The highest point is mont sokbaro at 658 m 2,159 ft. The kingdom of benin was founded about 1,000 years ago, and was situated in the southwest of nigeria in africa. The bestknown african pieces in the british museum are the benin bronzes intricate metal plaques that decorated the royal palace of benin but. Media in category culture of benin the following 74 files are in this category, out of 74 total. If thats not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags. This can be observed through the daily life of beninese people and whether you are in towns and villages of the south, north, east, west or central benin. Within the kingdom, specialized artists belonged to guilds with hereditary membership and worked solely for the oba. French colonial rule and subsequent close ties with france have left a deep impact on all aspects of cultural life, especially among the educated segments of the population and in the southern cities. Infoplease has everything you need to know about benin. Culturally diverse, benin s people follow a diverse mix of christian, muslim, and west african traditional beliefs. Benin synonyms, benin pronunciation, benin translation, english dictionary definition of benin. Cultural information communication styles question. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Changing relations between europe and africa ii, aa100 book 3, chapter 2. Given this characterization of the benin culture, it might be understood that the oba did not. Benin republic of benin country profile west africa. The territory became a french colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 august 1960, as the republic of benin. The kingdom of benin, also known as the benin kingdom, was a precolonial kingdom in what is now southern nigeria. Aug 24, 2014 august 30, 2014 at 2pm 1003 1st ave, charleston, wv 23502 charleston. May 31, 2018 despite the tumultuous political past of benin coupled with the low economic growth because of the strife, the culture has not yet been affected at all. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about benin s geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. The kingdom of benin s capital was edo, now known as benin city in edo state. Pdf the article provides an anthropological analysis of the sociopolitical system of. Benin, t he we stern niger delta, and the development of the atlantic world even more seemingly compelling is the recent support given to this point of oral tradition by osarhieme benson osadolor. Intermarriage between the groups makes it difficult to trace each ones origin. Benin is the place where the voodoo, or vodu, was born and today is the official religion of the country.
The country is made up of three major ethnic groups namely. Present day benin was the site of dahomey, a prominent west african kingdom that rose in the 15th century. Benin grew in power and wealth during the 15th and 16th centuries. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Neighboring countries include burkina faso, niger, nigeria, and togo. Since 1990, political and free market economic reforms have stimulated private investment and led to economic growth, and the country has become a center for regional.
Use the flipchart or powerpoint to explore the link between the yoruba and edo people, and the stories behind the first oba. Most of the ancient art of benin is royal and honors the oba, or king of the benin kingdom. The early benin art was referred to as court art hence court art of benin this is because the oba or king of benin had a monopoly of the art works, though technically speaking, they. Benin was the seat of one of the great medieval african kingdoms. The main objective of this paper is to examine african culture and values. Good food can be found in almost every city or village in benin.
Benin traded slaves as well as ivory, pepper, and cloth to europeans. The geography of benin is mostly flat with sandbanks that make access to the coast difficult. The majority of the bronze plaques are at held the berlin ethnologisches museum, british museum, national museum of nigeria in lagos and benin city, weltmuseum wien, field museum of chicago, metropolitan museum of art, and the museum of fine arts, boston. The origin of the edo people remains on edo land and cannot have its origin from egypt which lends none of her culture to the edo. Opening of the binin gallery at museum of fine art boston. School is free and compulsory for seven years beginning at age five. The story is very different today, visitors are free to admire, witness bronze casting from the various stages purchase any piece of their choice without.
Develop your knowledge and understanding of world history by finding out about the history of the kingdom of benin. Our mission is to provide a free, worldclass education to anyone, anywhere. Pdf analysis of the organizational culture at a hospital in. People government politics geography economy news weather history photos. Benin arose as a citystate in the late 1100s or 1200s and expanded into a larger kingdom or empire in the mid1400s. The benin kingdom was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of west africa, it was formed around. An oba, or king, and his court have, from around 0 c. This is a descriptive crosssectional study which involved 121 participants care providers. Each ethnic group also has its own centuriesold tradition, which itself often mixes with the french influence. A coastal highway links benin with neighboring nigeria and togo. When the british tried to expand their own trade in the 19th century, the benin. Today, democracy is still the dominant political system, with the.
Benin was a french colony from the late 19th century until 1960. The ancient kingdom of benin began around ad900 although some sources suggest much earlier dates. To describe the organizational culture oc and its strength in a hospital in benin. Dec 10, 20 opening of the binin gallery at museum of fine art boston. Baquaqua, 1854, full text in documenting the american south university of north carolina at chapel hill library peoples from senegambia, benin and the gold coast, in the abolition of the slave trade. The kingdom was ruled by the oba and a sophisticated bureaucracy. Although at one time the education system was not free, benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 educational forum. Gst 201 nigerian peoples and culture course code gst 201 course title nigerian peoples and culture course developer writer dr. With globalization today, the media tends homogenize cultures and the outlook on life in benin is actually similar to that in french canada. Benin collections in the archive of folk culture the. In discussing african culture and values, we are not presupposing that all. Benin, slave accounts of life in africa before capture.
