The story of Emotan of the Benin Kingdom.
Image by: Joseph Nevadomsky
Emotan (real name Uwarraye) was a 15th century market woman who plied her trade at the Oba Market in the ancient kingdom of Benin during the reign of Oba Uwaifiokun and Oba Ewuare the Great. She was known for her humanitarian work, love for children and most importantly the key role she played during the period of Prince Ogun’s (Oba Ewuare I) succession travails following his time in exile.
Although she had no biological children of her own, Emotan loved and took care of many children in her foster home. Some parents would send their children to live with Emotan and learn some trade from her for a period of time. She also kept and trained orphans, many of which indeed became industrious and useful members of the society.
Emotan and prince Ogun(Oba Ewuare I) conspired to topple the usurper, Oba Uwaifiokun and indeed her intel played an instrumental role in helping Ogun reclaim his throne following his younger brother’s betrayal. Prince Ogun took refuge in Emotan’s humble abode at the Oba market as this was the only place of safety for him, and she became his eyes and ears in the city as Uwaifiokun who had already usurped Ogun’s rightful throne sought to kill him in order to retain kingship.
Having learnt about Uwaifiokun’s plan to make a procession to the ancestral shrine to sacrifice to the gods of his father to help him avert his ill fate, Prince Ogun dashed towards his younger brother’s location and put him to the sword. This act cleared the path for Ogun to take the throne of his father. The death of Uwaifiokun ended the crisis of succession to the kingship of the kingdom and prince Ogun marked it by adopting the title Ewuare (Oworuare), meaning ‘the heat has abated’ or ‘the trouble has ceased’. (Asien 2001: 92 and Egharevba 1968: 14)
Left: Mr. John Danford (who was the British council’s Regional Director in the Western Province of Nigeria at the time) working on the 6ft. tall statue of Emotan - at his Chelsea studio. The statue was commissioned by Oba Akenzua II. Right: Oba Akenzua II, CMG, Oba of Benin commissioning the Emotan statue in 1954.Source: Institute for Benin studies, Benin city
Emotan passed on soon after Ewuare’s installation as Oba. Upon her death, he(Oba Ewuare the great) ordered that she must not be forgotten, and in order to establish this decree, he deified her by planting a sacred Uruhe tree by her grave (the same spot where she resided) beside the Oba market. He also ordered that any man invested with a title had to visit her grave to pay homage, as did all funeral processions.
The Uruhe tree that was planted over her grave lived for more than 300 years, only dying during the reign of Oba Osemwende. The Oba replaced the tree with another Uruhe about 150 years ago and supported it with an Iroko tree. The tree, however, was replaced with a bronze statue of a full-size woman by the British Council in Benin during the reign of Oba Akenzua II in 1954. This was becasue the last two trees planted on the grave by Oba Osemwende had fallen during a very heavy storm 50 years earlier(Asien 2001: 92).
Oba Ewuare II pays homage to Emotan as part of the 2016 Coronation rites Source: The Benin Monarchy: An Anthology of Benin History,
