The name "Benin" (and "Bini") is a
Portuguese corruption, ultimately from the word "Ubini", which came into use during the reign of
Oba (ruler)
Ewuare, c. 1440. "Ubini", an Edo word meaning Livable, used by Pa Idu, the progenitor of the Edo people to describe the area found as a Livable Locale, during their sojourn from the River Niger Area. Ubini was later corrupted to Benin by the mixed ethnicities living together at the centre; and further corrupted to Benin around 1485, when the
Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare giving them coral beads.[3]
Edo people can be found in Nigeria's
Edo State, which got its name from the primary inhabitants of the region's most notable historical conglomeration,
Benin City, which is also the central capital homeland of the Edo people. Edo people also have many related groups in their immediate surroundings also encompassed by the political and administrative borders of Edo state.[4] Most of these groups have traced their history back to the historical city center off the Benin people,
Benin City. Examples of such adjacent groups include various
Afemai sub-groups, the
Esan people of Edo state and the
Akoko Edo people situated on the state's northern borders.[5]
Edo state was formerly part of the
old Bendel state of early post-colonial Nigeria, also known as the
Mid-Western Region, Nigeria. This region's influence and culture reflects that of the Edo, Urhobo, Esan and other Edo related peoples.[6]
In the
traditional religion of the Edo, there exists, besides the human world, an invisible world of supernatural beings acting as interceders for the human world. Offerings are made to them in their respective shrines.
Osanobua is the creator and Supreme God. His son/daughter
Olokun is ruler of all bodies of water and is responsible for the prosperity and fertility of his/her human followers. Another son
Ogun, is the patron god of
metalworkers. The
epithetOsanobua Noghodua mean God Almighty. The word Osanobua encompasses a large number of divine principles - including the divine state of being merciful, timeless, goodness, justice, sublimity, and supreme. In the Edo belief system, Osanobua has the divine attributes of
omnipresence (orhiole),
omniscience (ajoana), and
omnipotence (udazi). The Supreme Deity is believed to be present everywhere and at all times.[8][9]
Traditional Edo art consists of widely identifiable sculptures, plaques and masks which reflect various spiritual and historical aspects of their cultural traditions. Some of the notable Edo art pieces include the mask of the Queen Mother
Idia and a vast collection of historical Edo art pieces called the
Benin Bronzes which can be found not only in Nigeria but further dispersed around the world, including in museums such as New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art.[10]
^Okpokunu, Edoja; Agbontaen-Eghafona, Kokunre A.; Ojo, Pat O. (2005). "Benin dressing in contemporary Nigeria: social change and the crisis of cultural identity". African Identities. 3 (2): 155–170.
doi:
10.1080/14725840500235506.
S2CID143668454.
Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Edo people