reporting historical research based on written records
Ife, Nigeria
Joined February 2025
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History & Knowledge retweeted
Oloi Idada Ohan Akenzua ll, wife of Òbá Akenzua ll, wrapped in the beautiful Èdó fabric and a perfectly adorned Òkùkú hairdo,c.1950s..
History & Knowledge retweeted
The Benin textile industry was the peak of ancient Benin industrial export from the 16th to the early 19th century....
In 1789 Cap. Landolphe the French officer in the Bight of Benin noted he bought 1,000 fabric from the kingdom of Benin, this clothe with high value were used to exchange gold in gold coast "ghana" and slave in Congo.
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"twenty thousand pounds of ivory, and a thousand cotton cloths [mats/carpets] manufactured by the Beninese. I dispatched everything to France in 1789. Unfortunately, this corvette perished. I have always remained ignorant of the location as well as the circumstances of its shipwreck".
Benin wealth were not made through slave trade or illegitimate trade with the europeans but build around the èdó texile industry.
In December 1633, a Dutch ship arrived on the Gold Coast carrying more than 6,000 pieces of cloth to exchange for gold.
The interesting part is where the cloth came from.
Not India. Not Europe.
Benin.
By the middle of the 17th century, Benin cloth exports had grown to more than 16,000 pieces a year, even as prices quadrupled. The trade became so lucrative that African mariners sailed directly to Benin to buy the cloth themselves, cutting out European middlemen.
So please, let us stop pretending trade and enterprise were foreign to Africa.
History & Knowledge retweeted
A woven fabric from the kingdom of Benin,c_19th century.
"A large quantity of cotton bushes must grow here you may reasonably conjecture when I tell you that not only all the inhabitants are clothed with it, but they annual export thousands of it to other places"... Nyendael,c_1702.
History & Knowledge retweeted
These artifacts are from the Nupe people and were stolen and claimed by the people of Ile-Ife, even though the tribal marks on them trace back to Nupe.
I dare anyone from Ile-Ife, both dead and alive, to come forward and show us their faces to see if these marks are on them.
History & Knowledge retweeted
Just as it's wrong to label Greek culture as Roman culture or British culture as India culture. It's same way it's absolutely wrong to label clear edo culture as "Yoruba", these are two distinct people and heritage.
Stop attributing edo culture as Yoruba, it's wrong, Nigeria has more than 200 ethnicity and each has it distinct identity, different from Yoruba...
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History & Knowledge retweeted
Benin executioner sword "Oho" with the inscription "Uvoraminabashi, October 1891", with intricate flowery patterns in the conclave curve of the sword...
Swords like this, is held by members of the odionmwan guild "Royal executioners, Isiemwenro "King guards", the only sect of people authorized to take life in Ancient Benin Kingdom.
History & Knowledge retweeted
Benin Kingdom Priestesses: where spirituality, tradition, and history converge through generations of sacred service.
History & Knowledge retweeted
This is the kind of nonsense some Ife-centric narratives want people to accept as Yoruba history. It is nothing but a fabrication from the pit of hell. Even the person narrating the story appeared shocked by what he was saying, and the listener seemed equally bewildered.
History & Knowledge retweeted
African hilt weapons were not just tools of war — they were symbols of power, rank, craftsmanship, and spiritual meaning.
From Benin’s ada and opia swords to Hausa, Tuareg, Maasai, and Central African blades, these weapons show how African societies developed highly distinctive military and ceremonial traditions.
History & Knowledge retweeted
I have finished generating all the necessary images for my short film about Ewuare the Great and Olokun, the god of the sea. Here are some official preview images for the short film. I’ll be sharing the short film on May 15.I’ll be using Seedance 2.0 and Kling 3.0.
🤖 Made with AI
History & Knowledge retweeted
One of the most militaristic states in 16th-17th century Africa was the West African state of *Benin*. Around this period, the polity & its people were so addicted to waging wars, you could find thousands of men going to the kings palace, shouting to him to send them to fight.
Africa is roughly divided into two types when it comes to martial matters, and the pattern is consistent across regions.
There are brave warrior tribes, and there are cowardly farmer tribes. From Senegal to Kenya, West African peoples fall into the latter category—they lack the stomach for war.
That said, West Africans are hardworking, muscular, and adaptable, which compensates for their cowardice.
Given this reality, it is in the interest of modern governments to prevent the weak from being dominated by the strong.
History & Knowledge retweeted
“The Ifes treated the Oyo people like slaves and like dogs at Ibadan”. Oyo people were enslaved and used for farm labour like Plantation slavery by the Ife people for many years before they got their freedom via the Gbanamu war.
My ancestor Kurunmi, stopped the enslavement of the Oyo people in Ibadan.
Yes, Ife people enslaved Oyo people at Ibadan after they erased and expelled most Owu and Egba people out of Ibadan.
Nobody is a saint in Yorubaland.
History & Knowledge retweeted
Discovering Music of Africa { 1967} - Ghana 🇬🇭
📷| Bernard Wilets
#AuntieDedei