Primitive art has become world culture, and the benin bronzes stands as evidence of a shared human history. May 08, 2014 culture and tradition are inseparable in the daily lives of people of benin. The empire of benin and its cultural heritage revealing. Is a benin republic information portal dedicated to providing relevant information to all to africa and the world about the coastal city of republic of benin. The republic of benin is from north to south a long stretched country in west africa, situated east of togo and west of nigeria, it is bordered to the north by burkina faso and niger, in south by the the bight of benin, in the gulf of guinea, that part of the tropical north atlantic ocean which is roughly south of west africa. It is also acclaimed internationally for the quality of music and the rich culture that is still practiced in the midst of the globalization currently changing the world. Three years after the coup that brought major kerekou to power, the name was changed to the peoples republic of benin, reflecting the marxistleninist ideology of the new government.
History of benin information powerpoint teacher made. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. However, by the 15th century, a single ruler, known as the oba, had asserted control. Queen mother pendant mask iyoba edo peoples article. Before 1975, the republic of benin was known as dahomey, its french colonial name. What do i need to know about verbal and nonverbal communications. People and society of benin language of benin benin society. The kingdom of benin if youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Queen mother pendant mask iyoba edo peoples this is the currently selected item. Bronzes to benin, gold to ghana museums under fire on. Today benin includes not only the ancient fon kingdom of dahomey but also areas. Benin is a small country in west africa with a coastline on the bight of benin. The republic of benin is a small west african country. Whether its street vendors who sell everything from goat and turkey to rice and vegetables or more established restaurants offering a range of flavors and international cuisines, benin will not leave you hungry.
A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of mathieu kerekou and the establishment of a. Benin overview customs and culture diet and recipes language religion interesting facts. Ngamen kouassi department of sociologyanthropology igbinedion university, okada benin city course editor prof. Learn more about the history, geography, and culture of benin in this article.
Benin sustains huge annual trade deficits that are relieved by infusions of monetary aid, especially from france. Benin is bordered by togo to the west, burkina faso and niger to the north, nigeria to the east, and the bight of benin to the south. Benin history, language and culture history of benin. Reinhardt schuhmann, kenneth schweitzer, and jud wellington. From its base located in what is now nigeria, it became a large empire and by around the fifteenth century some sources say that it stretched from sierra leone to as far as congo. Podcast for kids nfb radio 101 sermon podcast pauping off all steak no sizzle podcast church of the oranges daily chapel spring 2012. Benin was the capital of the kingdom of benin, which was probably founded in the th cent. The kingdom of benin, home of the edospeaking peoples, is located in the tropical rain forest region of what is now nigeria. It covers an area of 44,310 sqm and is home to about 11 million people. Benin was once a great african kingdom, but it was transformed into the largest supplier of humans for the slave trade.
Both of these are different from the use of the word voodoo by religious reconstructionists in new orleans and. The culture is eclectic, largely a result of many different ethnic groups in the country, but is also strongly connected to the often misunderstood and misrepresented voodoo religion. The british museum has a number of objects from this time, including some of the plaques which decorated the royal. It is between the equator and the tropic of cancer.
It is not to be confused with benin, the postcolonial nation state. People and society of benin language of benin benin. If youre behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains. During the th century, the indigenous edo people were run by a group of local chieftains. The kingdom of benin, also known as the benin kingdom, was a precolonial kingdom in what. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading history and culture of benin republic. She was humble, resourceful and a good cook who sometimes provided free food. If youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Benin simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Finding aids to collections in the archive of folk culture benin collections in the archive of folk culture.
Experiencing traditional culture in ouidah, benin youtube. In the southern part of benin, they eat a lot of seafood like prawns, crabs and lobsters. Most of the people within the benin empire were edo. By exploring the meanings of benin kingship rituals and the contemporary contexts of. The country measures about 325 km 202 mi at its widest point. Pdf of all the west african societies, the kingdom of benin is the one most mentioned in contemporary. As a further proof that the edo people do not come from egypt, one may say that the egyptian writing culture is significantly absent in the benin or edo culture.
National economy, ethnic relations and history, religion, ethnic cultural differences, government and leadership. Yayi boni assumed office in 2006, following one of the first presidential elections considered to be free and fair, and in 2011 was reelected to a second term becoming the first president to win without a subsequent runoff since 1991 as a new democracy, the bright side is that benin s economy is growing and tourism is on the increase, especially along the coastal areas, and in the wildlife. The precolonial benin kingdom or empire was located in what is today southern nigeria. Mountainous daghestani republics or free associations volnye. The rituals and ceremonies of the voodoo religion in benin. August 30, 2014 at 2pm 1003 1st ave, charleston, wv 23502 charleston. The culture and traditions of beninese people unseen benin.
Benin has achieved universal primary education and half of the children 54% were enrolled in secondary education in 20, according to the unesco institute for statistics. Culture and tradition are inseparable in the daily lives of people of benin. Aug 18, 2018 the precolonial benin kingdom or empire was located in what is today southern nigeria. Famous for her huge population of more than 150 million and with more than 370 ethnics groups, nigeria has the highest population in african continent. A former kingdom of western africa, now part of nigeria. Pdf benin, the western niger delta, and the development of. It is entirely separate from the republic of benin, which was then known as dahomey. The forgotten story, from the schomburg center for research in black culture nypl timeline of art history. This ended in 1990 when the newly renamed republic of benin held its first free and fair elections. This paper focuses on benin mythology, with particular emphasis on the cult. Culture of benin history, people, clothing, women, beliefs. Read and learn for free about the following article. Description of ghana, togo and benin cultural holiday this weeklong benin, togo and ghana tour takes travellers on a unique cultural journey through west africa where youll experience everything from authentic african architecture and the horrific heritage of the slave trade to. Culture of benin history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food.
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