1.
Coronation
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The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
2.
Oba of Benin
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The ancient Benin homeland has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo. The title of Oba was used after the Ogiso title and was created by Oba Oranmiyan, Oba Eweka I, Oranmiyans son, is said to have ascended to power at some time between 1180 and 1300. The Oba of Benin was the Head of State of the Benin Empire until the Empires annexation by the British, in 1897. In 1897, the British launched a Punitive or Imperialist Expedition, deposed and exiled the then Oba Ovonramwen, the expedition was mounted to avenge the defeat by the Binis of a British invasion force that had violated Benin territory earlier in 1896. It consisted of indigenous soldiers and British officers, and is still remembered by the Edos with horror today. Under the pretext of covering for the cost of the expedition, Ovonramwen died in 1914, his throne never having been restored to him. His son, grandson and now his great-grandson, however, all preserved their titles and statuses as traditional rulers in modern-day Nigeria, the dates of reigns of these early kings are highly uncertain. Africa Reparations Movement | Campaign for the return of the Benin Bronzes Stories of royalty in brass, collections Multimedia Public Access System, The British Museum,2000
3.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
4.
Benin Bronzes
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The Benin Bronzes are a group of more than a thousand commemorative metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom in modern-day Nigeria. In 1897, most of the plaques and other objects were removed by the British during an expedition to the area as imperial control was being consolidated in Southern Nigeria. Two hundred of the pieces were taken to the British Museum, London, today, a large number are held by the British Museum. Other notable collections are in Germany and the United States, the Benin Bronzes led to a greater appreciation in Europe of African culture and art. Initially and naively, it appeared incredible to the discoverers that people supposedly so primitive, some even concluded that Benin knowledge of metallurgy came from the Portuguese traders who were in contact with Benin in the early modern period. Today, it is clear that the bronzes were made in Benin from an indigenous culture, many of these dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, centuries before contact with Portuguese traders, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two golden ages in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie and of Eresoyen, while the collection is known as the Benin Bronzes, like most West African bronzes the pieces are mostly made of brass of variable composition. There are also made of mixtures of bronze and brass, of wood, of ceramic. The metal pieces were made using lost-wax casting and are considered among the best sculptures made using this technique, bronze and ivory objects had a variety of functions in the ritual and courtly life of the Kingdom of Benin. They were used principally to decorate the palace, which contained many bronze works. They were hung on the pillars of the palace by nails punched directly through them, as a courtly art, their principal objective was to glorify the Oba—the divine king—and the history of his imperial power or to honor the queen mother. Art in the Kingdom of Benin took many forms, of bronze and brass reliefs. In tropical Africa of the center, the technique of lost-wax casting was developed early. When a king died, his successor would order that a head be made of his predecessor. Approximately 170 of these sculptures exist, and the oldest date from the twelfth century, the Oba, or king, monopolized the materials that were most difficult to obtain, such as gold, elephant tusks, and bronze. These kings made possible the creation of the splendid Benin bronzes, thus, in 1939, heads very similar to those of the Benin Empire were discovered in Ife, the holy city of the Yoruba, which dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This discovery supported an earlier tradition holding that it was artists from Ife who had taught Benin the techniques of bronze metalworking, recognition of the antiquity of the technology in Benin advanced when these sculptures were dated definitively to that era. Few examples of African art had been collected by Europeans in the eighteenth century and this attitude changed after the Benin Expedition of 1897
5.
Benin ancestral altars
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Some of the finest examples of art from the Benin Kingdom of south-central Nigeria were created to adorn ancestral altars. According to anthropologists Kulcher and Melion, art objects or visual images do not merely encode memory, a Benin ancestral altar is such a locus for constructing memory. Its purpose was to establish in the most lasting way possible that the deceased had successfully fulfilled his destiny or akhonmioto. Therefore, the role of the objects on ancestral altars was to construct memory, additionally, altars serve as a site through which a living leader communicated with his ancestor via the latters commemorative head. Ancestral altars ensure dynastic continuity and facilitate the consistent continuity of ideals of leadership, paternal ancestral altars, aru erha, consist of a raised mud platform set against a wall. A series of elongated wooden staffs, ukhurhe, rest against the wall, the upper segment of the staff is hollowed out and contains a clapper inside which can be rattled when the staffs are struck on the ground, a gesture that is performed to call the ancestors. The body of the staff is segmented to represent ukhurhoho, a plant with short branches that break off when they reach a certain length. As a result, the staff symbolizes a single lifespan, as expressed in the Edo proverb, If ukhurhoho has not reached the day of ones destiny. Sumptuary laws govern the shape and composition of ancestral altars, requiring differences between commoners, chiefs and royalty, a comparison of these three types of altar will demonstrate that an increase in socioeconomic and ritual status is paralleled by an increase in the elaborateness of the altar. The commoners altar is a mud rectangle surmounted by a row of rattle staffs. The staff finials depict a generalized ancestral head, devoid of any marks of status, one or more brass bells are placed in the center of the altar to be rung at the beginning of rituals. Occasionally, the son will add decorative elements that relate directly to his fathers life. Chiefly ancestral altars have a form to commoners ancestral altars but are more highly decorated. Specific to chiefly ancestral altars is the wooden head, or uhunmwun elao. In order to ensure continuity, a newly installed oba is responsible for creating an altar dedicated to his father. The altar holds objects commissioned to honor the leader being commemorated, the oba does the same for his mother if she attained the title of iyoba, or queen mother Royal altars differ from those of commoners or chiefs. The surface is fashioned of whitened clay, upon which are displayed rattle staffs, bells, stone celts, brass sculptures of various sizes, while bells and rattle staffs are placed on all ancestral altars, ivory tusks and commemorative brass heads are made specifically for royal altars. Associated with trade, ivory and brass are durable and valuable, the images on the tusks represent former kings, great war chiefs, soldiers, retainers and symbolic animals
6.
