Yoruba and Benin tribal arts (part 2)

As seen on the maps above, modern-day Nigeria has many related but distinct tribal groups. The Benin are listed here as "Edo" (which they are also known by) and are placed just east of the Yoruba, and Ife' is basically along the line between the two. Additionally, there are both Yoruba and Benin folks in the Republic of Benin to the west of Nigeria, and in Cameroon to the east. This doesn't include, of course, any of either tribe living outside Africa due to the slave trades, which is a much larger amount.
So, for the rest of this blog and for the store, the Yoruba
and Benin may be seen as two sibling cultures, related but distinct
and individual with long-time sharing and rivalry.
 

WHICH SCULPTURES ARE YORUBA and WHICH IS BENIN?
"Benin Bronze" is really a catchphrase applied by the British archaeologists to all of the old bronze cast artifacts found at Ife' - Yoruba and Benin.

First, Katita noticed there seem to be some differences between the way Yoruba and Benin peoples traditionally see animals. The Benin seem to prefer sculpting animals who are for their use (as in, food sources or livestock, like the bronze chickens). Katita found a picture of Benin sculpture of humans holding a leopard by the neck.


The totemic portrayals of animals tend to be on Yoruba art, such as
birds in flight on a crown - connecting the spirit world to humans.
Ooni and Oba
The leaders of Ife' are sometimes referred to as "Ooni" (current
and formal leaders are listed on www.theooni.org
Ooni: and sometimes as "Oba" (which is also what the Benin Empire
call their leaders). There is also an Orisha (ancestor spirit/diety) of peace and balance, Obatala.

Yoruba beaded and bird-adorned
ceremonial crown

another Ooni/Oba excavated from Ife', which
we believe to be Yoruba

Headwear
"The [Ife' Bronze] figure wears a tight fitting cap with a large projecting,
phallic-like crest. Such caps and ornaments occur frequently in
Ife portraiture. This crown probably symbolizes the figure's royal status"
http://www.antiques.com/classified/1070907/Antique-Ife-Style-Bronze-Head---PF-6237b
The Yoruba seem to prefer portraying their Ooni/Oba (leader) with the
impressive phallic crown (see above), as a visual symbol of their leadership,
which really does work because it ALWAYS seems to get more attention.
The Benin, by contrast, portray their Oba in online photos* with an armorlike two-pronged crown, above the ears, matching some of our "Benin Bronze." On the same sites, the Queen is more often shown with a central (though curved) crest, interestingly.

Benin Oba (king) and Queen bronze heads

On Yoruba Beaded Crowns:
"A commanding bird at the top protects the powerful medicines inserted in the crown's summit.
Other birds may be added on the crown's body.
 Birds are symbols of the mystical powers of women whose support is needed for the oba to rule effectively"
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m12/activity1.php
Each color represents a different orisha**:
White - Obatala; Red - Shango; Yellow - Oshun; Blue- Yemaya; Purple - Oya

For additional information, here is a Nigerian website group, each with it's own forum about Yoruba and Benin culture.
http://www.nairaland.com/282439/yoruba-people-voodoo-juju-culture
http://www.nairaland.com/721396/yoruba-benin-republic

*Here are examples of Benin art
http://www.randafricanart.com/Benin_Oba_commemorative_heads.html


Here are examples of Yoruba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people


Here is some history of Yoruba and Ife' in the Bronze Age (migration from
the Nile to Ife'), and also some language: 100 Yoruba words related to Ancient Egyptian.
Did you know of the connection?
A summary:
"“The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an east
 African population across the trans-African route leading from
Mid-Nile river area to the Mid-Niger. Archaeologists, according
to M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited
 more than forty thousand years ago, or as far back as
65,000BC.
During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region.
 The Nok culture was visited by the “Yoruba people”, between 2000BC and 500BC. This group of people was led,
according to Yoruba historical accounts by king Oduduwa,
 who settled peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the indigenous Nok people.

This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high
civilization of both of these groups."

Here is the Yorubapedia, which has this in much more detail **plus detailed information about the Orishas:
http://yorubapedia.wikispaces.com/

The official website of Ife'
http://theooni.org/

It only gets more interesting, the more we find out! Perhaps this will continue into a third blog about West African Arts. Enjoy!
www.peoplesimports.com/store