The program of almost any international scientific event * contains an item called "cultural program". However, the trip of a delegation of Russian scientists to Benin City, a city located five hours by car east of Lagos, does not fit into such a dry, "protocol" definition. It was a real journey into history, and a living history at that.

Benin City is one of the most" historic " cities in Nigeria. It was once the capital of a powerful political entity, the "kingdom" of Benin, created by the Bini people in the early second millennium AD, and in the mid-15th and early 17th centuries was, without exaggeration, a regional superpower whose borders in the west reached the territory of modern Ghana. It was the Beninese who founded Lagos, the largest city in today's Black Africa, in the 16th century. Although the oldest cultural layers of Benin City, studied by archaeologists (first of all, the Englishman Graham Conna), belong to the XII-XIII centuries, there is reason to assume that the city grew out of a settlement that arose in the VIII century.

Europeans who visited Benin in the 16th and 18th centuries admired the city's beauty and populousness, comparing it to their famous capitals such as London and Amsterdam. In 1897, the city was captured by the British, the palace of the supreme ruler (oba), built in the middle of the XIII century at the behest of the fourth Oba Evedo, was looted and destroyed, and the last ruler of independent Benin, Oba Ovonramwen, was deposed and sent into exile, where he died seventeen years later. In 1900, the territory of the "kingdom" of Benin was incorporated into the colony of Nigeria. It is now the Edo State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Like the US states, Nigerian states have unofficial but well-known names in the country, indicated, in particular, on the license plates of cars. Cars registered in Edo State have the inscription: The heartbeat of Nigeria - "heartbeat of Nigeria".

The central point of our trip to Benin City was an audience with His Majesty Herediaoua, Oba Benin. In 1932, the institution of the "traditional monarchy" of bini was restored by the British colonialists themselves. Renowned bini historian Philip Igbafe writes:: "When the throne was emptied, the people ceased to exist as a whole. Since Owonramwen's death, the British have come to realize that if they want to secure even a little forced solidarity with the Bini, they must restore the monarchy. Thus, the fall of Ovonramwen did not mean the collapse of the monarchy, which still commands respect and love today."¹

Indeed, if, for example, you read the numerous Internet sites of public, historical, cultural and other associations of bini, it will become clear that even today both are not props, not "historical reconstruction" and not "fragments of the past", but, like centuries ago, they are alive and have a huge impact on the consciousness of bini, it is a symbol and embodiment of the unity of the people, their cultural tradition, and their identity. Obviously, for many Binis, as before, "we" and " friends "are those who recognize the power of the Oba of Benin;" alien "is the one" who... doesn't recognize both"². The connection between this attitude to the traditional ruler and one of the most acute political problems of many post - colonial African States, including Nigeria, is quite clear-the problem of tribalism.

The current Oba of Benin, Herediaua, is the thirty-ninth ruler of the gens (dynasty) Akenzua from the time of her accession to the throne in the thirteenth century, according to the oral historical tradition of Bini, and the third - from the time of her death.

* The author participated in the scientific conference "Nigeria - Russia: Dialogue on Globalization", held in Lagos in November 2005. For more information about this conference, see "Asia and Africa Today", 2006, N 6.

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restored more than 70 years ago. Before his accession to the throne in 1979, he managed to graduate from one of the English higher educational institutions with a degree in law.

His Majesty received us in the throne room of his palace, which was built in 1948, a few hundred meters from the place where the palace stood, destroyed by the British during the capture of the city. However, the architecture of the current palace generally reproduces the appearance of its predecessor: it is a long one-story building with a gable roof, which is closely adjoined by several smaller buildings both in size and significance-the dwellings of the eghaevbo n'ogbe ("palace leaders"), the immediate environment of the ruler, whose institution was established by Oba Evedo in the middle of the XIII century.

