According to Wikipedia,
"Edo" is the name that the people
of the Benin Kingdom give to themselves, their language, and their
capital city and kingdom. Renowned for their art of brass and ivory and
for their complex political organization, the Edo Kingdom of Benin is
one of the best known of the precolonial kingdoms on the Guinea Coast of
West Africa. From at least the fifteenth century, the Benin Empire held
varying degrees of authority over neighboring peoples, including the
western Igbo, northeastern Yoruba, and various related Edo-speaking
groups. In 1897 British-colonial forces conquered the kingdom and made
it part of the Niger Protectorate. Today it is incorporated into the
modern state of Nigeria.
Location. The core Edo area, about 10,400 square
kilometers, is located on a rolling coastal plain crossed by rivers, in
an area of tropical rain forest. About 40 percent of the region is
forest reserves. Benin City, the capital, is located at 6
°26
′ N and 5
°41
′ E. The annual rainfall can be as much as 175 to 200 centimeters. The average daily temperature is about 27
° C. There is seasonal variation, with a wet season from July to September and a dry one from December to February.
Demography. Accurate population figures are
difficult to obtain for this area, particularly outside the capital
city. In 1963 a Nigerian census indicated that Benin City had a
population of 100,694. The urban population was estimated at 201,000 in
1972, and by 1976 at 314,219, indicating a growth rate of 8.5 percent
for that period, on the basis of which Ikhuoria (1984, 177) estimated
the city's 1980 population
—of which the Edo comprised the largest number
—at
425,000. Migration to Benin City continues to increase its population,
which doubles in size every decade, as young people from the rural
areas, as well as from different ethnic groups, come to seek employment.
Linguistic Affiliation. Edo belongs to the Edoid
cluster of languages that is part of the Kwa Language Family and the
Niger-Kordofanian Superfamily. Edo-speaking peoples include not only the
Edo proper but also the Ishan, the Etsako, the Ivbiosakon, the Akoko
Edo, the Ineme, the Urhobo, and the Isoko. Many contemporary Edo
speakers speak English as well as languages of neighboring Nigerian
groups.
History and Cultural Relations
The Edo have undoubtedly lived in the same area for many centuries.
Connah's archaeological investigation (1975) at a site in what is today
Benin City suggests that a large population with a degree of political
organization may have existed as early as the end of the late eleventh
century but was certainly in place by the end of the fifteenth.
(Connah's radiocarbon dates from this site are 1180
±100 to 1310
±100). Oral traditions include references to an early dynasty of kings called
ogiso
(a term that can apply to the dynasty as a whole or to individual
rulers within that dynasty), which ruled, it is suggested, until the
twelfth or thirteenth century, when Oranmiyan dynasty, of Yoruba origin,
took over. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were an age of
conquest and cultural flowering. Many of the sculptures for which Benin
is famous were created for the monarchs Ewuare, Ozolua, Esigie,
Orhogbua, and Ehengbuda. Under the rule of these kings, the empire
imposed varying degrees of domination over neighboring Yoruba-, Igbo-,
and Edo-speaking populations and even extended its influence to Badagry
and Ouidah (now in the Republic of Benin, which was called Dahomey until
1976). This expansion was in process when Portuguese explorers arrived
in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. They were interested in
spreading Christianity and developing commerce. Trade with the Netherlands, France, and England
followed. Oral traditions and European records indicate that the power
of the kingdom fluctuated over the centuries. A dynastic crisis in the
seventeenth century led to a civil war lasting from about 1690 to 1720,
which disrupted the political and economic life of the kingdom, but
peace was restored by kings Akenzua I and Eresoyen in the mid-eighteenth
century.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Benin came into
conflict with the British, who viewed the kingdom as an obstacle to
their economic and political expansion in the area. In 1897 a British
consular official insisted on visiting the city in spite of requests by
the king to delay until the completion of important religious
ceremonies. The consul and his party were ambushed, and most of them
were killed. The British immediately assembled the "Punitive
Expedition," a retaliatory force, which attacked and captured Benin City
in February of 1897, setting fires throughout the urban area and taking
as war booty thousands of brass and ivory sculptures. The reigning
king, Ovonramwen, was sent into exile, where he died, and the Benin
Kingdom was incorporated into the Southern Province of the Nigerian
Protectorate. In 1914 the British amalgamated the Southern and Northern
protectorates into the new country of Nigeria. In the same year, they
restored the monarchy in Benin, allowing Ovonramwen's son, Eweka II, to
assume the throne. They instituted a system of Native Administration (a
form of indirect rule), introduced a uniform monetary system and direct
taxation, established government schools, and built a communications
network of roads and railways. Early in the twentieth century, the
Church Missionary Society and the Society of African Missions arrived in
Benin, but they had less success there than in other parts of Nigeria.
