It's wonderful to be part of this challenge @blurttribe.
Nigeria is one of the most blessed country in Africa with diverse religion, beliefs, tribes, etc. Some traditions being celebrated in the world today were born in Nigeria.
Nigeria is blessed with several ethnic groups which gives birth to various tribes. Among this groups, we have the major ethnic groups which are the Hausa, lgbos and Yoruba. There are presently about 371 unique tribes in Nigeria and they are practised judiciously without mincing words. Some of these tribes can be link to a state or an ethnic group.
I was born in Edo state, Nigeria which automatically makes me a son of the Benin kingdom. Edo state is in the southern part of Nigeria or precisely the south south region of Nigeria. It has currently about 18 local government areas (LGA).
We can further split the state into 6 major unique different ethnic groups and tribes which are;
- Bini
- Esan
- the Afemals
- Akoko-edo
- Owan
- Ekas
and
- Isoko,
- Urhobo
- Itsekiris
According to history, the word Bini is derived from Benin which represents people living in Benin city. Most people who hail from Benin are sometimes called the Binis.
The ancient Bini kingdom are very respected people, haven been in existence since 1440, they used to be one of the most developed regions in West and are know for good work of art. Infact the Binis are those who crown the Obas in Edo state. The Oba is like the king and is given very high priority in the Bini kingdom, even more than the governor of the state.
There are many personality who fought and ruled in the Bini kingdom and gave it the prestige its has till today. Here are some art work of the Bini kingdom.
Terracotta head, Benin, Nigeria,
There are many more of this art work created by the Binis for your appreciation.
A typical marriage in the Bini tribe is very unique, the Binis are comprised of people who respect customs and traditions.
Traditional Marriage are performed sequentially starting from the introduction stage which usually can even done even at birth. This means that once a child is born most families can drop log of woods in the compound of the wife to be who will now be trained until she is ready to be given out in marriage.
Most tribes in Nigeria believes they should give a list of items which usually is almost 4 to 5 pages, however, a Bini family believes they aren't selling their daughter but rather its a union of families. The requirements mostly are:
salt, sugar, honey, palm oil, palm wine, yams and the sum of twelve pounds and ten shillings (as at the time these requirements were documented by the Benin traditional council, this amount equated to ₦25 and is still paid till date) source.
Once all this are presented, the parent of the lady hands their daughter over to the father of the man who inturn give her to the husband, prayers are then said to bless the union. The ceremonial part comes in later where foods is served and lots of dancing is done in happiness.
The Binis are very traditional people and as such they have so many traditions which I may not be able to speak about but I will look into the marriage aspect of these traditions.
It is important to note that there is no law restricting a man from marring more than one wife in the Bini tribe for those planning to marry there. But for me I will stick to one 😜😜.
Once a woman is married in the Bini tribe or in some parts of Edo state, it is a taboo for her to engage in extra-martial affairs with any man. This has great consequences which will result to the death of the husband if he is aware and don't inform the family.
However, the woman after marriage is subjected to several oaths which involves offering of goats and other items to the ancestors. This taboo is one of the most popular traditions of the Binis, failure of the woman to abide by them could result in the death of the husband and even the children.
The Binis are very loving and caring people, they are unique and the men can make very good husbands.
Even though they are very traditional people, most great personality, pastors etc have aroused from here. Traditions or no tradition, we are the best.
Thank you for reading.
This is interesting, I wish it have more details ❤️
I shared the sources for further reading
Good post today
Thank you
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