In front of the palace is a spacious courtyard with shrines to the cult of the Oba's ancestors, the rulers of the past. The entire architectural complex, rectangular in plan, is enclosed by a wall. Above the gate located directly opposite the entrance to the palace is an inscription in English: Oba Palace ("Oba Palace"), flanked by crossed ritual swords of hell and eben-attributes of the monarch's power, like the scepter and the power of the Russian tsar. Of course, the features of the modern era are also striking: the roof of the palace, devoid of its former decor, is covered with slate, air conditioners work under it, cars are parked in the courtyard, and souvenir sellers are fighting for the usual buyer.

There are also more significant differences between the modern palace complex and the pre-colonial one: in 1897, the British destroyed the original altars of the deceased Oba, the main elements of which were now the world-famous "bronze heads" (ukhuv-elao) with carved tusks inserted in them - the "history in pictures" of the reign of the corresponding monarch. The British also tore down hundreds of cast reliefs from the inner walls of the palace, illustrating the history of the country and the Oba dynasty. Alas, a historically accurate reconstruction of both the altars and the interior of the palace is simply impossible.

The audience with His Majesty, which our colleagues from the Nigerian Institute of International Relations had arranged in advance by contacting the Court's office in Lagos, was scheduled for 11 a.m., but we were delayed on the way and did not arrive until half past twelve. Fortunately, our fears that Oba would not receive us were unfounded: we were only warned that we would now have to wait until the monarch's conference with the chiefs was over. After about half an hour, we appeared before the "real king".

Eredi'aua sat on a throne against the backdrop of photographs of himself hung behind him. At the side of the oba, as it had done centuries ago, stood a page (emada) with a ritual sword in his right hand; however, on his left hand glittered a very modern watch. On either side of the monarch, the palace chiefs were seated in a row. Both of them and the leaders were dressed in long white robes, but only the supreme ruler's costume was complemented by an equally snow-white cap. All of them wore red coral necklaces , a symbol of power that in the past was punishable by death. According to legend, one of the Oba many centuries ago took possession of the corals by stealth, stealing them from Olokun - the deity of the sea and wealth.

The oba secretary had "scheduled the roles" in advance and warned that the reception would be short-lived. According to the "scenario", Alexey Vasiliev, the head of our delegation, Director of the Institute of Africa, and Vladimir Fedotov, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Nigeria, were introduced to Erediaua. Then they introduced the other members of the delegation. It seemed that His Majesty was pleased that the history and culture of his people, the deeds of his crowned ancestors, were known even in a country as far away as Russia. Erediaoua admitted that although foreigners often visit Benin and his palace, he has never met Russians among them. His Majesty's genuine interest in Russian visitors increased even more after I handed him my publications on the history of his country and dynasty: two thick monographs with the main content in English and two articles, also in English.³

Oba became interested in the sources on the basis of which these works were written, asked to translate the names of Russian-language publications, and immediately read out some fragments of articles to the leaders. From the very beginning, we were allowed to take photos, and then a general photo was taken with His Majesty on the throne and us standing on either side of him (while we were warned not to stand on the steps of the throne in any case). The exchange of compliments was followed by an exchange of gifts; among Oba's gifts was a massive bronze "box" in the shape of a leopard's head, the main symbol of his power, filled to the brim with kola nuts. They are usually given to guests as a sign of sincere affection and wishes for a long happy life. I would like to believe that we and His Majesty Oba Benin Herediaoua really liked and remembered each other. The audience was somewhat prolonged, and we left the palace accompanied by a stately molo-

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dogo the courtier that Oba Erediaua sent with us as a guide. First we went to the National Museum, a three-story building of original modern architecture. Of course, most of the significant Beninese art remains are now preserved in museums in Europe and America; even in Nigeria itself, the Beninese collection of the country's main museum, Lagos, is superior in quality to the collection of the museum in Benin City. Nevertheless, the works presented in the exhibition quite fully characterize the plot diversity of Beninese art and cannot but arouse the interest of an inquisitive visitor. The only pity is that it is forbidden to take photos in the National Museum of Benin City, and albums or sets of postcards are not sold - a situation very typical for African museums.

Then we went to the house of the chief, who, like his ancestors from the thirteenth century, bears the title of ogiamwen. During the interregnum period, apparently in the second half of the twelfth century, a nobleman named Ogiamwen briefly became the ruler of the country and tried to turn his power into a monarchical one. Ogiamwen was overthrown by the founder of the Oba dynasty, Oranmian, but his descendants were assigned the chieftainship title, which was named after the failed monarch.

Nigerian historian Elizabeth Izichei writes of the landmark we visited: "The Ogiamwen Chieftain's House in Benin, the best-known surviving example of pre-colonial Beninese architecture, is interesting because it is not a museum, but still a family home. The house has many courtyards... It is full of shrines that bear witness to the continuity between the living and the ancestors, the visible and the spiritual."⁴. Indeed, the owners who met us did not allow us to enter the courtyard, and we only looked through the gate. Externally, the house, or rather an architectural complex that combines a number of buildings into a household (compound), is a magnificent and at the same time typical example of traditional Bini architecture, the main features of which were already mentioned in the description of the Oba palace complex.

After parting with our guide, we went to the hotel. Local and federal authorities are keen to transform Benin City into a major tourist destination. It is clear that there are objective prerequisites for this in the form of a rich cultural heritage and the worldwide fame of one of the most important centers of African history. However, the proper infrastructure is just beginning to be created. However, the hotel where we stayed, the best and, judging by the information on the Internet, the only decent level in the city, our rather modest requests were fully satisfied: an Africanist who has just met Oba and seen pre-colonial art monuments cannot and should not attach importance to such trifles as, for example, a power outage or a confusion with an order in a hotel restaurant!

Our hotel was located just a stone's throw from one of the remaining sections of the so-called "Benin city walls", so the second (and, alas, the last) day of our stay in Benin City we started with a tour of them. "So-called" because any associations with the fortress walls of medieval European cities would be incorrect here. In fact, the Beninese "walls" are not walls at all, but earthen ditches and ramparts, now overgrown with lush tropical vegetation, so that a person who does not know Beninese history and looks at its monuments from a purely aesthetic point of view, most likely, would simply pass by without seeing anything remarkable in the overgrown ditches. if not for the sign: Benin moats ("Benin moats"). They were created in the late 13th - mid-15th centuries, according to oral historical tradition, exclusively for defensive purposes, and for defense against both external enemies and opponents in the internecine struggle for power. However, scientists believe that the moats also (and even primarily) marked the boundaries between the community-related groups that inhabited different parts of the city.

On the site of the palace destroyed during the capture of Benin by the British, the main square of the city with the Oba Ovonramvenu monument in the center is now located. From it, as far as the eye can see, stretches a market called the "oba market". Previously, it was adjacent to the palace, and control over it was exercised by special titled chiefs. Since the foundation of Oba Evedo at the same time as the construction of the palace, i.e. from the middle of the XIII century, the" Oba market " has been and remains the largest in Benin. Indescribably noisy, crowded, and colorful in African style, today it is littered not only with local tubers, vegetables, and fruits, but also with Chinese industrial goods. If you really need to buy something, then it is probably better to go to one of the much quieter small markets, where you can calmly review and choose the product, price it, and bargain for your own and the seller's pleasure.

However, we went through the "oba market" from end to end and back, although we were not going to buy anything. The fact is that behind it (if you look from the side of the square), at the end of the street, which was the main one in the city in pre-colonial times, there is a legendary place for the Beninese. According to legend, in the mid-15th century, a woman named Emotan helped take the throne from her usurping brother Prince Ogun, who ascended the throne under the name of Evouare and during the years of his reign turned Benin into a mighty power. His reign was a turning point in the country's history; he became the first in a series of outstanding rulers of its heyday, and is called by the descendants of Ewuare Ogidigan - "Ewuare the Great". What if it hadn't been for Emotan's help?.. The grateful Ewuare ordered to plant a tree in honor of the glorious woman, named after her - "Emotan tree". It grew in the exact spot we'd headed for, making our way through the crowd of shoppers, vendors, and loitering oba markets. The tree is no longer there, but an altar with the Emotan monument on it was erected at this sacred site in the modern era. After a short negotiation, the attendant allowed

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for a certain amount of money, we will go to the altar itself and take a picture of the sculpture.