Nigeria gained independence in 1960, and at that time the kingdom became
part of the Western Region. Over the years, the modern political
boundaries of the territory and its names have changed several times. In
1963 it was separated from the Western Region and called the Midwest
Region, and then, in 1976, it was renamed Bendel State. In 1993 Bendel
State was split in two, and today the Benin Kingdom is part of Edo
State.
Settlements
There are several hundred villages dispersed throughout the Edo
territory, varying in size from 30 inhabitants to more than 4,000.
Larger villages are divided into quarters. Houses are generally
constructed of mud and roofed with corrugated-iron sheets. Formerly,
residences were scattered, but, with the construction of roads that
started in the early part of the twentieth century, and especially with
the establishment of Benin City as the state capital in 1963, villages
have become increasingly aligned along the main roads. The farms are
located away from the settlements.
Benin City, the capital of the traditional kingdom as well as of
modern Edo State, is a large urban complex with a long history.
Archaeological evidence indicates that there could have been a
population concentration in that area as early as the end of the
eleventh century. European visitors, beginning in the fifteenth century,
found a vast palatial compound with countless courtyards, altars,
halls, and passageways, all richly decorated with brass, ivory, and
wooden sculpture. The king's section of the town, Ogbe
—where the palace and the residences of palace chiefs, minor officials, and retainers were located
—was
divided by a broad street from Ore n'Okhua, where town chiefs and their
retinues, minor title holders, and members of forty or fifty guilds
resided, each in their own quarter. At the time of the British conquest
in 1897, fires destroyed much of the traditional architecture. The city
was subsequently rebuilt
—to
an extent along former lines. The new palace, however, is significantly
smaller than the earlier one. In the area around the palace, houses are
constructed of the traditional wattle and daub, but modern-style houses
are favored in the other parts of the city. Migration is changing the
balance between rural and urban populations. In precolonial times and
through the early 1960s, most Edo lived in rural areas. Indeed, after
the British conquest, Benin City suffered something of a decline. This
situation changed when it became the capital of the newly created
Midwest State in 1963. As a result, government establishments, urban
residential areas, and commerce and industry started to develop. The
military governments of 1967 to 1975 improved social services,
established inter- and intracity transportation, and fostered education
and health by constructing a university with a teaching hospital. The
development of roads and markets throughout the region, as well as ports
to the southeast of Benin City, made the capital an important node for
trade. New residential and commercial areas have developed around the
traditional core, some incorporating villages that used to be on the
periphery of the city.
Economy
Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The basis
of the economy is farming, with the main food crops being yams, cassava,
plantains, and cocoyams, as well as beans, rice, okra, peppers, and
gourds. Oil palms are cultivated for wine production and kola trees for
nuts for hospitality rites. Farming is not an exclusively rural
occupation, as many city dwellers own farms on the outskirts of the
capital and commute regularly to work on them. Domestic animals include
cattle, goats, sheep, dogs, and chickens. Most villages have markets,
and there are also several large regional markets supplying Benin City
and the other towns. In the precolonial period trade was in foodstuffs
and locally manufactured products, but in the colonial period cash crops
were introduced; by World War I Benin had begun to prosper from the
commercial growing of timber and rubber trees. Whereas shifting
cultivation used to prevail, with the introduction of cash crops it has
begun to disappear in favor of crop rotation. Today all farmers grow
food crops for their own consumption as well as cash crops. Rubber
processing and the preparation of tropical hardwoods are major
industries in the state. As Makinwa notes (1981, 31), Benin City's
unique position as the state capital, coupled with the discovery of oil
and a tremendous increase in its production in the late 1960s and early
1970s, drew financial resources and industries to Benin.
