africa and from that period taking into consideration the relevance of the Benin kingdom there were documented evidence of some of its activities. This effort is therefore aimed at reaffirming the claims of a Benin ancestry by the Ekpeye people.

"The advent to power of the Second (Oba) dynasty in the early 13th century signified considerable increase of centripetal tendencies in the Benin society. However, the centuries of its rule did not result in the socio-political homogenization: communities (and chiefdoms) with political institutions of their own continued to exist within the country. The preservation of this situation for the whole space of the Oba Benin history proves that “multilayer-ness” was an essential feature of her socio-political structure and not an expression of a cer-tain “transitional character” of the society. The same should be said about the familial-territorial community as the groundwork of the society: it existed in this capacity till the occupation of Benin by the British in 1897. The community was its socio-cultural focus. The Benin society was the center of the whole Uni-verse for the Bini, so the community turned out the Universal “core of the core” for them. Communities preserved all the initial specific features of their internal organization. Though the central authority’s potential of influencing the communities increased, it did not intervene in their internal affairs and reminded of itself only when the interests of the whole country (associated with those of the political center) were infringed. Communalists paid tribute, were enlisted to corvée labor and military service. There are no grounds for arguing the communalist’s personal attaching to the land. The supreme power over communities was exercised by all-Benin titled chiefs through local chiefs which did not transform into officials but remained chiefs with all the mecha-nisms of obtaining and exercising power, rights, privileges, obligations attributed to their status. The inseparability of the authority from the people is also testified by the fact that the idea of reciprocal service exchanges as the basis of social relations dominated in the com-munity. Such an orientation of political culture corresponded completely to the general men-tal and behavioral paradigm, Weltanschauung of the Bini. As the basic socio-political institution the community fastened together all the levels of the hierarchical socio-political structure. Ties and relations characteristic of the familial-territorial community, found forms and contents similar to themselves on qualitatively other, supracommunal levels of the society’s being, including the highest, all-Benin one."