{{Short description|Oba of Benin (1334–1370)}} {{Use Nigerian English|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Ohen | title = 8th Oba of Benin | image = Brooklyn Museum 56.6.72 Human Figure with Mudfish legs.jpg | caption = A mudfish-legged figure of an {{lang|bin|Oba}}, possibly Ohen symbolising his paralysis | alt = A mudfish-legged figure of an Oba | succession = Oba of Benin | reign = {{c.|1334|1370}} | predecessor = Udagbedo | successor = Egbeka | spouse = Elẹrẹ {{small|(according to oral traditions)}} | issue = {{hlist|Egbeka|Orobiru|Ogun (Ewuare)|Uwaifiokun}} | father = Oguola | mother = | birth_date = | death_date = {{c.|1370}} | death_cause = Stoning | dynasty = Eweka dynasty | religion = Edo religion }}
'''Ohen''' was the eighth {{lang|bin|Oba}} ('king') of the Kingdom of Benin who reigned in the 14th century, generally dated to {{circa|1334|1370}}.{{efn|The Kingdom of Benin no longer exists as a governing entity, but the Oba of Benin still rules a tribal kingdom and holds an advisory role in the government of Benin City, Nigeria.{{sfn|Parks|2023}}}} He succeeded Udagbedo and was later succeeded by his eldest son, Egbeka after his death at about 1370. Historical writings, oral traditions, and ritual performances associate his reign with palace conflict, disability, guild reforms, and the development of Benin ceremonial traditions. Benin court art frequently depicts him with fish-like legs, imagery interpreted by scholars as symbolising both paralysis and sacred kingship. According to traditional accounts, Ohen became paralysed after many years on the throne and concealed his condition from the court by arranging for attendants to carry him into council chambers before chiefs arrived. His disability was later discovered by the {{lang|bin|Iyase}}, a leading military chief, whose subsequent execution reportedly provoked unrest that ended in Ohen's death by stoning. Oral traditions and later scholarship connect these events with ideas about divine kingship, legitimacy, and political tensions involving the Ogiamiẹn lineage.
Several modern studies associate Ohen's reign with the reorganisation of palace guilds, especially weaving guilds connected to the royal court. Traditions also credit him with establishing the Olokun shrine at Urhonigbe and link his reign to ritual practices preserved in annual Iguẹ ceremonies. Stories surrounding his relationship with a woman named Elẹrẹ, together with accounts of secret journeys across the Ikpoba River, are connected in oral traditions to the origins of the {{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} masquerade festival.
== Background and accession == Ohen, the third son of {{lang|bin|Oba}} Oguola, became ruler around 1334 after Udagbedo. Historian Jacob Egharevba described him as "a handsome and intelligent man".{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=12}} Later traditions place him within the Oranmiyan dynasty, which consolidated authority in Benin City after conflicts with the Ogiamiẹn lineage. The Ogiamiẹn family reappeared in narratives during Ohen's reign in accounts of palace disputes and ritual prohibitions.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=19}}
== Reign == ===Paralysis and concealment=== After about twenty‑five years on the throne, Ohen became paralysed in his legs. He concealed this by having attendants carry him into the council chamber before the chiefs arrived and remove him after they left.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=12}} Traditions link his paralysis to ideas of kingship as a divine institution in which the monarch's body symbolised order.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=20}} A ruler with visible defects risked removal. Ohen explained his condition as partial transformation into a sacred mudfish.{{sfn|Millar|1997|p=43}} Artists depicted him as half‑human, half‑fish, embedding his deformity within accepted royal imagery.{{sfn|Layiwola|2003|p=55}}{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=20, 27}}
The {{lang|bin|Iyase}}{{efn|The {{lang|bin|Iyase}} is the commander‑in‑chief of the Benin warriors, followed by the {{lang|bin|Ezomo}} and the Ologbosere and Imaran.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=80}}}} grew suspicious of Ohen's council practices and hid in the chamber to investigate.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=12}} When discovered, he was executed on Ohen's orders.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|pp=12–13}} Some accounts identify the chief as {{lang|bin|Iyase}} Emuze.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=19–20}} Oral traditions describe violent reactions to his death, culminating in Ohen's execution by stoning with kaolin‑coated rocks.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=20}} Another tradition recorded by author Heather Millar in his 1997 book ''The Kingdom of Benin in West Africa'' state that the revelation of his paralysis undermined his legitimacy and led to his death.{{sfn|Millar|1997|p=43}} Literary traditions preserved by biographer Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer in ''Encyclopedia of Literary Epics'' recount that chiefs dug a concealed pit beneath the throne before stoning Ohen after he fell into it.{{sfn|Jackson-Laufer|1996|p=271}} A similar version by Curnow records that chiefs trapped Ohen in a disguised pit beneath the throne before killing him.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=24}} He ruled for about thirty‑six years before his death.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=13}}
