By Anna Funke
This article is about the white native chalk, called orhue, in Bini Culture. There are three colors in bini colour symbolism – white, black and red. The symbolic value of these colors determine the choice of ritual objects. Generally, white is the symbol of peace, joy, good health, good luck, purity, fertility and so on. These are some of the notions which orhue symbolizes...
Some Bini people believe that the Olokun goddess of the sea, is the owner of orhue, which arises from the fact that orhue is obtained mainly from the sea or river bed, the domain of Olokun (the Goddess of the bottom of the ocean), and from the association of olokun with human fertility, which is one of the aspects of the symbolic significance of orhue. It might be that in fact orhue has come to symbolize fertility, Olokun. The ritual colour of Olokun is white, which determines the white color of the dresses of its priestesses; the most important ritual object of Olokun is orhue.
Orhue is the symbol of peace and acceptance of the authority in politics. Traditionally, once the Oba(king) was enthroned, he sent through an emissary a piece of orhue to the various vassal chiefs or rulers. Symbolically, the acceptance of orhue meant an implicit acceptance of the authority and open defiance.
Every December in Benin City, Edo State, the Igue festival is staged. The festival starts with the anointing of the Oba’s head with Orhue (signifying PURITY) and with the blood of numerous sacrificial victims from the human being (in the distant past) to cows, goats, sheep, chicken, tortoise and snail.
Orhue is the symbol of good luck, success and fertility . Escapes from motor accidents (or other accidents), winning court cases or welcoming sons and daughters from abroad – these are celebrated with orhue. It is not merely a symbol of success, but essentially of good luck and joy which these occasions give rise to. Women with bowls of mixed orhue, with which they mark their foreheads, go about jubilantly with these bowls asking people to say their joys with them by applying orhue on their foreheads. The relevant proverb-song is:
Wa gumwen gbo orhue;
Orhue ikhuo nagbe nosiomwan.
Share the orhue with me;
The orhue you rub on behalf of friends is not a bad omen.
As the Bini say:
Agha gb’orhue, ai gb’ibi.
Ede akhie, a gb’ibi.
Ede oghogho, a ghi gb’orhue.
When you rub orhue, you do not rub charcoal.
On a day of mourning, you rub charcoal.
But on day of joy, you rub orhue.
As a symbol of fertility and good luck, a child is to be rubbed with a mixture of orhue for fourteen days. With the birth of a child, the mother and grandmother and female relatives apply orhue with dots on their foreheads and temples. It is made more prominent by applying it on market days when they appear well dressed. Well wishers immediately get the message and offer their congratulations. Market days were particularly suitable for exchanging information on deaths, births, marriages and news about relatives.
Orhue is offered to all deities and ancestors. At the worship of Osagbaye which is the one rare instance of the worship of the Supreme God, a pole is dug in to the ground with sand piled up around it. By it is placed a coconut rubbed with a mixture of orhue and a separate piece of orhue. A white piece of cloth is tied to the top of the pole. Orhue is also used in ritual worship to ehra ‘ancestors’. On these occasions orhueis applied in various ways, depending on the purposes. After the ancestor has been ‘saved’, orhue is sometimes rubbed on the forehead, on the chest and on the back. It is then used as a symbol of supposed or expected blessings of the ancestor or the deity. Orhue symbolizes divine presence; it invokes the attention of the relevant supernatural agency. Before the oracle (Ifa-Iha among the Bini) is consulted, the diviner usually offers some orhue powder by way of invocation.
Orhue is also used for cleansing a house supposed to be defiled or a woman suspected to have broken grave marriage taboos, like adultery. After confession and forgiveness she is profusely dusted with orhue powder. So, orhue has a pervading use in rituals and in social life among the Bini. Traditional homes make sure that , like kola, there is always some orhue left.
But times have been changing!
The modern Bini now celebrate joyous occasions with wine, drinks and food. In those days, the joy was expressed first with orhue and perhaps later with little feasting.
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