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Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the
Edo people The Edo people, also referred to as the Benin City, Benin people, are an Edoid languages, Edoid-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group. They are prominently native to seven Edo South Senatorial District, southern Local government areas of Nigeria, loc ...
from 1504 to 1550.


Life

Historians are uncertain as regards her period of life; they do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war (1515 – 1516) because she played a role that led to a great
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. 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 po ...
victory. It has been argued that Idia, therefore, was the true power behind the throne of her son. She played a significant role in the rise and reign of the king, being described as a great
warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...
who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
) of the
Edo people The Edo people, also referred to as the Benin City, Benin people, are an Edoid languages, Edoid-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group. They are prominently native to seven Edo South Senatorial District, southern Local government areas of Nigeria, loc ...
. Queen Idia was instrumental in securing the title of Oba for her son Esigie following the death of his father Oba Ozolua. To that end, she raised an army to fight off his brother Arhuaran, who was supposed to be the Oba by right and tradition but who was subsequently defeated in battle. Esigie’s mother became the 1st Iyoba of Benin. Idia first entered the royal household because Ozolua, the Oba from 1483 until 1514, saw her dance, and after the dance wanted to make her his wife. Idia and the Oba were married sometime before 1504, but historians are not positive about the exact date. As a result, Idia’s parents helped prepare her for her future life in the
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
by giving her certain medical herbs. She was known to be very intelligent because she was able to retrieve the
throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...
for her son, and was also able to protect Esigie from his enemies such as Arhuahan (Esigie's alf-brother). Another interesting concept Idia was known for was her �
womb of orhue
�� — a phrase that meant that her womb defied the odds. These odds were that her son, Esigie, was not first in line for the throne, rather Esigie was originally third in line for the throne. In the end, and against the odds, Esigie became the Oba.Ogidogbo
the first in line for the throne as Oba, became illegitimate a candidate for the throne because he was crippled due to playing with his brothers, Aruahan and Esigie. The people of Benin thought that Idia had planned this because Idia was known to possess magical powers. This also shows how the people of Benin thought that she was able to both evade and create havoc. This resulted in Aruahan being next in line for the throne, but he saw Esigie as a threat. Consequently, Esigie wanted to
assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
his half-brother. Although, the only reason Aruanran did not assassinate his brother was because he knew that Esigie’s mother, Idia, had the skill of magical arts, while Aruahan did not. There have been many representations of Queen Idia because she represented a key part of Benin's imperial courtly culture. Also, Idia was so influential because of her determination. Overall, she was described as a strong-willed, beautiful, intelligent, and wise woman. Esigie instituted the title of '' Iyoba'' ( mother of the monarch) and conferred it on his mother, along with the Eguae-Iyoba (Palace of the Queen Mother). Queen Idia became more popular in contemporary Nigeria when it was decided that her face should be used as a sculpture to represent a Nigerian Festival, FESTAC ‘77. The face of the Queen Mother came into the art world more after this. She was supposed to be killed after the crowning of her son as the Oba, according to the then tradition, but her son Esigie secretly took her to hide in a room that was to be entered by only those authorized to do so; he did this in order to protect her from being killed and it worked until he was able to alter the tradition. After he canceled the law concerning royal matricide, Queen Idia returned freely to the palace and ruled together with her son, helping him fight spiritually and physically over his enemies, which helped him during his reign as Oba. Before she died, she trained her son's wife in her ways so her departure would be met unnoticed.


Victory over Igala people

Subsequently, the neighboring
Igala people The Igala people are a ''West African'' ethnolinguistic group native to the region immediately south of the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue Rivers in Middle Belt, central Nigeria. The area inhabited primarily by the ...
sent warriors across the River Niger to wrest control of Benin's northern territories. Esigie conquered the Igala, reestablishing the unity and military strength of the kingdom. His mother Idia received much of the credit for these victories as her political counsel, together with her magical powers and medicinal knowledge, were viewed as critical elements of Esigie's success on the battlefield.


Representations of Queen Idia

The representations of Queen Idia comprise a group of commemorative heads from medieval
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. 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 po ...
that represents Queen Idia, mother of Oba Esigie (r. 1504-1550), made during the early sixteenth century at the Benin court. The representations of Queen Idia discussed here include the Bronze Head of Queen Idia (
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London), a pendant ivory mask of Queen Idia (
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York), and finally an ivory mask of Queen Idia (
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London). Several artistic representations of Idia were looted from
Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...
during the British Benin Expedition of 1897 and are now held in museums around the world. Alongside other
Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The metal plaques were produced by the Guild of Benin Bronze Casters, now ...
, they have been the subject of calls for their repatriation. A Queen Idia ivory mask held in the British Museum became the symbol of the Second World Black and African Festival of Art and Culture FESTAC held in Nigeria in 1977. In Eddie Ugbomah's 1979 film ''The Mask'', the Nigerian hero steals a Queen Idia mask back from the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. The imagined childhood of Queen Idia is the focus of an award-winning children's book titled ''Idia of the Benin Kingdom'' written by Ekiuwa Aire.