The urban economy is dominated by government in the formal sector and
trade in the informal one. Because Benin is the capital of Edo State,
the government and its agencies are the main employers for the
wage-earning portion of the population. At least half of the urban work
force is in clerical and, especially, sales-and-service professions. Men
are typically involved in tailoring, carpentry, or electrical and
mechanical repairs, and women tend to be hairdressers, dressmakers, and
petty traders. Women dominate in the street and local markets in the
city. Youth unemployment has become a growing problem as the influx of
migrants from the villages and other parts of Nigeria steadily
increases.
Industrial Arts. According to oral traditions,
craft guilds have existed since the ogiso period. Members of these
guilds (carpenters, carvers, brass casters, leatherworkers, blacksmiths,
and weavers) live in special wards of Benin City and produce ritual,
prestige, and household objects for the king and court. In the villages,
there were also smiths, carvers, potters, weavers, and basket makers
who created ritual paraphernalia like masks, cloth, and utensils. In the
twentieth century local production of cloth, baskets, and other useful
items has almost died out because of competition with European products.
The changing social and economic situation has adversely affected the
patronage of many of the traditional crafts, although some guild
members, especially the carvers and casters, have made a successful
transition to production for tourists and the Nigerian elite.
Trade. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of
long-distance trade from at least the twelfth century, but the best
documentation commences with the arrival of the Portuguese in the second
half of the fifteenth century and spans from that time until the
present. Throughout the history of European trade, one of the sources of
the king's wealth was the monopoly that he held over ivory, pepper, and
certain other exports. His control extended to the markets and trade
routes, which he could close whenever he wished. High-ranking chiefs of
the Iwebo Palace Society administered European trade for the king, and
various trading associations controlled the routes to the interior that
brought products to Benin for export. These exports varied over time but
also included cloth, palm oil, and slaves. In exchange, Benin imported
European goods such as cloth, mirrors, coral beads, and brass and other
metal objects. Since the colonial period, Benin has been tied in to the
Western capitalist system.
Division of Labor. In precolonial and colonial
villages, adult men tended the principal crop, yams, clearing and
working the land together with male relatives, affines, or friends.
Women cared for their households and grew subsidiary crops. Marketing,
at least in precolonial times, was entirely in the hands of women.
Within the city, the labor was divided in a similar way, that is, male
guild members did the craft or ritual work, and women sold some of the
products of the guild in the market. Since the colonial period, men and,
to a lesser extent, women have been involved in the administrative and
economic sectors of what became a regional capital.
Land Tenure. The king is considered "the owner" of
all the land in the kingdom. Although this prerogative has mainly
symbolic significance, the king could actually revoke rights to land in
cases of insurrection or treason. Today he plays a role in the
allocation of building sites in Benin City and the use of land and
resources by strangers in the Edo region. The actual landholding unit is
the village; its elders act as the custodians. Approval must be sought
from the elders and chief for the right to use certain plots. Land is
abundant, and new settlements are still being founded in the reserves of
wooded land. Patterns of land use are changing, however, and,
especially in the city, individual purchase is increasingly common.
Kinship
Descent is reckoned patrilineally in Edo society. Descent groups are called
egbee,
a term that refers both to the immediate lineage and to the dispersed
clan of which it is part. There are about thirty-five clans, which are
distinguished by exogamy, the possession of special morning salutations,
and the adherence to particular avoidances of foods or activities.
Unlike those of the neighboring Yoruba, Edo lineages are not
landholding, nor do they have political significance, except for that of
the king and a very few hereditary chieftaincy titles. The royal
lineage is particularly set apart by virtue of its descent from the
Yoruba culture hero Oranmiyan (called "Aranmiyan" in Edo), who founded
the second Benin dynasty, which has reigned continuously since about the
twelfth or thirteenth century. Kinship terminology is of the Hawaiian type.
Marriage and Family
Marriage. Polygamy is the preferred form of marriage, although in the twentieth century monogamy has come to be favored by some Christians
and the educated. Marriage used to be contracted when the proposed wife
was very young. There were betrothal and wedding fees. Formerly,
divorce was very rare, granted only under circumstances of infectious
disease or impotency, but the establishment of Native Authority courts
by the British at the beginning of the twentieth century had the effect
of making divorce easier to obtain. Colonialism brought Western
education and Christianity, both of which are associated with a
preference for monogamy. Residence is virilocal but increasingly
neolocal.
