don't worry

dont

shigothang:
This Benin supremacy claim started by the present King of Benin and it's a form of political liberation from the yorubas. Go read the book written by the portuguese explorer (joao afonso aviero). He stated how the Obas of Benin accorded the Oni of Ife then and till modern history.

If I am right, the book stated the Oba of Benin accorded the Ooni of Ife a loose spiritual allegiance, in exactly as his words, and not 'superiority allegiance'. Spiritual allegiance in the sense of a Bini-Ife two-way connection, just as some Igbo tribes accorded Nri some spiritual allegiance for their priestly roles, and not necessarily 'superiority allegiance'.

Afonso's exact words were 'loose spiritual allegiance'. What you make out of that sentence is up to you.

dont

Why should Ife come to the story?

dont

And the age of this writeup implies that though Ife was not Bini, but the King of Bini put ile Ife in good light at an opportunity to share with the world.

The same was the spirit of how Yoruba sees Bini until recent events and era of antagonistic-activism that create rivalry between brothers.

This was a reminder of how the Sokoto caliphate also wrote a wonderful piece about the Yoruba history when Clapperton visited the place.

We have a godly heritage at Yoruba, we would have defended any other peoples interest, if not, our interest should not have allured any neighbour.

We are a good people.

Hehe. See them. We forgive you for you know not what you read.

some daft people will still argue about it.

This issue should be put to bed. Those of us who have no dogs in the fight have made it clear that based on the facts on ground, Ile Ife was the Mecca or Jerusalem of the Bini royalty. The Yorubas, who I am not particularly a fan of, are right on this issue. STOP the unending arguments back and forth and lets stick to historical facts. Now, it is possible that the Bini royalty have decided to forge their own path from now on but that does not erase centuries of historical facts. The Bini Kingdom saw Ile Ife as their North Star - the place that birth them. People can argue from now till eternity it will not change this indisputable fact of history. I have also told the idiots who say the populace of Bini are related to Yorubas - that is also a falsehood. It is not the populace but the throne. Not very long ago, Yoruba language was still the official language of the Oba of Bini's palace. The bloodline is an Ife bloodline - people should stop using sentiments when discussing history. It smacks of poor intellect and dishonesty.

Here is an excerpt from Afonso Aviero (for just a few seconds NLers purge your mind off Nigeria's political nonsense and read this excerpt with an unbiased mind) :

[b]Joao de Barros in his accounts wrote of a possible pre-Christian influence in ancient Benin Kingdom:- “Among the many things which the king D. Jodo learnt from the ambassador of the king of Benin and also from Joao Afonso d Aveiro of what they had been told by the inhabitants of these regions was that a Kingdom twenty moons journey away from Benin Kingdom which according to their account and the short journeys they made would be about two hundred and fifty of our leagues (5.556km or 3.456 is a league) there lived the most powerful monarch of these parts who was called “Ogane”. Among the pagan chiefs of the territories of Benin, Ogane was held in as great veneration as is the supreme Pontif with us.

“In accordance with a very ancient custom, the King of Benin, on ascending the throne, sends ambassadors to Ogane with rich gifts to announce that by the decease of his predecessor, he has succeeded to the Kingdom of Benin and request confirmation.

To signify his assent, the Prince Ogane sends the King a staff and a head piece of shining brass fashioned like a Spanish helment in place of a crown and scepter. He also sends a cross, likewise of brass to be worn round the neck, a holy and religious emblem similar to that worn by the KNIGHTS of the order of Saint JOHN.
Without these emblems the people do not recognize the King as lawful ruler, nor can he call himself truly king.”

“All the time this ambassador is at the court of Ogane, he never sees the Prince, but only the curtains of silk behind which he sits, for he is regarded as sacred. When the ambassador is leaving, he is shown a foot below the curtains as a sign that the Prince is within and agrees to the matters that he has raised; this foot they reverence as thought it were a sacred relic”

“As a kind of reward for the hardships of such a journey, the ambassador receives a small CROSS, similar to that sent to the King, which is thrown around his neck to signify that he is free and exempt from all servitudes and privileged in his native country as the KNIGHTS are with us.

“In the year 1510 A.D Certain ambassadors of the king of Benin came to this kingdom, among whom was a man about seventy years of age who was wearing one of these CROSSES. I asked him the reason and he gave me an explanation similar to the above.
[/b]

dont