The origin of Umẹlu town

About the interview
Benin Kingdom Context

Mr. Benard Oviamwonyi narrates the story of the origin of Umẹlu town. He states that it was established during the reign of Ọba Ẹsigie. Tradition says that there was once a powerful wrestler called Omaigie who, after being undefeated in several contests, challenged the Ọba of Benin. The Benin chiefs were worried about this and decided to consult the oracle so that the Ọba could defeat the powerful wrestler. The person who eventually defeated Omaigie was the Enogie of Uwan – the chiefs invited him from Uwan town on the behest of the Ọba. During the wrestling contest, the Enogie of Uwan lifted Omaigie and slammed him to the ground. His fall made a loud sound, which Benin people called ‘Umeu’. This word (an exclamation) was corrupted to ‘Umẹlu’ when the Ọba created a new domain for Ogie Uwan so he could reside close to Benin City.

About the contributors

Referenced in this interview

Sensitive Content

Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here