Punitive expedition
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A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, in the 1st century AD, Germanicus engaged in punitive expeditions against the Germanic tribes as repercussion for the Roman Legions that were destroyed in the Battle of Teutonburg Forest. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, often engaged punitive expeditions, some notable examples include his invasion of Khwarazim and his campaigns against the Western Xia kingdom. Also in the 13th century, Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis, the ruler of the Singhasari kingdom, Kertanagara, refused to pay tribute and tattooed a Chinese messenger, Meng Qi, on his face. A punitive expedition sent by Kublai Khan arrived off the coast of Java in 1293, Jayakatwang, a rebel from Kediri, had killed Kertanagara by that time. The Mongols allied with Raden Wijaya of Majapahit against Jayakatwang and, once the Singhasari kingdom was destroyed, Wijaya turned against the Mongols and forced them to withdraw in confusion. In 1599 the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate ordered his nephew Vicente de Zaldívar to engage in an expedition against the Keres natives of Acoma Pueblo. When the Spanish arrived, they fought a battle with the Keres leaving about 800 men, women and children dead. During the First Anglo-Powhatan War, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, lord de la Warr waged a punitive campaign to subdue the Powhatan after they had killed the colony’s council president, John Ratcliffe. His tactics against the Indians proved effective and included raiding their villages, burning their homes, torching their cornfields and crops, in the summer of 1614, Ottomans led by Damat Halil Pasha engaged a successful punitive expedition against Sefer Dāyl, an insurgent in Tripoli. From 1838 to 1842 ships of the United States Exploring Expedition engaged in three expeditions against Pacific islanders. The 1842 Ivory Coast Expedition was led by Matthew C. Perry against the Bereby people of West Africa after two attacks on American merchant ships. The Battle of Kabul in 1842 was undertaken by the British against the Afghans following their disastrous retreat from Kabul in which 16,000 people were killed, the French Campaign against Korea in 1866, a response to the earlier execution by Korea of French priests proselytizing in Korea. The 1867 Formosa Expedition, a punitive operation of the United States. The United States expedition to Korea in 1871, in retaliation to the General Sherman incident, the 1874 Japanese expedition against Formosa. Benin Expedition of 1897 British punitive action that led to the annexation of the Kingdom of Benin, the New York Times reported on January 13,1897 that a punitive expedition would be formed to punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition. The Pancho Villa Expedition from 1916 to 1917, led by General John J. Pershing, was an operation in retaliation against Pancho Villas incursion into United States, the 2016 Indo-Pakistani military confrontation began with punitive surgical strikes carried out by India. Letter of marque and reprisal Gordon, Leonard, japans Abortive Colonial Venture in Taiwan,1874
7.
Benin Expedition of 1897
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Rawsons troops captured, burned, and looted Benin City, bringing to an end the west African Kingdom of Benin. As a result, much of the art, including the Benin Bronzes, were looted. At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Benin had managed to retain its independence, the territory was coveted by an influential group of investors for its rich natural resources such as palm-oil, rubber and ivory. In March 1892, Henry Gallwey, the British Vice-Consul of Oil Rivers Protectorate, visited Benin City hoping to annexe Benin Kingdom and make it a British protectorate. Although the King of Benin, Omo n’Oba, was sceptical of the British motives he was willing to endorse what he believed was a friendship, the treaty signed by the king agreed to the abolition of the Benin slave trade and human sacrifice. The King refrained from endorsing Gallweys treaty when it became apparent that the document was a ploy intended to make Benin Kingdom a British colony. Consequently, the King issued an edict barring all British officials and this vigilance and the Colonial Offices refusal to grant approval for an invasion of Benin City scuttled the expedition the Protectorate had planned for early 1895. Even so, between September 1895 and mid-1896 three attempts were made by the Protectorate to enforce the Gallwey Treaty. In March 1896, following price fixing and refusal by Itsekiri middle men to pay the required tributes, in October 1896 Lieutenant James Robert Phillips the Acting Consul-General visited the Benin River District and had meetings with the agents and traders. In the end the agents and traders were able to him that there is a future on the Benin River if Benin territories were opened. Benin had developed a reputation for sending messages of resistance. But the way Benin treated its slaves and the display of large quantities of human remains hardened British attitudes towards Benins rulers. The trader James Pinnock wrote that he saw a number of men all handcuffed and chained there. T. B Auchterlonie described the approach to the capital through an avenue of trees hung with decomposing human remains, after the lane of horrors came a grass common thickly stewn with the skulls and bones of sacrificed human beings. To disguise their true intent, the weapons were hidden in the baggage carried by the porters. His request to London was to depose the king of Benin City, replace him with a Native Council, unfortunately for Phillips, some Itsekiri trading chiefs sent a message to the Benin king that the white man is bringing war. The Benin king however argued that the British should be allowed to enter the city so that it can be ascertained whether or not the visit was a friendly one. The Iyase ignored the views, and ordered the formation of a strike force that was commanded by the Ologbosere, a senior army commander
