GREAT BENIN KINGDOM (WEST AFRICA) AND ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
The land comprised present day Sudan,Ethiopia,Eritrea,Yemen
and Kenya who are all proximate to the river Nile. I have mentioned earlier
that the main target for the Berbers persecution were those with Osirean divine
Royal blood. Now,in Egypt,if you are not the first born to a royal family,you
are attached to a priest cult. This is because the Egyptians believed that the
princes are descendants of the gods and therefore in better position to commune
with them. The Osirean cult of Amon being the most powerful was pencilled down
for total annihilation and they had no option but to further migrate from the
outskirts of Ethiopia where they took refuge in the rain forest of west
Africa,particularly Igodomigodo( the land of Idu their first Ogiso). This
priestly clan later built one of the most expansive and strongest kingdoms in
Africa called the Benin( Edo) Empire. They may have evolved
linguistically,culturally,theosophically and socially but you can still find
traces of their Egyptian origins in their common ways of life. Let's look at
some of them;
(1) The Benins are definitely Hyksos negroes. They are unadulterated blacks. As expected of a very proud race,they never allowed other races to breed them out of their original racial identity.
(2) Before the colonial missionaries came to benin,it was an animist religious setting like ancient Egypt. They operated polytheism and Olokun( deity responsible for fertility,wealth and general wellbeing) was the dominant godhead. Now,Olokun is the deity of sea( Okun is a sea or big river). If you know that Benin land have no big river,then you can easily decipher that Olokun was no other than Oriris the Deity of River Nile who his descendants brought with them to their Newfoundland benin.
(3) Artwork defined ancient Egypt and today,Benin retained that distinction more than any African state.
(4) Now,look at the traditional dressing of the benin noblemen and women. The men dress simply without coverings on their torsos upward but some masculine ornaments just like the ancient Egyptians. They also wear specific hairstyles.The women are heavy and meticulous dressers. They not only have passion for good fabrics but they love bedecking themselves with the most exotic jewelries. They plait their hairs in different designs. Nothing can be more similar to ancient Egyptian noblewomen. See pictures.
(5) Egypt was a Kingdom where dead ancestors are deified and worshipped. The Benins do this till date.
(6) Both monarchies are similarly structured...Pharoah( Oba)...Viziers( Uzama n' hiron) who are administrative court ministers...The lesser kings( onogies usually relatives of the king)... The priests...( very powerful e.g,Chief Priest Isekhure)...the knights( chiefs and some with Royal blood)... The scribes,professionals,soldiers,artisans,peasants and slaves respectively.
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7) In Ancient Egypt,the official queen is never the wife of the Pharoah but a relative and even a sister. e.g Cleopatra and Ptolemy. Please,they do not engage in sexual activities as Egypt frowns on incest. This tradition is still retained by the Benin people in owan. e.g,Oleije ( Oba) Ojealaro Ageloisa of Emai had my grand aunt his niece Sadatu as Queen( Olua). All the Chiefs ( Knights) in Owan have one relative( including daughters and sisters) as their queens and they only, not their real wives, perform traditional rituals associated with their exalted positions with them.
( When a Pharoah dies,it usually took sometime and in coded language to announce the death to the public. It is not described as death but glorious transition. This is not different from the benin practice.
(9) Pyramids...common to both benin and Egypt.
(10) Embalming of the dead for preservation. Here again,I will use the benin people of Owan as example. I am from Owan and I know that my people have this technology. It is usually employed nowadays by bereaved who have no money for both immediate burial ceremonies or morgue expenses. They preserved by embalming till when they have enough to bury their dead.
(11) The next similarity may appear barbaric and disgusting but we learnt that His Royal Majesty Oba Erediawa have put a stop to the Egyptian practice of burying slaves and domestic servants with their deceased master the king so as to continue to serve him in the afterlife. Good this.
(12) The philosophy of cause and effect, curse and appeasement,reverence and reward.This is the premise on which offering sacrifices is based in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt,the sacrifices are made in temples and dispatched at crossroads( popular junctions. I think I just described a benin practice too.
(13) The most spiritual people in the ancient world are the Egyptians. The most spiritual people of modern Africa are the Benins. More pastors,more traditional practitioners.
(14) In Ancient Egypt,witches and wizards are highly revered priests of great metaphysical prowess. In Benin( Using Owan again), we call witches Oboh-lokhuo( woman priest or doctor) and we call wizards Oboh- lomohe( male priest or spiritual doctor). You see,like the Egyptians,we see them not as evil as the colonial masters painted them. Those days and till date,you cannot be a good native doctor if you have no metaphysical ( witchy) powers
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