Bondarenko Dmitri M. Homoarchy

32
(initially there were six and from the middle of the 15 th century seven of
them), and of several other, less important dignitaries. The Uzama N’Ihinron
was established in the 13 th century by the first ruler of the Second (Oba)
Dynasty – Eweka I by means of reformation of the analogous First (Ogiso)
Dynasty period council (see Bondarenko 2001: 112–117, 169–171, 213–216;
2003a: 77–80), and the majority of other hereditary titles either also had their
history rooted in the Ogisos period, or appeared mainly in the times of Obas
Ewedo and Ewuare in the second half of the 13 th and mid-15 th centuries
respectively (see Egharevba 1956: 6; 1974: 12; Palau Marti 1960: 81;
Eweka, E. B. 1992: 29, 39–40, 41).
Within the Uzama N’Ihinron titles passed from fathers to elder sons
and were got officially during a special ceremony performed in eguae – the
royal palace (Eweka, E. B. 1992: 145–147; Anonymous 1995: 5). By the 20 th
century evidence, all the Uzama resided in settlements situated outside the
Benin City inner wall, to the west of the city, and known as “belonging” to this
or that kingmaker (Bradbury 1957: 35; Roese 1988: 53, Abb. 1; 1990: 32,
Abb. 1; Eweka, E. B. 1992: 154–157; Roese et al. 2001: 557–558). Evidently,
they found themselves beyond the city between the second half of the 13 th and
mid-15 th centuries: just during this period the Benin City walls were erected on
the one hand, while on the other hand, in the first half of the 13 th century the
Obas themselves still lived in the palace situated in the Uzama’s district of the
city. By pressing the Uzama N’Ihinron members out of the administrative and
ritual center, the sacral space which the capital was for the Binis – the founders
of the Benin polity (Bondarenko 1995a: 34–35, 278–279; 1996d: 73–74;
1997b: 98), the Obas tried to protect themselves and their power from the
kingmakers’ encroachments.
The Uzama members exercised great enough power over the
inhabitants of the settlements in their possession pressing them through local
chiefs. All of them except the Oloton (Bradbury 1957: 35; Eweka, E. B. 1992:
37) were free to endow titles in within their possessions’ realms. Due to this
each of the Uzama maintained a court “with palace associations organized on
similar lines to those of the Oba, though on a smaller scale…” (Bradbury 1957:
35). Being the collectors of tribute for the Oba from their dependent territories,
the Uzama N’Ihinron had the right either to leave a part of it for themselves or
to surtax communalists in their favor.
However, in the mid-13 th century, after Oba Ewedo’s military victory
over them followed by reforms, the political role of the Uzama, official
kingmakers, decreased considerably. Enthronization of a new supreme ruler
was fixed as the main task of the Uzama N’Ihinron as a collective body because
just they had initiated the advent of Oranmiyan from Ife (Bradbury 1957: 36;
Roese 1988: 70; Bondarenko 2001: 169–171; 2003a: 77–80). Meanwhile, from
the Ewedo time the Uzama were deprived from their bygone key administrative
functions and powers including the right to select a new Oba, not to crown him