Plankensteiner 2007 The imagery of this staff emphasizes the king’s knowledge and control of supernatural forces. The king had considerable occult knowledge and in addition had at his disposal the accumulated expertise of several guilds. The power inherent in the bush could be used by the king to influence the outcome of events. The staff has three clusters of images, the number three symbolising his ‘threatening’ (ohan=aggressively protective) powers. The figures from top to bottom are; a king or high ranking herbalist, Ofoe the messenger of the god of death and an herbalist. These motifs are found elsewhere in Benin royal art, as are images of decapitated heads, but this staff has some unique aspects. At the top of the staff is a king or herbalist whose hands grab a fish which is issuing from his nostrils. Depictions of creatures emanating from nostrils are a recurring motif in 18th -19th century art, but the creatures are generally snakes and crocodiles. The fish portrayed may well be the shock-producing electric catfish or Malapterurus electricus (Gallagher 1983b: 93). Similarly, leopards appear frequently throughout royal art but they appear at the feet of monarchs, not being held in their hands, a reference to sacrifice. The leopard is considered to be the king of forest animals. Benin myths proclaim that the king of the home, the Oba, has the divine right to sacrifice the king of the forest. In the middle of the staff is Ofoe, the messenger of Ogiuwu, god of death. He is portrayed without a body because in the Benin view he has no need for a body, only arms and legs in order to catch people and take them to Ogiuwu. The reference here is to the power of the Oba over life and death as he is the only person with the inherent right to pronounce the death penalty. The bottom images represent a powerful herbalist. Placed below the top image these two figures represent the dual powers of the king – protection and destruction – at the same time as they offer their support.
Exhibited: 1970-1973, London, Museum of Mankind, Divine Kingship in Africa 2007 May-Sept, Vienna, Museum für Völkerkunde, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2007-2008 Oct-Jan, Paris, Musée du quai Branly, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2008 Feb-May, Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria 2008 Jun-Sept, Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Benin. Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria