Hello, explorers.

I am Ms. Krijnauw and I am delighted that you have joined me.

In this lesson, we're embarking on an exciting learning adventure to learn about the religion of the ancient Kingdom of Benin.

This lesson is one of the unit entitled Non-European Societies.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how some of the Edo religious beliefs are visible in their artwork.

It is my job to support you with the learning materials and resources in this lesson.

But before we start on the lesson, there are some keywords I would like to introduce you to.

These are words that will come up in the lesson and they will help you to make sense of your learning.

The words are deity and prophecy.

I'm going to read them again but this time I would like you to say them with me.

Here we go.

Deity.

Prophecy.

Well done.

So what do these words mean? Deity.

A deity is a god, goddess, or supernatural being that some people worship and believe in.

Prophecy.

A prophecy is a prediction of the future.

Now you might want to pause the lesson here and take a note of these keywords so that when we do encounter them in the lesson, you can refer back to your notes.

When you are ready to start the lesson, press play.

This lesson about Edo religion has two learning cycles and the first learning cycle is entitled Analysis of an historical artefact.

The British Museum holds a range of artefacts that originated in the kingdom of Benin.

The artefacts are known as the Benin Bronzes and were created by the Edo people.

By studying these works of art, we can learn a lot about the history, traditions, and culture of the Edo.

Some of these artefacts can even tell us about the Edo's religious beliefs.

One of these incredible artefacts is a brass sculpture in the form of a human head.

So what can the sculpture that sits in the British Museum tell us about the Edo's religious beliefs? Before we find out, take a moment to study the image.

Write down anything that you can see.

Now, let's study the sculpture in detail.

We will start at the top of the sculpture's head.

Did you notice that the sculpture has a crown of four birds on top looking outwards in the four compass directions? I imagine that that must have an important meaning.

I wonder what it could be.

Let's investigate the sculpture a bit further.

What can you see on the face? The brass head is decorated with forest leaves and roots.

Did you notice the snakes on the face? They appear to be coming out of the statue's eyes and its nose and ears and these snakes are eating frogs.

On the statue's forehead are three stones or amulets.

Now, I happen to know that these are thunderstones.

Thunderstones are prehistoric stone tools or fossils that people believed either fell from the sky during thunderstorms or were found where lightning had struck.

And in ancient times some cultures thought that these stones held magical powers.

What can you remember about what we have just learned? Which features can be observed on the brass sculpture that is held in the British Museum? Four birds facing outwards, leopards, snakes eating frogs, thunderstones.

Pause the video here and when you have chosen the correct answers, press play.

The answers are four birds facing outwards, snakes eating frogs, and thunderstones.

Really good work remembering those features.

Now that we have closely inspected the statue, we can find out about the religion of the Edo people and what the statue represents.

This fascinating artefact is a brass head statue of Osun, the god of magic and medicine.

And this exact statue that we are looking at now was used during religious ceremonies.

According to Edo belief, Osun was a powerful male deity with a fiery temper.

It was believed that he commanded the rainforest and all the plants.

With this power, he had the recipe to offer the people healing and protection, but also poison and harm for its enemies.

Herbalist and priests used the roots and leaves of plants how they believed Osun told them.

Let's check for understanding.

Tell your learning partner who the deity Osun was in the Edo culture.

Pause the video here and when you're ready to reflect on the answer, press play.

Your answer could have included Osun, the Edo god of magic and medicine, commanded the plants of the rainforest.

His power could protect and heal people, but could also cause harm.

Good work.

Now that we know that the sculpture is of the Edo god Osun, let's learn where it came from and who made it.

The brass head statue was made by Edo craftsman of West Africa in the ancient Kingdom of Benin.

This artwork is one of the famous Benin Bronzes and it showcases the incredible artistic skill and craftsmanship of the Edo artisans.

It was used to adorn the royal palace serving as a symbol of the Oba's power, his importance, and his spiritual connection to the gods.

It dates back to about 300 years ago.

This was a time in the history of the Kingdom of Benin after there had been conflict within the kingdom and the Obas of Benin wanted to show that they were the rightful rulers.

It's time to check for understanding again.

Which of these statements about the bronze statue of Osun is true? A, it is kept in the British Museum.

B, it was made in the British Museum.

C, it is kept in the Kingdom of Benin.

