In West Africa, the most consistent feature that distinguishes the people of West Africa from the conventional western conception is the power of women in society. Whereas in the West, the idea of equality is strongly valued, in West Africa, the differences between male and female traits serve as the foundation of dominance in the society.
The Influence of Women in Benin Art
The influence of women is visible in Benin art through the queen mothers. The queen mothers of Benin are powerful women in their cultures and customs. The Gelede ritual in Benin is set to celebrate the power of women in Benin by offering specific insight into the lives of powerful women. The queen mothers in Benin are a symbol of authority by having sovereignty over their people as well as independent courts. Queen mothers have a special place in the traditional ruling structure by being responsible for advising the king. A king is chosen from the sons of the current king's wives, and their mother becomes the queen mother. The primary role of women from the image of the queen mother is to inspire and guide their husbands and sons to become great men in the community.The Power of African Women
In the African culture, women can embrace a significant treaty of power, particularly in the Queen Mother position. In the culture of Benin, the Queen Mother is considered as the co-leader next to the King. Queen Mothers take up unexpected levels of power in Africa. Benin Queen Mother's image has been tactically used drive more emphasis on regarding the role of women in the current African civilization. From the video presented, it is evident that the image of Queen Eson putting on coral beads on her wrists, neck, and ankles befits her position as well as traditional ceremonial objects, which are emblematic during the celebration of Igue festival. The image portrayed further denotes her as the Epson or Obas senior wife purporting her tyrannical wife among other homemakers. Maids espoused to the throne served as the caregivers whose main aim were to ensure the matrimonial duties are fulfilled to the thrones desire. In as much as polygamy was the norm in the traditional African context, there existed a pecking order aimed at strengthening the assigned female roles both at the throne and at the normal house setting.The Representation of African Women
The image of the dark brass aims at putting more emphasis on the position of the African women in the conventional and traditional household setting. The royal ivory ornament is also used to propose and stipulate on the Queen's role in protecting the throne from misfortunes. The representation of Queen Mother's 18th-century version aims at signifying the attractiveness and splendor of African women and focuses on the value regarding the strength as well as logic reasoning ability of the woman's spirit (Legend of Queen Mother Idia of Benin 1504-1550, YouTube). Additionally, the video describes African women with children striving to call more attention relating to the responsibility of a woman in the polygamy family setting to counterfeiting meaningful and long-term relationship to their husbands. All the same, in as much as the position of an Africa woman is allied more towards paternity, the descriptions do not denigrate the responsibility of men in this predominantly male ruled the world.Work Cited
Legend of Queen Mother Idia of Benin 1504-1550. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 17 July 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvwKXfoE0Ok