Finally, we arrived at Igun Street , the last and one of the most eagerly anticipated points of our two-day route. Everything (everything!) countless creations of Beninese court casters, which museums around the world are now proud of, have been created on this street for centuries. According to legend, at the end of the XIII century. Oba Oguola invited an ironworker named Higuegha from the holy city of Ife, northwest of Benin, to teach his craft to the Beninese. This is how the famous art of "Benin bronze" was supposedly born. Not all experts - historians, art historians, anthropologists - believe in the legend of the invitation of the Iguegha.

The initial dating of Benin's foundry art remains controversial, partly because, according to some reputable scholars, Oguola ruled a hundred years later than the Beninese oral tradition claims. At the same time, the fact of the continuity of Beninese art from Ifa tends to be recognized by most researchers, although at the moment this issue cannot yet be considered completely resolved. But it is known for certain that only the members of the community inhabiting Igun Street had the right and at the same time the duty to cast products for Oba and his yard.

Today, to our disappointment, Igun Street does not look any different from its neighbors, for example, from the parallel Onwynna-the street of court weavers. But as in the old days, only on it live masters, no longer count in what generation pouring metal for His Majesty. Undoubtedly, the "box" in the form of a leopard's head, presented by Oba Erediaua to the head of our delegation, was also made here. Only if earlier the attempt of a court caster to sell his product "on the side" was considered a crime, now it is in the order of things; the fruits of the work of the casters from Igun Street are easy to find even in the souvenir market of Lagos.

We walked through the tiny shops located directly in the workshops, which in turn are directly adjacent to the living quarters. Among the truly old things and a considerable number of works that do not differ either in high skill of execution, or in plot and stylistic continuity from the masterpieces of the past, one could find works that indicate that the traditions of the truly great art of "Benin bronze" are alive. Many of the boys who ran along the street, who selflessly tried to get into the lenses of our cameras when they grow up, will follow the example of their ancestors, inherit the craft of casting from their fathers and the most talented of them will raise it to the level of genuine art...

We drove away from Benin City, looking out of the van windows at a large and rather neat city by African standards, passing numerous sculptural monuments, the abundance of which is also not typical for most cities on the continent. All these monuments dedicated to events and outstanding characters of Benin's rich history, created in our time, organically combine a modern look at urban sculpture with an ancient artistic canon. Indeed, if the Beninese believed that in their city - the center of the universe-the worlds of people and ancestral spirits, deities, touch, then we left Benin City with the feeling that we had visited a place where history converges with modernity, where today is imbued with history, breathes and lives by it, and where history is not "cases of bygone days", and the same integral and necessary part of modernity, as the cars that overtook us with the inscription The heartbeat of Nigeria above the license plates.

Benin City-Lagos-Moscow.

^{Igbqfe P. A. Oba} 1 Ovonramwen and the Fall of Benin // Leadership in the 19^tn Century Africa. L., 1974, p. 175; аналогично см.: Nevadomsky J. The Benin Kingdom: Rituals of Kingship and Their Social Meanings // African Study Monographs. 1993. Vol. 14, p. 66-67; for details, see: Zotova Yu. N. Traditional political INSTITUTIONS of Nigeria. The first half of the XX century Moscow, 1979, pp. 105-114.

^{Melzian H.} 2 A Concise Dictionary of the Bini Language of Southern Nigeria. L., 1937, p. 43.

³ talking about books by Bondarenko D. M.: Benin on the eve of the first contacts with Europeans. Human. Society. Vlast, Moscow, 1995; Pre-Imperial Benin: Formation and evolution of Socio-political institutions, Moscow, 2001; and also about articles: Bondarenko D. M. Advent of the Second (Oba) Dynasty: Another Assessment of a Benin History Key-Point // History in Africa. Madison. 2003. Vol. 30; Bondarenko DM., Roese P.M. Between the Ogiso and Oba Dynasties: An Interpretation of Interregnum in the Benin Kingdom // Ibid., 2004. Vol. 31.

^{Isichei E.} 4 A History of Nigeria. L., etc., 1983, p. 274.

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