Domestic Unit. The basic unit is the household,
which varies in size from a single man (least common) to an extended
family (most common). This family can consist of a man with his wife or
wives and their children and, in some cases, married sons and their
wives and children and even younger married brothers. Widowed or
divorced mothers, daughters, and sisters can live there as well. If the
marriage is polygamous, the wives and their children all live in
separate apartments within the larger compound. Women past childbearing
age often move to their own houses.
In precolonial times the family groupings in the city were much
larger, since the chiefs had more wives and children and numerous slaves
and servants. Thus the households of high-ranking chiefs might have
included several hundred people. Today in Benin City the average size is
seven to ten per household, and the number of nuclear families is
increasing (Sada 1984, 119).
Inheritance. The system of primogeniture prevails
among the Edo: the eldest son receives the rights to property,
hereditary titles, and ritual duties. The eldest son performs the
funeral ceremonies for his deceased father and inherits his father's
house and lands. Although the bulk of the estate goes to the senior son,
the eldest sons by the other wives of his father receive shares as
well, in order of their seniority. When no sons are left, the property
sometimes passes to the father's brother or sister, or sometimes to a
daughter. A woman's property is inherited by her children. Royal
traditions indicate that primogeniture may not always have been the rule
of succession to the kingship, but it clearly has been in place since
the early eighteenth century.
Socialization. In Benin the extended family is the
unit of socialization within which the individual learns the necessary
social and occupational skills. Babies are cared for by their mothers,
grandmothers, and elder sisters. Weaning takes place when they are 2 or 3
years old, unless the mother bears another child in the meantime. Boys
and girls play together until the age of 6 or 7, but then they begin to
take on gender-related activities: boys accompany their fathers to the
farm or, if they are artisans, to the workshop. Girls go with their
mothers to the farm and learn how to sell things in the market.
Formerly, the circumcision of boys and clitoridectomy of girls took
place in infancy or early childhood but, in the latter case, is becoming
less common. Since the early part of the twentieth century, but
especially after World War II,
urban crafts and small industries have adapted Western apprenticeship
systems for the training of workers. Western-based education also offers
avenues for the acquisition of skills. Since 1955, primary-school
education in both the urban and rural areas has been free and
compulsory. Secondary schools are primarily in the towns, and only the
initial stages are free. Edo State has two institutions of higher
education: the University of Benin, in Benin City, and Edo State
University, in Ekpoma.
Sociopolitical Organization
Social Organization. The basic organizing
principle within both the village and the urban ward is the division of
the population into age sets. Every three years, boys who reach the age
of puberty are initiated into the
iroghae grade, whose main
duties within the village include such tasks as sweeping open spaces,
clearing brush, and fetching water. After the age of 25 to 30, they pass
into the
ighele grade, which executes the decisions made by the senior age set, the
edion.
The elders are exempt from physical labor and constitute the executive
and judicial council of the village, led by an elected senior elder (
odionwere ).
Precolonial Benin society had a clearly demarcated class structure: a
mostly urban elite, comprising the governmental, religious, and
educational bureaucracies; a commoner group, consisting of lower-status
urbanites, such as artisans; and the peasantry. Formerly, the king and
chiefs had slaves, primarily acquired through warfare, who constituted
an agricultural workforce for the elite. In contemporary society,
factors such as the extent of one's Western education and the nature of
one's employment
—or lack thereof
—play a role in determining one's position in the multidimensional system of social stratification.
Political Organization. At the summit of precolonial society was the king (
oba
), who was the focal point of all administrative, religious,
commercial, and judicial concerns. He was the last resort in court
matters, the recipient of taxes and tribute, the controller of trade,
the theoretical owner of all the land in the kingdom, and the chief
executive and legislator. As the divine king, he crystallized
generalized ancestor worship in the worship of his own ancestors. It is
in his office, then, that the various hierarchies met.
The members of the king's family were automatically part of the nobility. His mother was a title holder (
iyoba
) in one of the palace societies and maintained her own court near
Benin City, and his younger brothers were sent to be hereditary chiefs
of villages throughout the kingdom, thus constituting part of a limited,
rural-based elite. Besides the king and his family, the political
structure consisted of the holders of various chiefly titles, who were
organized into three main orders of chiefs: the seven
uzama,
the palace chiefs, and the town chiefs. These various orders of chiefs
formed the administrative bureaucracy of the kingdom, and their main
concern was to augment the king's civil and ritual authority. They
constituted the state council, which had an important role in creating
laws, regulating festivals, raising taxes, declaring war, and conducting
rituals. The king controlled the granting of most of these chiefly
titles and used this power to consolidate his control over governmental
processes. Once granted, a title could not be rescinded unless treason
could be proven.
