The Demi-gods of Ancient Benin Kingdom

With their secrets known only to a few, and to protect the source of their super human abilities, the ancient Benin Demi-gods were simply referred to as warriors.

They fought many great wars and brought victories to their people and the kingdom. Some of their battles were impossible, yet they won. Men spoke about how great and fearless they fought, defeating both man and beast on the battle field. Their bravery was unmatched and it seemed like they had once conquered death in the land of the living. Fellow warriors called them the immortals. They were the heroes of their time, they were living legends, but above all, they were Demi-gods.

They were Arhuanran, Queen Idia, Prince Osawe and a royal guard.

For you viewing and jaw dropping pleasure, below is a statue of Arhuanran performing one of his legendary acts. (Sweeping with a palm tree).

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Their greatness and super human attributes made a few men to seek the source of their strength and abilities. The tale below gives an account of it and it goes like this.

Ancient Benin was very rich, blessed with vast and fertile farm lands on which crops were grown and sold, endowed with mineral resources, and was seen and taken as the Centre of commercial activities within the region. This placed the kingdom under constant invasion and threats of war. The king, with a view to protecting his kingdom sought the help of the gods through one of his wives who was a sorceress. As anticipated, nothing is absolutely given freely by the gods thus; the King was asked to retrieve a sacred Calabash from the Evil Forest.

The High Priest prepared the King and twelve of his strongest palace guards before they embarked on the journey. He warned them of the likely dangers lurking around in the forest.
The Evil forest was plagued with evil spirits ranging from tormenting voices without human presence, voices of the dead and those of children and old people calling out for help. Six of the palace guards fell prey to these plagues as they defied the High Priest instruction not to look back or respond to the forest calls no matter whose voice they hear. They eventually ran mad and wandered off.

The King continued the journey with the remaining six palace guards and on the 3rd day before night fall, they found the sacred Calabash in the centre of three trees clustered by bats. Having lost consciousness two of the palace guards immediately tried to carry the Calabash but were attacked and killed by the Bats.

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The King immediately remembered the High Priest instruction, that the Calabash can only be moved with the sighting of a full Moon and that they should be far from the tree before the full moon fades off. The following night, a full Moon was sighted and two palace guards quickly lifted the Calabash, taking quick and quiet steps away from the trees. Thereafter, the King and the remaining guards immediately embarked on a journey home, and away to saftey from the Bat infested trees and the God forsaken forest.

The journey back home was more perilous. It seemed like the forest had been angered, its sacred treasure (“the Calabash containing the water of life”) has been stolen. The tormenting spirits were now more aggrieved, two other guards lost their minds as a result of that and unconsciously wandered off like the first six into the woods only for their screams to be heard after a few walks. Also, the Bats could be heard chirping and combing the forest in a hunt manner, searching for the sacred Calabash stolen from their protective custody.

The king and the two other guards could hear the Bats fast approaching and closing in on them. One of the guards immediately handed his symbol of loyalty to the King and created a diversion in other to save the king; thus, giving them ample time to exit the forest. His bravery paid off as the King and the last guard made it out of the forest with the Calabash but that was the last time the brave guard was ever seen or heard from.

The sacred Calabash was quickly taken to the palace at the Kings square and secured by the High Priest with red and white robes, some cowries, cola nuts and fresh palm fronts to prevent the bats from sniffing it out. The bats eventually flew out of the forest, flying towards and around the kings square in search of the sacred Calabash. Till date, the Bats can still be seen hovering all over the kings square in continuous search for the Calabash or resting on the trees around and within the square.

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The Calabash contains the water of life and unless broken, it never runs dry. Legends have it that It was stolen from a mermaid centuries ago and hidden in the Evil Forest under the protective custody of the Bats. Whoever baths with the water will become half man and half god; and whoever drinks from it may either not survive or live and be distinctly different. A tale was once told about a woman who drank from the Calabash and lost her beauty and sight but ended up having the ability to see and tell the future. She is often referred to as the first sorceress.

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The Demi-gods and The Source of Their Strenghts

The Kings children, Queen Idia and the palace guard who made it out with him were then washed with the water. During the wash, one of the King’s sons mistakenly drank from the wash water and from that day he gradually grew to become a giant. He is called ARUAHAN, and he is believed to have dug the Benin Moats and also well known for sweeping the streets with palm trees. He is also known as the greatest warrior the binis have ever had. See first image above.