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Oba Ewakpe and Oueen Iden of Benin Kingdom. Smart Wisdom
   
Queen Iden the beloved wife of Oba Ewakpe the great was the pride of femine gender, in her days as a Benin Royal Queen who stood behind her husband in a turbulent period. Ewakpe became king in the ancient kingdom in about 1700 A. D. And was the 26th monarch of the hereditary title of Benin dynasty. He reigned for about 12 years which was characterized with series of set backs during the early period to the extent that all subjects in the kingdom revolted against him.

The fundamental cause of grouse was to protest against the monarch's high handedness and his flagrant disrespect of human lives which culminated in the mass killing of his subjects at Uselu during the funeral of his demised mother Queen Ewebonoza in about 17.15 A. D when it became apparent that the elders and the citizens of the Kingdom could no longer accommodate the excesses of the King they were compelled to severe their disreputable connections. This uprising also affected all his wives (Iloi) the royal slaves (ovien) and other palace attendants.

Queen Iden became the only friend of Oba Ewakpe in that time of need, as she made herself present as the kings only hope in time of great calamity when it became apparent that there was no solution to his predicaments, the king decided to seek refuge amongst his mother's relations at ikoka village but the monarch was also rejected in his matenal abode.

In his sad state of mind he came back to Benin City on the arrival of the Oba, Queen Iden observed his hopelessness and decided to do something about it by consulting an oraclelist on behalf of her husband Oba Ewakpe, to seek the oracle instruction on what should be done to ward off the calamity bedeviling the ancient kingdom and its monarch. After a thorough divination by the oraclist he concluded that all that was needed for the peace of the kingdom and the restoration of its throne was a human sacrifice.

She headed for the palace to give the message of the gods to his majesty the King in their empty harem. The message from the diviner seemed to aggravate matters for Oba Ewuakpe because there was no other human being in his palace, free or bonded beside his dear wife Queen Iden, who incidentally was the conveyor of this report.

Queen Iden offered herself as a sacrifice to appease the gods in exchange for the restoration of the kingdom and Oba Ewuakpe's royalty.

As soon as Queen Iden suggested to her husband that she submit herself for the supreme price determined by the ancestors, Oba Ewuakpe became nervously embittered as he could not comprehend the possibility of himself killing his dear wife, who had stood with him in times of calamity of this magnitude in order to atone for the sins she had not committed. But the determined Queen encouraged the royal hands to shed her blood. If only that will appease the ancestral spirits of the land of Benin. So as to put aside the upheaval in the kingdom.

And as it became glaring on Oba Ewakpe that there was no other way out of the predicament he conceded reluctantly to the pressure mounted by his real lover the Queen and atone the gods with the precious blood of Queen Iden, as he buried her alive on the spot near the Oba market in the heart of Benin metropolice.

Before Queen Iden voluntarily offered her self as an atonement to the gods, she requested for one favour from the king, that he should make sure her grave side is kept clean at all times. In addition, she cautioned against the reality of any person treading on her grave or else such trespasser should be killed on the spot as a mark of respect for her blessed remembrance.

Consequently her desire was strictly adhered to till the invasion of the British forces in 1897. This Queen had paid the ultimate price requested for by the ancestors but she did not know the outcome of her cherished kingdom and the reign of her beloved husband.

As soon as Oba Ewakpe finished the sacrificial rituals, some of the prominent chiefs in the kingdom called for a trace between the throne and it’s aggrieved subjects. Other Benin Chiefs started paying homage to the Benin monarch again and pledge their loyalty to the bereaved Oba Ewakpe.

Then all other Benin’s came in the same spirit to pledge their allegiance to his authority over them as their king. Consequently, the entire kingdom was reconciled back to the king and remained loyal to the royal majesty till the end of his reign.

Since it was necessary to celebrate such re-union, the Benins came together at the palace and rolled out drums to give such occasion a memorable one. During his happy mood the people were taken back to see their own king weeping profusely in the midst of merriment instead of being happy for the reunion of his subjects with him. This made his subjects to find out from the Oba why he was weeping at the time of celebration, the Oba replied that the motive behind his tears was because of his desire to mourn the sacrificial demise of his dear wife queen Iden.

He went further to narrate all the ordeal in the palace at the time the kingdom fell apart which resulted in the untimely exit of his best friend and beloved Queen who because of her unfeigned love for the unity of her fatherland, offered herself as a scape goat to the gods of her pedigree. For the redemption of their intergenetional equity and social cultural heritage.

Retrospectively therefore, in view of what transpired in Benin Kingdom during the reign of Oba Ewuakpe about 500 yeas ago and the role played by a woman in the person for Queen Iden to ensure the continue existence of Benin monarch is a testimony to the fact that she is the greatest heroine of the millennium.
Oba Ewakpe and Oueen Iden of Benin Kingdom
Dérivés Culturels,  Décoration,  Art du bureau
Auteur: Smart
45 x  23.9 x  3.4 cm  /   17.7 x  9.4 x  1.3 in
Diamètre 12 cm  /   4.7 in
Poids 46 kg   /  101.41 lbs
Matières: Bronze  /   Origines: Arts d'Afrique  /   Style: Restauration  /   Période: Antiquités (Vème av et ap JC)  /  
 
Publié: 21 octobre, 2015 / Modifié: 22 octobre, 2015
Copyright Wisdom

 
Oba Ewakpe and Oueen Iden of Benin Kingdom
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Wisdom
Wisdom
Galerie d'Art 
Lagos, Nigeria
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