The kingdom was formerly divided into a number of tribute units,
which corresponded to local territorial groupings. Each was controlled
by a title holder in Benin City, who acted as the intermediary between
the villagers and the king and whose main duty was to collect taxes and
tribute in the form of money (cowries) and goods (cattle, yams, etc.).
The income the king received from these sources enabled him to carry on
elaborate state rituals. The king could also call on villagers to supply
labor for the upkeep of the royal palace.
Kings varied over time in their ability to control the political
situation. At the end of the eighteenth century, for example, senior
chiefs rebelled against the king, and a long civil war ensued, which the
king finally won. According to oral traditions, several obas were in
fact deposed.
In contemporary Nigeria, Edo State officials consult with the Benin
king and chiefs. Since 1966, the federal level of government in Nigeria
has vacillated between military and civilian rule, with the exact
relationship between federal and traditional authority changing under
each new circumstance. In 1993 the newly established military government
dissolved all existing state bodies and prohibited political activity.
Supreme executive and legislative power was vested in a military-based
Provisional Ruling Council and an Executive Council, both headed by the
commander-in-chief, who is also the head of state. Plans for a return to
civilian rule have been announced.
Social Control. The principle of the judicial
system was that every head of a compound, quarter, village, or town
heard cases within his jurisdiction, but serious issues
—murder, treason, or succession disputes
—were
formerly brought before the king's council in Benin City. Trial by
ordeal was used in cases of theft, perjury, and witchcraft (if the
offender denied the charge). The British established a bipartite
judicial system, with a supreme court administering British law and
native courts for maintaining customary law. In 1947 the new Nigerian
constitution established a federal system of government with a Supreme
Court, a Court of Appeals, and a High Court at the federal level. Edo
State, like others in the federation, has its own High Court, as well as
a Customary Court of Appeal.
Conflict. In precolonial times warfare was an
important component of the state polity. It apparently was the custom
for kings to declare war in the third year after their succession to the
throne. Ruling princes of the empire who refused to pledge their
allegiance at that time were considered rebels, and war was declared
against them and their towns. Economic factors were undoubtedly central
to Benin's expansion: the Edo were intent on increasing their income
from tribute, protecting and developing trade, and augmenting their army
with captives and allies. There was a military organization involving
specific chiefs who each had a core of warriors attached to his
household but also recruited soldiers from their villages. For long
campaigns, the soldiers built camps where they lodged and grew food for
themselves.
Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. In the traditional Edo view,
the universe is divided into two planes of existence: the visible,
tangible world of everyday life (
agbon ) and the invisible spirit world (
erinmwin
) created by Osanobua and inhabited by him, other deities, ancestors,
spirits, and supernatural powers. These are two parallel, coexisting
realms; their boundaries, however, are not inviolable, as gods and
spirits daily intervene in the lives of humans, and particularly
powerful humans draw upon the forces of the spirit world to transform
daily experience. The creator god, Osanobua, is rather remote; worship
is more frequently directed toward the other deities, who are his
children. The most important of these
—according to Benin notions of seniority
—is
Olokun, his oldest son. Olokun, the ruler of the global waters and the
provider of wealth and fertility, is the most widely venerated deity in
Benin, especially among women who join local congregations to pray and
sacrifice for children. Ogun, the god of iron, is the concern of all who
deal with metal, including taxi drivers and mechanics. Other deities
include Osun, the power inherent in leaves and herbs, the special
concern of herbalists; Ogiuwu, the god of death; and Obienmwen, the
goddess of safe delivery. Yoruba deities such as Eshu, the trickster;
Shango, the god of thunder; and Orunmila, the deity of divination, have
been incorporated into Edo religion. Congregations of worshipers and
shrines dedicated to these deities are found in both the villages and
the city, although Osanobua, Osun, and Ogiuwu had central shrines and
chief priests in Benin City only.
