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About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
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Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
RAI FILM
Login
Facebook
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Twitter
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
Menu
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
Login
Facebook
Instagram
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Films
found one film
with a digital version available
x
Region
“West Africa”
x
Keywords
“Dance Theatre Performance”
and
“Ritual”
x
Country of production
“United Kingdom”
x
Year of production
“1963”
x
films with a digital version
1
x
short films
1
Region
West Africa
1
x
Country
Nigeria
1
Keywords
Dance / Theatre / Performance
1
x
History
1
Ritual
1
x
Directors
Bradbury, Ray
1
Speed, Frank
1
Series
not set
1
Country of production
Nigeria
1
United Kingdom
1
x
Year of production
1963
1
x
Film
Benin Kingship Rituals
1963
20
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Ray Bradbury
.
Until it was conquered by the British in 1897, the city of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, was the centre of a powerful kingdom. Its rulers, the Obas of Benin, were mysterious, secluded figures who spent much of their time in the performance of rituals designed to enhance their power and to ensure the prosperity of their subjects. Many of the art objects for which Benin is famous were used in these rituals, some of which are still performed. This film shows some of the most significant moments in the rituals that take place around the beginning of the new year, including the greatest event of the ritual year, the Igwe Festival, in which the Obas divine powers are strengthened and renewed. The object of worship is the head of the living Oba, the seat of his ritual energy, on which the well-being of the nation is believed to depend on.
West Africa
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
History