=== Guilds and court organisation === Several modern studies associate Ohen's reign with changes in guild organisation.{{sfn|Michael|Yemi|Duyile|2020|pp=211,213}}{{sfn|Osarhiemen|Yakubu|Odu|2020|p=151}} Academics Ediagbonya Michael, Aluko Yemi, and Abiodun Duyile in ''Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research'' wrote that Ohen introduced the weaving guild {{lang|bin|Owina n'ido}}, organising male and female weavers to produce cloth reserved for the elite, linking this to efforts to conceal his deformity.{{sfn|Michael|Yemi|Duyile|2020|p=211}}
Academics Felix E. Osarhiemen, Moses J. Yakubu, and Yomi Odu in ''African and Diaspora Discourse'' also noted that Ohen employed specialist weavers to produce patterned materials that concealed his legs.{{sfn|Osarhiemen|Yakubu|Odu|2020|p=151}} Michael, Yemi, and Duyile further argued that many guilds already existed before Ohen and became more systematically organised during his reign and that of Ewuare.{{sfn|Michael|Yemi|Duyile|2020|pp=211,213}}
Academic Heidi Nast in ''Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History'' recorded oral traditions from a palace weaving guild which attributed major changes to Ohen. According to this tradition, the guild initially consisted of seven palace women who produced royal cloth, while palace men spun thread.{{sfn|Nast|2008|pp=251–252}} Nast stated that Ohen transferred weaving duties to palace men after discovering that women had begun selling royal cloth in markets.{{sfn|Nast|2008|p=252}} Women continued to spin, prepare dyes, and contribute to ceremonial weaving and hairstyles.{{sfn|Nast|2008|p=252}}
=== Olokun associations and ritual memory === Traditions connect Ohen with ritual attempts to cure his paralysis and with crocodile imagery on plaques.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=27}} These traditions also connect him with crocodile imagery that appeared on later Benin plaques and with medicinal symbolism intended to paralyse enemies or remove obstacles.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=27}} He is credited with establishing the Olokun shrine at Urhonigbe.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=27}}{{efn|Urhonigbe is a town about 60 miles away from Benin City.}} Annual Iguẹ ceremonies preserve ritual gestures recalling the death of the {{lang|bin|Iyase}} during his reign. During these ceremonies, chiefs symbolically gesture across ceremonial swords to ask "Where is the Iyasẹ?" while the reigning monarch ritually denies knowledge of his whereabouts.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=27}}
== Legends and oral traditions == === Elẹrẹ traditions === Oral traditions link Ohen to a relationship with a woman named Elẹrẹ (or variants such as Elẹyẹ and Onhẹrẹn).{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=20–23}} Art historian Kathy Curnow in ''Umẹwaẹn: Journal of Benin and Ẹdo Studies'' recorded traditions collected by anthropologist Robert Elwyn Bradbury in which Ohen visited a woman in Utẹ village across the Ikpoba River, fearing her father's power as a native doctor.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=20}} One account stated that he improvised masks to conceal his identity when returning late, explaining the origin of the {{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} masquerade.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=20}}
Another tradition recorded by Bradbury attributed the relationship to a diviner's instruction that Ohen marry Elẹrẹ, daughter of the Ogi'Utẹ, because he had no son.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=21}} In this account, Elẹrẹ later gave birth to Ogun, identified with {{lang|bin|Oba}} Ewuare.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=21}} Other versions state that a post‑menopausal woman named Onhẹrẹn bore Ogun after divinatory intervention. Curnow also documented traditions in which Ohen's paralysis resulted from traps set by rivals or jealous husbands.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=21}} She interpreted these narratives as reflecting tensions between the dynasty and the Ogiamiẹn lineage.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=21–22}}