An urban-rural dichotomy of religious worship was maintained through
the exclusion of certain cults from the capital city. Such cults were
dedicated to culture heroes
—once-famous
warriors, magicians, and court figures who came into conflict with the
king. Fleeing from the capital, they sought refuge in their home
villages and were transformed into natural phenomenona, mainly rivers.
The villagers worship these culture heroes as protective deities who are
concerned with fertility and health.
Aspects of the human body are endowed with spiritual power and often
have shrines where they are propitiated. Important among these are the
head
—the locus of a person's intelligence, will, and ability to organize his life and that of his dependents
—and the hand
—source of the individual's ability to succeed in life in the material sense.
When the Portuguese arrived in Benin, they tried to introduce
Christianity. In 1516 they built a church in the capital city and taught
the king's senior son and two important chiefs how to read. Their
efforts to spread the Christian faith were not successful. Missionary
efforts increased substantially with colonialism, and today there are
churches of every conceivable denomination in Benin City, including Hare
Krishna, and some missionary outposts in villages. Church participation
frequently occurs side by side with indigenous ancestral and herbal
practices.
Religious Practitioners. There are two main categories of religious specialists: priest (
ohen ) and diviner/herbalist (
obo )
. A
priest, who can be either male or female, undergoes a long series of
initiation rites before specializing in performing a wide variety of
ceremonies and communicating directly, often through trance, with his or
her patron deity. Such priests can be found presiding over
congregations in cities and villages, as well as in the countryside. The
diviner/healer, usually male, specializes in some branch of magical
activity such as curing, divining, handling witches, or administering
ordeals.
Ceremonies. In precolonial times there was a royal
ritual cycle of ceremonies, one for each of the thirteen lunar months.
Some were of a private nature, such as the sacrifices the king made to
his head or his hand; others were public. Oba Eweka II curtailed many of
the private ceremonies in the palace, and his son, Akenzua II, reduced
and limited the public ceremonies to the Christmas
vacation in order to facilitate attendance. The most important of these
are Ugie Erha Oba, which honors the king's ancestors, and Igue, which
strengthens his mystical powers. Domestic ceremonies mark the life cycle
and the private worship of various deities and ancestors.
Arts. The Benin Kingdom is well known for its
brass and ivory sculpture, which is found in museums throughout the
world. These objects were produced for the king and the nobility by
members of craft guilds in Benin City. Among the most famous Benin works
of art are the brass (often mislabeled "bronze") commemorative heads
topped by elaboratly carved ivory tusks that are placed on the royal
ancestral altars and the rectangular brass plaques depicting court
ceremonies and war exploits that used to decorate the pillars of the
palace. In the villages, devotees of local deified culture heroes
perform rituals employing a variety of different kinds of masks some of
wood, others of cloth or red parrot feathers, to honor these deities and
appeal for health and well-being.
Medicine. The Edo distinguish between common and
serious illnesses. The former can be treated at home or by
Western-trained doctors; the latter must be treated by specialists in
traditional medicine, whether priests or diviner/healers. Serious
illnesses (childhood convulsions, smallpox, etc.) are believed to be
caused by witches or by deities angered over the violation of a taboo.
Traditional medical practice centers around belief in
osun, the
power inherent in leaves and herbs that grow in the bush. Most adults
have a basic knowledge of herbalism, which helps them to care for their
immediate families, but there are also specialists, both priests and
diviner/herbalists, who treat a variety of illnesses. Edo today
distinguish between "White man's medicine," for the treatment of
diseases such as measles, and "Edo medicine," which is still used for
problems such as barrenness or illness created by witches.
Death and Afterlife. Death is seen by the Edo as
part of a cycle in which an individual moves between the spirit world
and the everyday world in a series of fourteen reincarnations. Each
cycle begins with an appearance before the Creator God, at which time a
person announces his or her destiny or life plan. The person's spiritual
counterpart (ehi) is present and thereafter monitors the person's
adherence to the announced plan. After death, the person and his or her
ehi must give an account to the Creator God. If the account is
acceptable, the person joins the ancestors in the spirit world until the
time has come to be born again.
In the spirit world, the ancestors live in villages and quarters
similar to those in the world of everyday life. From there, they watch
over the behavior of their relations in the everyday world, punishing
transgressions such as incest. Their descendants perform weekly and
annual rituals to placate and implore the ancestors to bring benefits of
health and fertility.
Source:
Encyclopedia
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