Obanosa, whose personal name was Osifo, was the thirty-first ('king') of the Kingdom of Benin whose reign is generally dated from about 1804 to about 1816. Before succeeding his father, Akengbuda, he spent many years at Uselu as ('crown prince'), the designated heir to the Benin throne. Accounts of his prolonged wait to succeed, his participation in adjudicating disputes and the tradition concerning his regnal name describe a prince who was already elderly when he became . According to historian Jacob Egharevba's account, his accession followed a civil war arising from a succession dispute involving Osopakharha of Ugbague. His reign also included the capture of Ute in the Owo district of present-day Nigeria and hostilities affecting the Benin River and waterways controlled by the Itsekiri. Although direct European commerce with Benin declined during the first decade of the nineteenth century, the royal administration continued to regulate trade at Ughoton, Nigeria.
In later oral traditions, the principal court conflict of Obanosa's reign involved his mother, Ose, and the secret fraternity known as . According to traditions examined by art historian Barbara Blackmun, Ose opposed her son after he ordered Osopakharha's death; she was subsequently accused of directing occult powers against Obanosa and was put to death on his instructions shortly before his own death. Blackmun proposed that a group of early nineteenth-century royal ivory tusks containing much imagery was probably commissioned by Obanosa for Ose's funerary shrine, although Blackmun also considered several other possible attributions. A civil war among Obanosa's sons followed his death. Ogbebo occupied the throne for eight months before his defeat; part of the palace was destroyed by fire, and he died by suicide, after which Osemwede established his rule. The destruction of palace objects during the succession conflict has complicated attempts to identify ivory altar pieces commissioned for Obanosa and members of his immediate family.
Early life and position as heir
Family background
Obanosa was a son of ('king') Akengbuda and a woman named Ose. Before his accession, his personal name was Osifo. He had reached an advanced age by the time he became . Akengbuda was remembered as a long-lived ruler whose reign lasted approximately fifty-four years. French Navy officer Jean-François Landolphe described the he encountered in 1778 as about sixty-five years old and without a wrinkle on his face. Anthropologist Robert Elwyn Bradbury mentions that if Landolphe's estimate was accurate and the ruler was Akengbuda, he would have been about ninety years old in 1804. Osifo therefore remained heir for an extended period while his father retained the throne, and during Akengbuda's later years, he assumed some responsibility for judicial matters.
and participation in government
For many years before becoming , Osifo held the title of ('crown prince') and resided at the heir's court in Uselu. The was the formally designated successor to the reigning and governed from a separate court at Uselu. During or before 1787, Landolphe recorded a meeting between the reigning and an heir whom he called "Chiffau" and ('the young king'). Bradbury interpreted "Chiffau" as Landolphe's rendering of Osifo and regarded the passage as evidence that the future Obanosa had already been recognised as . Landolphe did not estimate Osifo's age, and his description of the heir as young cannot be reconciled precisely with later traditions stating that Osifo had grey hair before reaching the throne.
In the succession system described by Bradbury, an was expected to designate one of his sons, in principle the eldest legitimate son, as . Through a procedure called , two or three other senior sons could receive lesser chiefdoms to administer. If an died before completing these arrangements, the heir could be installed as after the ruler's death and later allocate chiefdoms to his younger brothers. Tradition identifies Akengbuda as the last to carry out during his lifetime. In Benin tradition, his completion of the procedure during his reign was regarded as further evidence of his longevity.
One tradition concerns the length of Osifo's period as heir. According to historian Jacob Egharevba, Osifo removed grey hairs from his head and sent them to Akengbuda to indicate that he was growing old while waiting to succeed. Akengbuda replied by sending powdered chalk mixed with salt, signifying that he still found the world too pleasant to leave. Historian Toyin Falola and his co-authors in History of Nigeria 2 likewise wrote that Osifo periodically sent his grey hair to his father to remind him that it was time for him to take office. Bradbury interpreted the tradition as supporting accounts of Akengbuda's advanced age and Osifo's prolonged wait to succeed him.
In the closing years of Akengbuda's reign, his age limited his participation in government. Before becoming , Osifo, therefore, joined the chiefs in the palace and participated in deciding disputes. Egharevba also stated that, late in Akengbuda's reign, the came from Uselu to sit with the chiefs while cases were heard. Later traditions concerning Osifo's decisions describe him as examining accusations rather than accepting the position initially advanced by influential chiefs. Bradbury regarded both Akengbuda's long reign and Osifo's participation in its final phase as relevant to reconstructing the chronology of eighteenth-century Benin. These accounts indicate that Osifo participated in royal administration before the conventional date of his accession.
