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Benin City
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated approximately north of the Benin River and by road east of Lagos. Benin City is the centre of Nigeria's rubber industry, and oil production is also a significant industry. The city was the most important settlement of the Edo Kingdom of Benin, which flourished during the 13th to the 19th century. It held important trade relations with Portugal during the last centuries before being captured, sacked and burnt in 1897 by a British punitive expedition. Many bronze sculptures in Benin City palace, collectively termed the Benin Bronzes, were taken by the British who followed up their victory by gradually colonizing the area, eventually incorporating the region into Colonial Nigeria. The indigenous people of Benin City are the Edo people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of and its population in was estimated to be approximately million. It is a tropical nation, dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Some employment and income arise from subsistence farming. The official language of Benin is French, with indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Sunni Islam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Of The Kingdom Of Benin
Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin. Importance of Art in Benin Culture The Kingdom of Benin was powerful, but Benin culture has not been given proper recognition by western scholars. The story of how the Kingdom of Benin began as a culture and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ifẹ
Ifẹ̀ ( yo, Ifẹ̀, also ''Ilé-Ifẹ̀'') is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ife is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of over 500,000 people, which is the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006. According to the traditions of the Yoruba religion, Ilé Ifè was founded by the order of the Supreme God Olodumare by Obatala. It then fell into the hands of his brother Oduduwa, which created enmity between the two.Bascom, ''Yoruba'', p. 10; Stride, Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires", p. 290. Oduduwa created a dynasty there, and sons and daughters of this dynasty became rulers of many other kingdoms in Yorubaland.Akinjogbin, I. A. (Hg.): ''The Cradle of a Race: Ife from the Beginning to 1980'', Lagos 1992 (The book also has chapters on the present religious situation in the town). The first Oòni of Ife is a descendant of Oduduwa, which was the 401st Orisha. The present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igodomigodo
Igodomigodo is the original name of the Benin Empire used by its own inhabitants (nowadays known as the Edo people of Nigeria). According to Edo oral history, Igodomigodo was the name given to the kingdom by Igodo, the first '' ogiso'' (King), who founded the first dynasty of what would later be known as the Benin Empire (which existed from around 1180 until 1897 in the area of the present-day Federal Republic of Nigeria (and not in the area of the unrelated, current Republic of Benin)). The ''ogiso'' era was replaced by the ''oba'' era, and the name of the kingdom was changed from Igodomigodo to Edo by Oba Eweka I). Replacing the era of the ''ogiso'', the ''oba'' dynasty was founded by Eweka I, the first Oba (and child of Oranmiyan). Eweka I renamed his empire Edo, and since then its people have been called Edo people (or ''ovbi-ẹdo'', "child enof Edo"). The current Oba, Ewuare II, is the 40th Oba and 89th ruler of the dynasty started by Igodo of Igodomigodo. See al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oyo Empire
The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state and rose through the outstanding organizational and administrative skills of the Yoruba people, wealth gained from trade, and a powerful cavalry. The Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in the entirety of Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west. History Legend of origin The origins of the Oyo Empire lie with Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan), the last prince of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife ( Ife). Oranmiyan made an agreement with his brother to launch a punitive raid on their northern neighbors for i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. Though it is often called ''yuca'' in parts of Spanish America and in the United States, it is not related to yucca, a shrub in the family Asparagaceae. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are used to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian farinha, and the related ''garri'' of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it (and roasting both in the case of farinha and garri). Cassava is the third-la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooking Banana
Cooking bananas are banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They may be eaten ripe or unripe and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains (/ˈplæntɪn/, /plænˈteɪn/, /ˈplɑːntɪn/) or green bananas. In botanical usage, the term "plantain" is used only for true plantains, while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". True plantains are cultivars belonging to the AAB group, while cooking bananas are any cultivars belonging to AAB, AAA, ABB, or BBB groups. The currently accepted scientific name for all such cultivars in these groups is ''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca''. Fe'i bananas (''Musa'' × ''troglodytarum'') from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and are thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains," but they do not belong to any of the species from which all modern banana cultivars are descended. Cooking bananas are a major food staple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus '' Dioscorea'' (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers. Yams are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in many temperate and tropical regions, especially in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Oceania. The tubers themselves, also called "yams", come in a variety of forms owing to numerous cultivars and related species. Yams were independently domesticated on three different continents: Africa ('' Dioscorea rotundata''), Asia ('' Dioscorea alata''), and the Americas ('' Dioscorea trifida''). Etymology The name "yam" appears to derive from Portuguese ''inhame'' or Canarian (Spain) ''ñame'', which derived from West African languages during trade. However in both languages, this name commonly refers to the taro plant (''Colocasia esculenta'') from the genus '' Colocasia'', as opposed to '' Dioscorea''. The main derivations borrow f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raffia
Raffia palms (''Raphia'') are a genus of about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (''R. taedigera'') also occurring in Central and South America. ''R. taedigera'' is the source of raffia fibers, which are the veins of the leaves, and this species produces a fruit called "brazilia pods", "uxi nuts" or "uxi pods". They grow up to tall and are remarkable for their compound pinnate leaves, the longest in the plant kingdom; leaves of ''R. regalis'' up to long and wide are known. The plants are monocarpic, meaning that they flower once and then die after the seeds are mature. Some species have individual stems which die after fruiting, but have a root system which remains alive and sends up new stems which fruit. Cultivation and uses Fiber Raffia fiber is produced from the membrane on the underside of the leaf fronds. The membrane is taken off to create a long thin fiber, which can be rolled together for adde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Continent
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edo Language
Edo (with diacritics, ), colloquially called Bini (Benin), is a language spoken in Edo State, Nigeria. It is the native language of the Edo people and was the primary language of the Benin Empire and its predecessor, Igodomigodo. Distribution Most of the Edo language-speakers live in Edo State, Nigeria. A smaller number of speakers are also found in Delta State and Ondo State and in other parts of Nigeria. Edo is an Edoid language. This languages are also spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Phonology Vowels There are seven vowels, , all of which may be long or nasal, and three tones. Consonants Edo has a rather average consonant inventory for an Edoid language. It maintains only a single phonemic nasal, , but has 13 oral consonants, and the 8 stops, which have nasal allophones such as , and nasalized allophones before nasal vowels. The three rhotics have been described as voiced and voiceless trills as well as a lax English-type approximant. However, L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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