Queen Mother Pendant Mask- Iyoba MET DP231460

The Iyoba of Benin is an important female

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

holder in the chieftaincy system of the

Kingdom of Benin The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's c ...

, a

Nigerian traditional state There are many traditional states in Nigeria. A partial list follows. Although the Nigerian traditional rulers, traditional rulers no longer officially have political power, they still have considerable status in Nigeria and the power of patronage ...

. She is otherwise known in English as the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

History

When King Ozolua died in the fifteenth century, he left behind two sons to dispute the royal succession: Esigie controlled

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 ...

, the kingdom's metropolitan center, while his brother Arhuaran was based in Udo - an important provincial seat 20 miles away. Neither prince was prepared to yield to the other, partisans soon declared for one or the other, and Benin was plunged into a civil war shortly thereafter. Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, the hitherto vassal

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 ...

declared their independence from Benin and seized a swath of territory to its north. In the span of a week, Esigie found himself confronted with what now seemed like the almost certain fragmentation of his father's kingdom. His mother,

Idia Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people 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 ...

, is reputed to have stood behind him at this time. By serving as everything from his counsellor to his priestess, she rallied the Binis - including many that had previously supported Arhuaran - to Esigie's standard. After dealing decisively with her stepson, the royal pair turned their attention to the Igala rebels. Following a hard-fought campaign, Benin's supremacy was restored, and the victorious army - with Esigie and Idia at its head - returned to the capital in triumph. In gratitude for his mother's efforts on his behalf, King Esigie created a new office - that of ''Iyoba'' - for her to occupy. Now ranking equal to the senior chiefs of the royal court, the Iyoba was also built her own palace in the town of Uselu, which was thereafter attached to her title as a perpetual

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. She was the first woman in the history of Benin to have such power.

Duties

A presumptive Iyoba's principal function within the

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

during her husband's lifetime was to give birth to and raise the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

that would eventually - all things being equal - succeed him as the

Oba of Benin The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Daho ...

. Although this is no longer the case, she was also expected to have no children besides him. Furthermore, in emulation of Idia's example, she was expected to be a powerful sorceress - and to use her knowledge of the mystic arts to the future king's advantage at all times. Most of her

ladies-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

- a coterie of

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

girls that were expected to wait upon her while simultaneously learning about the inner workings of her office - would in turn eventually become members of her son's own harem (and thus potential Iyobas themselves). A comparatively small number would remain in her service for life as her titular ''wives'', this being due to the fact that a person of her rank and position was traditionally expected to have a harem of their own. Once invested shortly after the coronation of her son, the Iyoba decamped to Uselu, where she spent the remainder of her days. Although forbidden to ever see the Oba again, she was nevertheless expected to serve as his chief advisor, so palace messengers were almost constantly moving from Benin to Uselu, and from Uselu to Benin. In times of war, the Iyoba was the only woman in the kingdom that was constitutionally empowered to participate. As a chief of high rank, she served as the commander of her own military regiment - the ''Queen's Own''. Following her death, an Iyoba became the

patron goddess A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

of her son the king. As part of her funerary ceremonies, he was expected to commission

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

that would decorate her personal altar in the shrine of the kings in the palace. The Iyobas were the only class of women that was honoured in the shrine.

Incumbent

There is currently no living Iyoba. Be that as it may, Princess Eghiunwe Akenzua, the late mother of the incumbent Oba Ewuare II, was posthumously invested with the title by her son during his coronation in 2016.

References

{{reflist African royalty Noble titles of women Women in Nigeria African traditional governments African noble titles Kingdom of Benin

History

Duties

Incumbent

See also

References