Brass heads

The Brass Heads of Queen Idia are a group of four commemorative brass heads from medieval
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. 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 po ...
that represents Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, made during the early sixteenth century at the Benin court. The four cast
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
heads of the queen are known and are currently in the collections of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London, the
World Museum World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...
in Liverpool (accession number 27.11.99.8.), the Nigerian National Museum in Lagos, and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. It is important to note that although these are commonly called "Bronze Heads" because the composition of metalwork from Benin were initially thought to be
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
, and were only later identified as
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
; therefore a more accurate description is the "Brass Heads" of Queen Idia. These brass heads are among the many Benin works of art that entered the European art market after the invasion of the British, an event known as the
Benin Expedition of 1897 The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition by a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British force of 1,200 men under Harry Rawson, Sir Harry Rawson. It came in response to the ambush and slaughter of a 250-strong party led ...
. The brass heads were made using the lost wax casting technique in the early sixteenth century. The image located at the British Museum is a realistic representation of a young woman from the Benin court, who wears a high pointed '' ukpe-okhue'' crown of lattice-shaped red
coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
beads. The hairstyle is referred to as a "parrot's beak" hairstyle and was only allowed to be worn by the Iyoba and the major war chief. Above and between the eyes are two bands that were inset with iron. These reflect the oral tale of how Idia came to be the Iyoba; the tale states that an oracle had told Idia to place medicine on two incisions above her eyes in order to prevent the Oba Ozolua from picking her for his wife. Oba Ozolua then went on to defeat the oracle's premonitions and Idia became the mother of Oba Esigie. When Oba Esigie commissioned these brass heads to be made and placed in Idia's memorial palace, he ensured that they had these incisions in order to honor how Idia came to be the first Iyoba of Benin. Above each eyebrow are engraved four cicatrices. The sophisticated technique and design of the four heads suggest that they were made in the early sixteenth century, commissioned by Idia's son Oba Esigie, and created by the imperial guild of brass-casters that was founded by the previous Oba, Oba Ogolua. Queen Idia played an instrumental role in her son's successful military campaigns against neighboring
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
and factions. After her death, Oba Esigie ordered dedicatory heads of the queen to be made, to be placed in front of
altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christian ...
or in the Queen Mother's
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
. The heads were designed to honor her
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
achievements and ceremonial power. The British Museum head was presented to the museum by Sir William Ingram in 1897.


Ivory masks

Idia's face is one of the most well-known faces of African royal women. There are two extant masks of Queen Idia that are made from
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
. One is located in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
while the pendant ivory mask is located in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
. These two ivory masks are almost identical to the each other, and both of these masks were made around the
16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...
. The Benin ivory mask is about nine inches tall and five inches wide. Ivory masks were usually carved freehanded with a
chisel A chisel is a hand tool with a characteristic Wedge, wedge-shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade. A chisel is useful for carving or cutting a hard material such as woodworking, wood, lapidary, stone, or metalworking, metal. Using a chi ...
and a file without a design to follow. Obas paid homage to the queen mothers by wearing carved ivory pendant masks of the Iyoba to ward off bad spirits. The function of these ivory masks was to commemorate Iyoba Idia, and the piece was to appear at an
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
dedicated to her. Also, Oba Esigie wore these masks during
ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
. They were commissioned by Oba Esigie, her son. Historians are able to identify that it is indeed Queen Idia depicted in these masks because of the two parallel lines down her forehead between her eyebrows, represented here with two pieces of inlaid iron. Some have thought that the two parallel lines down Idia's face were thought to be where she held her magical powers; however, there is an alternate explanation for this. The two parallel lines down Queen Idia's face were caused by her parents because they did not want her to become Oba Ozolua's wife. They were advised in an
oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
that they needed to scar her face to make her less beautiful so that Ozolua would not marry her. Also, her parents had medicinal potions placed within her scars by the divine
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
in Benin. These medicinal potions were to assure that Oba Ozolua would stay away. This in the end did not work to repel Oba Ozolua: he sensed that something was wrong with Idia, but was quick enough to realize that she had been scarred and poisoned, so he was able to neutralize the medicine. The
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
on both of the ivory masks of Idia displays Portuguese soldiers. To the Benin culture, the Portuguese arrival from the seas with great amounts of wealth made them people of the spirit realm who came to bring wealth and power to the oba. This depiction shows the importance of the presence of the European soldiers. The white of the ivory represents purity and is associated with the god of the sea, Olokun. Olokun's wealth and fertility is the counterpart to the oba.
Ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
became Benin's main commerce commodity following the arrival of Portuguese traders who bought ivory in Benin. Also, along the crown of the mask there are the air-breathing mudfish, '' Clarias anguillaris'', which lived on both land and in the sea, representing the duality of the oba's humanity and godhood. Overall, the
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
represents both the human and the
divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...
. The Benin ivory mask of Queen Idia illustrates Benin's culture and also represents Queen Idia's formidable character. These masks are also important as an illustration of the physical appearance and presence of Queen Idia. The only significant variation between the two masks is the differently designed collars: The Benin ivory mask has an intricate pattern as a collar, while the pendant ivory mask has the design of Portuguese soldiers. The Benin ivory mask is in better condition in comparison to the pendant ivory mask. File:Idia_mask_BM_Af1910_5-13_1.jpg, alt=Idia, ivory mask, Kingdom of Benin, British Museum, Benin ivory mask representing Idia, the court of Benin, 16th century (
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, London) File: Miniaturmaske, Edo.jpg, Benin ivory mask, with
coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
beads, representing Idia, the court of Benin, 16th century (
Linden Museum The Linden Museum (German language, German: ''Linden-Museum Stuttgart. Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde'') is an ethnological museum located in Stuttgart, Germany. The museum features cultural artifacts from around the world, including South ...
, Stuttgart)


See also

*
Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The metal plaques were produced by the Guild of Benin Bronze Casters, now ...
* Benin ivory mask * Bronze Head from Ife


References


''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History''


External links


Bronze commemorative head of Queen Idia
held by the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Idia: The First Queen Mother of Benin
at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Pendant Mask: Iyoba, 16th century
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idia 16th-century African people 16th-century Nigerian people 16th-century Nigerian women African queen mothers African women in war History of women in Nigeria Nigerian women in politics Women in 16th-century warfare