An Ode To The Benin Chiefs (of old)
You provide an insight into the running of,
One of the most efficient administrative systems in the world;
King and Chiefs working hand in hand with the people,
To leave a legacy for all ages.
You flaunt not your riches,
They lie buried in the dust of age in store rooms,
In compound wells and on ancestral alters;
Diamond, gold or silver, appeal not to you.
You worship your head,
Which controls all your bodily functions,
Your intelligence is held in your head; therefore,
You celebrate this annually in the Ague festival.
Your lesson to the world is,
Brains and intelligence,
Are what matter most in this life;
All earthly riches not.
You are an inspiration for,
All peoples,
All cultures,
Through all times.
All hail the Benin chiefs (of old).
References:
1) Bacon R. H, Benin The City of Blood, 1897.
2) Benin Expedition of 1897, Benin Massacre, Wikipedia,
accessed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin_Expedition_of_1897#The_.22Benin_Massacre.22
3) Boisragon A, The Benin Massacre, 1897.
4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=-MaqdG8Kpms,
accessed 6 January 2017.
5) Roth, H. L, Great Benin, 1903, app xiv – xv.
6) Roth H.L., Transcript of the Trial of the king, (appendix 11); 1903.
7) Roth H. L Transcript of the Trial of Ologbosheri; 27 June 1899, (appendix xviii); 1903.