Benin
The Natural World
What‘s Happening?
• Geographical Location of Benin (Where is
it?)
• The Natural World of Benin (as seen
through Benin Art)
• Animals of Benin
– Symbolic
– Functional
• Conclusion
Where is Benin?
• Located almost wholly within what is now
Nigeria, the Benin Kingdom at its peak
stretched from Lagos in the west, along
the coast of Nigeria to the River Niger in
the east and area that equates to about a
fifth of Nigeria's current geographic area.
• Land size~ 810km2
• Benin is in southern Nigeria, which is
equatorial.
• There are jungles, which will explain the
presence of many animals, such as
The Natural World as
seen through Art
• Animalistic art is a very important part of
many cultures in the world.
• In Benin culture, Nature, especially
animals, had significant roles in the lives of
humans, and was depicted in many forms
of Benin Art
• The people of Benin respected the powers
of nature around them, especially the
animals, many of which represented the
powers of the Gods and the Gods
themselves.
Animals in Benin as
seen through Art
• In Benin, many animals are symbols of
deities or cults. Some represent the power
of the Oba (King). The objects from Benin
found in museums today feature images of
fish, snakes, leopards, and crocodiles.
They are not just on plaques but on
bracelets and other objects too.
Animalistic art in
Benin
• We have divided common animals in
Benin into 2 groups, the symbolic and the
functional.
• The animals in the symbolic group are
commonly present in many forms of Benin
art and are said to have supernatural
powers and often represent the Gods,
especially Oba.
• The functional animals have less
significance with respect to the Gods, and
Leopard
• Appears most frequently among the animals
depicted on many pieces of Benin art such as
plaques and breastplates
• In Benin cosmology, as the King of the forest, the
leopard, is a symbol of royal power
• It was seen as terrifying and ferocious, but also as
cunning and intelligent
• As king of the forest, its reputation was as great as
that of the Oba
• The leopard symbolises complete harmony
between two compelling forces- the menacing and
the moderating- that Oba has (should have) The
Oba was also called Child of the Home Leopard
and is described in a song as “Leopard, King of
However…
• In the seventeenth century the Oba kept
tame leopards that he led about in chains
when he paraded through the city. This
showed his power and domination over
the ‘King of the Bush’.
• Killing the Leopard was one of the Oba’s
privileges
• At one time leopards were sacrificed to
ensure the well-being of the kingdom
• Leopards’ teeth and skin were thought to
offer protection in battle
Leopards in art
• Leopard Hip
Pendant
• ~ 18th Century
• Cast brass with
copper inlay
• Leopard hip
ornaments were
bestowed on the
Oba's military chiefs
as badges of honor.
The symbol provided
protection to the
Snakes
• Depictions of the snake are visually
omnipresent in Benin Art, whether in the
form of jewellery for the Oba or as
decorative motifs on pots, medicine staffs
and ivory tusks.
• Snakes are links between the powers of the
sky (Osanabua) and earth (Oba)
• The snake is a symbol of the vertical axis
connecting earth with the realm of spirits
• The rainbow is said to be a python, joining
the sky and the Earth, a reminder of the
ladder on which the Creator God, Osanobua,
• The snake is at home both in the realm of
the waters (Olokun) and the Land (Oba),
and is thus a symbol of a bridge between
them.
• Together with the crocodile, the snake is
most closely related to Olokun, the God of
water, to whom he serves as a messenger
and playmate
• The python especially, is a symbol of
Olokun. It is said that pythons are sent by
Fish
 The number of fish depicted on plaques,
bases of heads, altars and carved ivory
pieces are almost too numerous to count
 However, despite several variations, they
are usually of the same species, catfish or
mudfish.
 The mudfish is a symbol of peace,
prosperity, and fertility. Because the mudfish
lives close to the riverbank it symbolizes the
Oba’s position between mortal men (on the
land) and the spirit world of Olokun, god of
the water.
 The Edo greatly values mudfish as the
• Oba Ohen had
mudfish for his
legs to cover a
deformity when
his legs were
paralysed at age
of 25.
Crocodile
 Crocodiles were used as a symbol of
protection in many pieces of Benin art,
especially the equipment of warriors
 Crocodiles are called the ‘policemen of the
waters’ and Olokun sent crocodiles to
punish the wicked as the crocodile is feared
for its ferocity.
 As the crocodile can live in both land and
water, it was associated with One of the
Gods of the water, Olokun, who was
identified with water, wealth, beauty and
fertility.
 A crocodile is able to transform himself into
 The head of the
crocodile is the
source of wisdom
and
organizational
talent
 A particularly
striking figure of a
crocodile with
human arms is
another symbol of
Birds
• Birds, especially a kind of ibis, appears
on plaques and medicine staffs
• The figure of a bird perched atop the Oba’s
palace is viewed generally as a symbol of
the constant fight between good and evilthe confrontation between daylight and the
darkness of night
• The Ibis-like bird serves as a reminder of
King Esigie’s victory over the Igala at the
beginning of the sixteenth century.
• As King Esegie and his warriors were
going to battle, they heard the "bird of
prophecy," whose cry signals disaster. The
king was not afraid and ordered the bird to
be killed and his army went on to a great
victory.
• After that, Esigie commissioned his royal
metalcasters to create clappers
surmounted by the "bird of prophecy." He
decreed that his chiefs should sound them
at court ceremonies to celebrate the oba's
 Hand-Held Clapper
with Bird of Prophecy
(ahianmwen-oro),
 9th Century
 Cast copper alloy
 Benin clapper is
played by striking the
bird on its beak with a
metal rod.
 Typically, the bird has
a long curved beak in
which it grasps a
round pellet, perhaps
of medicine or magical
The Cockerel
• It was a part of the altars of the Queen
Mothers.
• The Queen Mother had many male privileges
and powers, such as her own palace and
Personnel, which explains why the Queen
Mother had a male symbol
• Cockerel was supposed to have been a
guardian spirit and a kind of spy in the earlier
Ogiso dynasty.
• Large sharp spurs indicate the strength and
superiority of the male animal
• There is a suggestion that the cockerel can
be linked with the Oba’s eldest wife Eson.
Conclusion
• Animals were an important part of Benin
culture and were often associated with the
powers of the Gods. Because Benin was
surrounded by tropical jungles, the common
animals represented were leopards,
crocodiles, snakes, birds and fish.
• The people of Benin, as with many old
cultures, respected the powers of nature so
much that they had a great fear of it. This
explains the great significance of animalistic
art in Benin.
• Benin Art has had a great influence on
THE END