AFRICA: ONE CONTINENT. MANY WORLDS. | LESSON PLANS

Looking Good

For more than 800 years, metalworkers in the wealthy and powerful kingdom of Benin City have created works of art. Benin, the capital of this kingdom, was destroyed in 1897. This centuries old kingdom now exists as the Edo State in the country of Nigeria.

Wealthy people in Benin hired dressmakers, hairdresses and jewelers to make them look good. Look at the metal, carved heads and figures located on different pages within the section entitled "Politics in the court of Benin City".

(http://www.nhm.org/africa/tour/benin/index.htm)
The images may not represent a particular person, but they do reflect the kind of dress and decoration used. An oba, or king, and his family had special privileges which included what they could wear.

Pick out a head you like and draw it in the box on the right.

If the page tells who your head represents, write it here:

_________________________

Look on other pages for color photos of modern Edo people. Compare the photos with the head you've drawn. Find a photo that shows some similar decorations.

What kinds of materials were used for the body decorations on the people in the photos? Check the ones you find:
__ fabric
__ leather
__ metal __ feathers
__ coral or stone beads
__ other _________