Some traditions claimed that marriage between the royal family and the Ogiamiẹn lineage was forbidden under the Ẹkiokpagha treaty, and that Ohen's relationship with Elẹrẹ violated this restriction.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=22}} Cultural archivist Ikponmwosa Osemwegie recounted that Ohen deliberately sought such a marriage to resolve disputes over dynastic legitimacy. In this version, Ohen crossed the Ikpoba River at night disguised and accompanied by one or two {{lang|bin|emada}} ('pages').{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=22}} Courtiers discovered his route and worked with the {{lang|bin|Ehuae}} ('duke') of Ikpoba to place charms beneath a bridge he crossed.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=22–23}} Another spell caused him to oversleep at Elẹrẹ's home, forcing him to improvise masquerade costumes to return unnoticed to the palace.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=23}} Curnow noted that this account connected Ogun's birth and Ohen's paralysis to these events.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=23–24}} She also recorded that Chief Ogiamiẹn acknowledged traditions identifying Elẹrẹ as part of his extended family.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=25}}
==={{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} masquerade=== Several sources link Ohen with the origins of the {{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} masquerade festival.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=20–26}}{{sfn|Obuh|2005|pp=113–114}}{{sfn|Paton Jr|1981|pp=119–120}} Academic Stanley Obuh in ''The Crab: Journal of Theatre and Media Arts'' described the narrative as a legend.{{sfn|Obuh|2005|p=113}} According to this legend, Ohen secretly travelled to Utẹ to court Elere despite traditions forbidding the {{lang|bin|Oba}} from leaving the palace.{{sfn|Obuh|2005|p=113}} A village headman allegedly used a magical sleeping charm to trap him until daylight, and sympathisers disguised him with a mask to escort him back to Benin in a ceremonial procession.{{sfn|Obuh|2005|pp=113–114}} Once inside the palace, another performer replaced Ohen under the disguise while the king resumed his royal appearance before the audience.{{sfn|Obuh|2005|p=114}}
Adell Paton Jr in ''Kiabàrà: Journal of the Humanities'' similarly described the {{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} festival drama as originating from a royal romance involving Ohen and Elere.{{sfn|Paton Jr|1981|pp=119–120}} He explained the name "{{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}}" as a reference to the secret nursing of their son at Utẹ before he later became {{lang|bin|Oba}} Ewuare.{{sfn|Paton Jr|1981|p=120}} Kathy Curnow described the continued ceremonial performance of the {{lang|bin|Ekoko n'Utẹ}} masquerade during Iguẹ celebrations.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=25–26}} She wrote that the masquerade retained visual references to Ohen's traditions, including feathered headpieces, mirrored lappets linked to water symbolism, and costumes recalling the Ikpoba River crossing.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|p=26}}
== Succession and legacy == Ohen left four sons: Egbeka, Orobiru, Ogun, and Uwaifiokun. Egbeka, the eldest, succeeded him around 1370. Traditions state that Egbeka fought civil wars against the {{lang|bin|Uzama Nihinron}} and was regarded as ineffective in governance.{{sfn|Egharevba|1968|p=13}} Curnow noted that some traditions linked Ogun's exile and succession difficulties to disputes about his mother's identity and the circumstances of his birth.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=26–27}} Jackson‑Laufer summarized literary traditions portraying Ogun as the strongest of Ohen's sons but displaced temporarily through palace intrigue involving his brothers.{{sfn|Jackson-Laufer|1996|p=271}}
Ohen remains significant in Benin artistic, ritual, and historical traditions. Historian Peju Layiwola in ''Modern History of Visual Art in Southern Nigeria'' argued that depictions of Ohen illustrate how Benin court art preserved historical memory through symbolic forms.{{sfn|Layiwola|2003|p=55}} Curnow likewise interpreted fish‑legged imagery and ritual gestures in Iguẹ ceremonies as commemorations of events from his reign.{{sfn|Curnow|2017|pp=26–27}} Modern studies of Benin guilds, palace institutions, oral traditions, and masquerade performances continue to treat Ohen's reign as an important period in the kingdom's historical memory.{{sfn|Michael|Yemi|Duyile|2020|pp=211,213}}{{sfn|Nast|2008|pp=251–252}}{{sfn|Obuh|2005|pp=113–114}}
== Explanatory notes == {{notelist}}