Regnal name and judicial traditions
Egharevba linked the name "Obanosa" to a decision Osifo made while serving as . According to the account, a young man brought an elderly man before the council with his hands tied, claimed that the captive was his father and accused him of speaking against the . The chiefs initially commended the accuser for placing allegiance to the above kinship, but Osifo questioned whether a son would treat his father in that manner. He ordered that an ordeal using sassywood determine whether the young man's mother had identified the prisoner as his father. The young man then admitted that the elderly man was not his father. The prisoner was released, and the false accuser was punished. The chiefs responded with the expression , translated by Egharevba as "this is a godly king". The title Obanosa was subsequently associated with that expression. Blackmun likewise stated that the name meant "godly king".
A second judicial account concerns Omwatavbe, one of Obanosa's favoured servants. Chiefs who opposed Omwatavbe accused him of committing adultery with one of the 's wives, expecting the accusation to result in his execution. Because Obanosa knew of their hostility toward Omwatavbe, he declined to accept the allegation without corroboration and ordered Omwatavbe to swear to his innocence. After taking the oath, Omwatavbe was cleared. Both accounts are preserved in later collections of Benin oral history, rather than in contemporary court records.
Accession and reign
Accession and chronology
Egharevba wrote that Akengbuda died after ruling for fifty-four years and that Osifo succeeded him under the regnal name Obanosa around 1804. Falola and his co-authors also dated the accession to 1804 and described Obanosa as elderly by the time of his father's death. Bradbury cited a tradition assigning Obanosa a reign of about twelve years, whereas Egharevba reported that he died in the thirteenth year after taking the throne.
The surviving European accounts permit different interpretations, leaving the year of Obanosa's accession uncertain. Landolphe reported that no died between his visits beginning in 1778, or possibly from his first arrival in the region in 1769, and his final visit in 1799. Historian Allan Ryder in Benin and the Europeans nevertheless argued that British sea captain John Adams met a middle-aged successor before the end of the eighteenth century and consequently proposed moving Akengbuda's death several years earlier. Falola and his co-authors stated that Obanosa's accession in 1804 followed a civil war caused by a succession dispute in which Osopakharha of Ugbague opposed his assumption of office. They stated that about one thousand people were killed during the conflict. Egharevba, by contrast, described Osopakharha as an enemy whom Obanosa caused to be killed shortly after his accession, and stated that more than one thousand people died in the struggle for power.
Conflict with Osopakharha
Accounts differ regarding Osopakharha's political position. Egharevba identified him as Obanosa's enemy, whereas Falola and his co-authors described him as a rival who opposed Obanosa's accession. Both accounts associate the conflict with the deaths of approximately one thousand people. Blackmun situated the dispute within traditions concerning the , a secret fraternity whose oath bound its members for life. In the account she analysed, Osopakharha, a son of the Esogban, presided over the fraternity; Akengbuda acted as its patron, while Ose, Obanosa's mother, served as its matron when Obanosa remained at Uselu. Tradition described Osopakharha as publicly displaying his wealth, clothing and popularity in a manner that the regarded as a threat to his position.
Because of the fraternity's influence, Akengbuda and Ose encouraged Osifo to become a member, but he declined. One account stated that Osopakharha held the title " of the Night" within the fraternity, which Osifo regarded as an improper challenge to the sovereignty of the reigning . After taking the throne, he acted against Osopakharha and the fraternity despite Ose's warning. In the account examined by Blackmun, a large part of the population supported Osopakharha and accused Obanosa of acting from jealousy. Obanosa ordered Osopakharha's execution and continued to suppress his followers. Egharevba recorded a tradition in which Osopakharha led a group of magicians. Some informants attributed Obanosa's death in the thirteenth year of his reign to supernatural retaliation by this group.
Military and administration
Egharevba attributed the conquest of Ute, a settlement in the Owo district of present-day Nigeria, to Obanosa, after which the community was required to render tribute to the at Uselu. Falola and his co-authors also described the capture of Ute as a territorial expansion and stated that Obanosa's reign included both internal and external warfare. Other military events associated with the period involved the waterways through Itsekiri-controlled territory that vessels had to navigate to reach Benin from the coast, as relations between Benin and the Itsekiri deteriorated. Royal authority also operated at Ughoton (or Gwato), where the stationed a resident ('overseer') to sell royal stocks of ivory and enslaved people. European captains arriving to trade were expected to visit the , present gifts and negotiate commercial arrangements.
Trade and foreign relations