D, it was made in the Kingdom of Benin.

Pause the video here and when you are ready for the answers, press play.

Let's find out what the answers are.

The bronze statue is kept in the British Museum and it was made in the Kingdom of Benin.

Well done if you got those two statements correct.

Here we are at the first learning task of this lesson.

Now that we have investigated the sculpture of Osun, label the image with your observations.

One has been done for you and that is four birds looking outwards.

Pause the video here and once you have labelled the image, press play to check your answers.

Here is an example of possible answers.

You could have added snakes eating frogs, forest leaves and roots, and thunderstones.

Well done if you got all of those correct.

The second learning cycle of this lesson is entitled, What can we learn from artefact? The sculpture of Osun has many interesting features and decorations, but are they there just to make the artefact more beautiful or do they have a special meaning? And what do all the features on the sculpture mean? The were Oba thought of as having a special connection to the divine, meaning that they were seen as having a direct link to gods or higher powers.

The Edo believed that the Oba was the one that went between the human world and the world of the ancestral spirits and gods.

As the divine ruler, the Oba was responsible for making sure that the gods were happy so that they would keep looking after the Edo people.

He also served as the chief priest of the kingdom and so it was his job to perform sacred rituals to the gods and ancestors.

Through these actions, the Oba ensured the prosperity, protection, and wellbeing of the people.

Believing that the Oba was divine helped people trust and respect the Oba and it helped keep the community to live in peace and harmony.

And that is why the brass head of Osun was used to show the people that the Oba had divine and special powers.

This gave him god-like status among the Edo people.

Is this statement true or false? The Edo people regarded the Oba as a regular human being.

True or false? That statement is false.

Now, justify your answer.

In other words, give a reason why you say the statement is false.

Is it A, because the Edo people believed the Oba were divine or B, the Edo believed that the Oba were fictional? In other words, make believe.

Do you think the justification is A or B? The correct answer is the Edo believed that the Oba were divine.

Well done if you got that correct.

Each of the designs on the brass statue has a special meaning to emphasise the mystical and magical aspects of being an Oba and to symbolise the divine and special powers that come with being a king.

The four birds on top of the statue's head stand for protection and the ability to make prophecies and see into the future.

The snakes coming out of the nostrils symbolise Osun's warriors and the Oba's magical ability to defeat and destroy his enemies.

The thunderstones on the forehead show the Oba's power to bring destruction like lightning.

We can now consolidate our learning, match the feature on the brass statue of Osun to its symbolic meaning.

Features on the stone are plants, snakes, birds, thunderstones.

And the symbolic meanings are prophecy, healing and protection, destruction, defeat enemies.

Pause the video here and once you have matched the features to the symbolic meaning, press play to check your answers.

Let's check the answers.

Plants matched with healing and protection.

The symbolic meaning of the snakes was to defeat enemies.

The birds represent prophecy.

And the thunderstones represent destruction.

Well done if you got all of those correct.

We have now arrived at the second learning task of this lesson and it says, annotate the photo of the statue of Osun to explain how the Edo's religious beliefs are visible in their artwork.

One has been done for you and that one is four birds looking outwards to symbolise the Oba's gift of prophecy.

Pause the video here and once you have annotated the image, press play to check your answers.

Let's check the rest of the annotations.

Snakes eating frogs symbolise Osun's warriors and the Oba's magical ability to defeat and destroy his enemies.

Forest leaves and roots show that this is a statue of Osun, the god of medicine and magic, who has the ability to heal and protect.

Thunderstones represent the Oba's power to bring destruction.

Well done if you annotated all of those features of the statue of Osun.

We are now at the end of this lesson about Edo religion.

Before we go, let's summarise what we have learned.

The British Museum holds a brass head sculpture of the Edo deity Osun, the god of magic and medicine.

The head was used in worship.

It symbolises the Edo's religious belief that the Oba was a divine being.

The sculpture gives us clues about Edo beliefs.

The four birds represent the Oba's ability to make prophecies.

The snakes and frogs symbolise Osun's warriors and the Oba's magical ability to defeat his enemies.

The thunderstones show the Oba's power to bring destruction.

Thank you for all your hard work during this lesson and well done on completing it.

I've really enjoyed supporting you during this lesson and I hope to see you again very soon.