Benin Bronzes and tradition

Benin Bronzes

Benin History
Are a collection of more than 3000^[1] brass plaques from the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin (located in present day Nigeria). They were seized by a British force in the Benin Expedition of 1897 and given to the British Foreign Office. Around 200 of these were then passed on to the British Museumin London, while the remainder were divided among a variety of collections, with the majority being purchased by Felix von Luschan on behalf of the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin (the present-day Ethnological Museum).^[2] In 1936, Oba Akenzua II began the movement to return the art now known in modern discourse as the 'Benin Bronzes'.The seizure of Benin art and particularly the "Bronzes" led to a greater appreciation in Europe for African culture.^[3] Bronzes are now believed to have been cast in Benin since the thirteenth century, and some in the collection date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Strangely the creation of bronze plaques is thought to have been revived by the arrival of European traders in Benin. The traders brought brass bracelets known asmanillas which were exchanged for spices, ivory or slaves. This metal was melted down and used to create the plaques that decorated the palace in Benin.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Bronzes

TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS

Voodoo, of which Benin is the birthplace, is a traditional polytheist cult based on the idea that God is in everything and is everywhere in the universe. It is expressed by the adoration of numerous divinities. The cults therefore address themselves to Héviosso, the god of thunder, Ogoun, the god of iron and blacksmiths, and to various divinities (Dan) that procure happiness for man and as such are opportunities for festivities.http://www.easyvoyage.co.uk/benin/culture

Where I'm from

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/benin.htm

Benin  More than 350 years ago the area now known as Benin was split into numerous principalities. Akaba of Abomey conquered his neighbouring ruler Dan and called the new kingdom Dan-Homey, later shortened by French colonisers. Each king pledged to leave his successor more land than he inherited, achieved by waging war with his neighbours. They grew rich by selling slaves to the European traders, notably the Portuguese, who established trading posts in Porto Novo, Ouidah and along the coast. For more than a century an average of 10,000 slaves per year were shipped to the Americas. Southern Dahomey was dubbed the Slave Coast. Following colonisation by the French, great progress was made in education, and many Dahomey's were employed as government advisers throughout French West Africa. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/benin/history

border countries: Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria

related countries: France, Haiti (Most Haitians trace their ancestry to Benin.)

The Warrior Queens of Dahomey:The Known in Benin as the Mino, theWarrior Queens of Dahomey were established in the 1600′s, with the last remaining member passing away in 1979.  The Mino were recruited from among the extensive ranks of the king’s wives (there were hundreds at a time) and from the public- volunteers seeking honor or escape from abusive marriages, and women involuntarily enlisted by their husbands.  The Mino were first utilized as elephant hunters, then as palace guards and community police, and finally as warriors.  Missionaries and French armies recorded their impressions of these female warriors, noting their strength, bravery, skill, and patriotism: “the equal of every contemporary body of male elite soldiers from among the colonial powers (source).

http://globalreadher.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/warrior-queens/