==References== === Citations === {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === {{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}} * {{cite journal |last=Curnow |first=Kathy |title=Sensemaking in Benin Kingdom Oral Traditions: Repetitive Recall of Actual and Traditional Enmity between the Ọba and the Ogiamiẹn |journal=Umẹwaẹn: Journal of Benin and Ẹdo Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |year=2017 |pages=1–40 |url=http://www.beninedostudies.com/uploads/1/1/7/0/11700969/curnow_ogiamien__1_.pdf}} * {{cite book |last=Egharevba |first=Jacob Uwadiae |author-link=Jacob Egharevba |title=A Short History of Benin |date=1968 |publisher=Ibadan University Press |isbn=978-978-121-239-0}} * {{cite book |last=Jackson-Laufer |first=Guida Myrl |title=Encyclopedia of Literary Epics |publisher=ABC-Clio |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-87436-773-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofli00guid/page/271/mode/2up |access-date=15 February 2024 |via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book | last=Layiwola | first=Peju | title=Modern History of Visual Art in Southern Nigeria | chapter=Gnosis and the Transmission of Knowledge: The Example of the Brass Casters' Guild in Benin | publisher=IFRA-Nigeria | date=2003 | pages=45–53 | isbn=979-10-92312-57-7 | doi=10.4000/books.ifra.3210 | url=https://books.openedition.org/ifra/3210 | access-date=2026-05-27}} * {{cite journal | last1=Michael | first1=Ediagbonya | last2=Yemi | first2=Aluko | last3=Duyile | first3=Abiodun | title=A Study in Benin Guild System and the Monarchy from the Earliest Times to 1897 | journal=Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research | publisher=B.P. Publishing | volume=4 | issue=4 | date=2020-06-09 | issn=2682-9096 | pages=210–216}} * {{cite book |last=Millar |first=Heather |title=The Kingdom of Benin in West Africa |publisher=Benchmark Books |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7614-0088-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/kingdomofbeninin00mill |access-date=28 May 2026 |via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book | last=Nast | first=Heidi J. | editor-first1=Anne | editor-last1=Walthall | title=Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History | chapter=Women, Royalty, and Indigo Dyeing in Northern Nigeria, Circa 1500-1807 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MM8lDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA251 | chapter-url-access=limited | publisher=University of California Press | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-520-25443-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/servantsofdynast0000unse |via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite journal |last=Obuh |first=Stanley |title=From Dramatic Events to Ritual Theatre: The Origins of ''Ekekon Ute'' and ''Iri-Aha'' Festival Plays |journal=The Crab: Journal of Theatre and Media Arts |publisher=University of Port Harcourt |issue=1–3 |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7uKhUmGFNDMC |issn=2006-0157 |access-date=28 May 2026}} * {{cite journal | last1=Osarhiemen | first1=Felix E. | last2=Yakubu | first2=Moses J. | last3=Odu | first3=Yomi| title=The Guild System and Socio-Political Engineering in Pre-Colonial Benin Kingdom | journal=African and Diaspora Discourse | publisher=Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos | volume=2 | issue=2 | year=2020 | issn=2705-4268 | pages=145–164}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Parks |first=Clint |date=19 October 2023 |title=The Kingdom of Benin |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin/ |encyclopedia=National Geographic Society |location= |publisher= |access-date=26 February 2025 |issn=0027-9358}} * {{cite journal |last=Paton Jr |first=Adell |title=Oral Tradition in the Reconstruction of Ningi History ca. 1880–1908 in Nigerian Hausaland |journal=Kiabàrà: Journal of the Humanities |publisher=School of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=105–125 |year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDJPAQAAMAAJ |issn=0331-8168 |access-date=28 May 2026}} {{refend}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Bradbury |first=Robert Elwyn |author-link=Robert Elwyn Bradbury |title=Benin Studies |publisher=Routledge |date=2020-05-10 |isbn=978-1-138-49211-0}} * {{cite book |last=Duncan |first=Rick |title=Man, Know Thyself: Volume 1 Corrective Knowledge of Our Notable Ancestors |year=2013 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=978-1-4836-4147-8}} * {{cite book |last=Egharevba |first=Jacob Uwadiae |author-link=Jacob Egharevba |title=Concise Lives of the Famous Iyases of Benin |publisher=Kraus Reprint |series=Black experience |year=1973 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1J0AAAAMAAJ |access-date=15 February 2024}} {{refend}}
{{s-start}} {{s-hou|Kingdom of Benin||?||1370 AD}} {{s-reg|}} {{s-break}} {{S-bef | before = Udagbedo }} {{s-ttl | title = Oba of Benin | years = 1334 – 1370 }} {{s-aft | after = Egbeka }} {{s-end}} {{Obas of Benin}}
Category:Obas of Benin Category:1370 deaths Category:14th-century monarchs in Africa Category:14th-century Nigerian people Category:People from Benin City Category:Murdered royalty Category:Deaths by stoning Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Kingdom of Benin Category:History of the Yoruba people