Culture Et Tradition (document en anglais)

Culture and tradition are inseparable in the daily lives of people of Benin . This can be observed through the daily life of Beninese people and whether you are in towns and villages of the South , North , East , West or Central Benin . One of the most obvious one to witness in the culture is the dress style that is deeply traditionalist before being influenced today by the modern style of dressing. Beninese, in major part of their time, are wearing the “Bomba” which is designed as tunics and trousers for men and a loincloth and a top for women.

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Benin Culture

Benin’s culture is as rich and diverse as its landscape. With strong religious roots to inform most of the traditions, Benin’s culture is certainly one of the most unique and interesting in Africa.

Music is of utmost importance in the country. The rhythmic sounds of drumming can be heard at most festivals and religious events. Not just a way to celebrate, music in Benin provides a way to express religious fervor. The country is also home to notable musicians, including the internationally acclaimed singer Angelique Kidjo.

The strong influence of the Voodoo religion is an important part of Benin, which tells of healing and rejuvenating talismans (‘fetishes’). The tradition of oral storytelling is still alive and well, which accounts for the absence of Beninese written literature, even though the culture prides itself in its ancient stories and folklore.

Benin tradition continues by pointing out that it was during the reign of the fourth Oba of Benin of the present dynasty, Oba Oguola, the starting date of which has been put at A.D. 1400, that the Oba requested a bronze-smith to be sent from Ife-Ife, his ancestral home, to teach the craft in Benin. Iguehae (a rather strange name for an Ife man) was sent for the purpose, and there are shrines in Benin City today where he is worshipped.

This tradition, together with another which says that the heads of the deceased Obas of Benin were usually returned to Ife far burial at the site of Orun Oba Ado and that, in return, bronze memorial heads of the deceased Obas were sent to Benin to be kept there has given rise to speculation that Benin court art was derived from Ife. It is said further that this practice of sending bronze memorial heads to Benin was stopped by Oguola after the arrival of Iguehae.

The exponents of this view have compared the naturalism of Ife works with the naturalism of those Benin works regarded as the earliest specimens, when Ife influence was still very strong in Benin. Furthermore, certain sculptures in Benin style have been found in Ife-Ife and vice-versa. For example, the figure in plate 97, which is obviously of Ife style, was found in Benin.

The present Benin people believe that the art of Ife was derived from Benin and that Iguehae, which sounds more like an Edo name, introduced the art there. They even claim that Oduduwa, regarded by the Yoruba as the ancestor of all Yoruba kings, actually originated from Benin.

There is yet a third school of thought which points out that there is no tradition of bronze-casting in Ife today, that the present day Ife is not very old, and that the antiquities of Ife lack institutional background. Accordingly, Ife art is said to have derived from the old Beny Confederacy in the present Nupe country, from where Benin court art is also believed to have originated.

The writer is of the opinion that we do not yet know enough about the two art centers to enable us

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