Edo people

Benin Edo or Bini is the name for the place, people and language of an ethnic group in Nigeria. Similar languages are spoken from the following ethnic groups that include the Esan, the Afemai, the Owan among others. The Edo are also referred to as "Bini" or as the "Benin ethnic group", though currently the people themselves prefer to be simply called "Edo". The Edo are the descendants of the people who founded the former Benin Empire, which was located in South/Mid-Western Nigeria, encompassing what is now the Edo State of Nigeria, as well as surrounding areas.

The name "Benin" is a Portuguese corruption, ultimately from the Itsekhiri's "Ubinu", which came into use during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great, c. 1440. The Itsekhiri's "Ubinu" was used to describe the royal administrative centre or city or capital proper of the kingdom, Edo. 'Ubinu' was later corrupted to 'Bini' by the mixed ethnicities living together at the centre; and further corrupted to "Benin" around 1485 when the Portuguese began trade relations with Oba Ewuare. See Oba of Benin

References

• Cultural Wars and National Identity - The Saga of the Yoruba and the Bini-Edo
• Bini Names in Nigeria and Georgia
• Edoworld -The origin of Edo/Bini people
• Who are the Edos/Binis?{source Edoworld}

External links

• Nature of God in Edo Religion
• Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Edo people