In Ancient Benin Kingdom, the first daughter and second daughter of the Oba, are not allowed to marry from their own will, as their marriage is planned and finalized by the royal court, a faith which has already sealed even before they were born.
The Benin Royal court follows a strict royal protocol that has been maintained for almost a thousand years now and the Benin Dynasty being one of the oldest dynasties without any interruption or power shared among royal houses. This shows the effectiveness of these laws, taboos and customs practiced in Benin Kingdom.
One such protocol practiced in the Benin society,
- The first daughter of the Oba is traditionally married to the Iyase, the prime minister of Benin Kingdom, leader of the Benin town chiefs and the head war commander of the kingdom.
- The second daughter is traditionally married to the Esogban, the second in command to the Iyase, and the Odionwere of Benin Kingdom.
Both chiefs belong to the Eghaevbo N'Ore class of chiefs and hold political, military, and traditional powers in the kingdom, it was more or less done to unify parties involved, Oba Eweka ll also gave one of his daughters to Agho Obaseki in the 1910s to honor this tradition.
Oba Akenzua ll eventually discontinued this tradition, allowing his daughters "first and second" to choose their own husband. The picture attached is Princess Adesuwa, second daughter of Oba Akenzua ll, being on his lap before giving her in marriage "native law and custom" in 1959, breaking the long aged tradition of royal marriage in the court.
Princess Adesuwa celebrated 25 years in marriage in 1984 to professor Emmanuel Emovon, a former Vc of the University of Jos and a former federal minister of science. Mrs. Emovon is a sociology professor and former head of department at the University of Benin.
Credit: S. O. Alonge Collection..
