RAMMED EARTH ROYALTY - Traditional Architecture of the Great Benin Kingdom

Sketch of Benin City by British Officer 1897.
Image credit: www.guardian.com

Come with me on a journey down memory lane! Around 2002/2003, in post-graduate architecture school at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma - Edo State, our class was split into teams for an assignment on traditional architecture. I and my teammate (who just happens to be my life partner and husband- insert a coy smile😀) were tasked with the documentation and production of measured drawings for a building constructed with traditional building materials and techniques.

The two teammates! 

Such was the allure of the superiority of the particular piece of architecture chosen, that there was little else I spoke about when I got home to the extent that my mom kept looking at me surreptitiously presumably to ascertain if I had been possessed by the spirits which are believed to lurk in such places! Thankfully I was not but the visit left an indelible impression on me.

"Even though the designer of this building that had me enthralled was not literate according to Western standards, much thought was given to the spatial arrangement with the head’s spirituality forming the core of the building design".

Ground floor plan

Image credit: Author, Blessing Odigie

Even though the designer of this building that had me enthralled was not literate according to Western standards, much thought was given to the spatial arrangement with the head’s spirituality forming the core of the building design. There I learnt about the ikhimwin tree which every Bini man planted in his forecourt. The ukhures(wooden intricately carved staff) of previous title holders were located in the forecourt alluding to the continuous presence of forebears long gone to be with their Maker. Climate was a key consideration with the use of rammed earth walls with an approximate thickness of 300mm. The earth walls served as passive cooling element for the building by regulating the ambient indoor temperature ensuring that the interiors were always cool.

Signpost at Ogiamien Palace Entrance
Image credit: Author

The building in question is the Chief Ogiamien’s Palace, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in Benin City and one of the listed buildings of the National Commission of Monuments and Museums in Nigeria. A listed building is a building preserved by law because of its historical or special architectural interest. The palace, located at No 97 Sakponba Road was reportedly built about 1130AD, around the same period that the Gothic architecture was afoot in France and being imported to other European countries. Another important historical fact of note is that it was the only building that survived the 1897 British punitive expedition that left the city totally devastated and sent Oba Ovonramwen into exile in Calabar. Palace the Ogiamien’s palace which sadly even though designated as a world heritage site is currently in a dilapidated state under lock and key. 

Approach view of the Ogiamien's Palance. The elevated portion of the pitch roof is the building's main entrance
Image credit: Author

Wooden main entrance door. At least a century old
Image credit: Author

Wooden structural beams and rafters
Image credit: Author

Rammed earth walls were characteristic of Benin architecture. A prominent feature of the walls were the horizontal flutings
Image credit: Author

"One of my favourite programmes on cable TV is Ancient Top 10, where experts rate the inventions, architecture and urban design of the ancient world on a scale of one to ten. The only African country that frequently makes that list is, you guessed right, Egypt. The reason is not far-fetched. Painstaking efforts were made to preserve their history for posterity."

Our forefathers understood the concept of sustainability long before it came into the consciousness of the foreigners.This building showcases the ingenuity of rammed earth construction, Benin traditional architecture and craftsmanship. In countries that have learnt to place premium on their monuments and also showcase them to the world as the “beacon of hope for all humanity”, this site should be teeming with activities for both research and tourism purposes, but instead it stands locked with only the ancient sign of the museum alluding to its importance. One of my favourite programmes on cable TV is Ancient Top 10, a programme in which experts rate the inventions, architecture and urban design of the ancient world on a scale of one to ten. The only African country that frequently makes that list is, you guessed right, Egypt. The reason is not farfetched. Great efforts were made to preserve their history for posterity. In fact, the entire continent of Africa owes them a debt of gratitude since it was from the archaeological finds that the initial assertion of the origins of civilization being from Africa was corroborated.  In the face of incontrovertible evidence, the West could not claim otherwise. The culture of preservation must be imbibed to enable us tell our stories accurately. The world is dying to hear our stories from our own unique perspective.

Benin bronze busts of Oba and his Queen (Oloi)

Image credit: Benin Traditional Council

Asides, the rich cultural heritage of the Binis evidenced by their world famous bronzes, the Benin Kingdom’s architectural and urban design prowess has never been in doubt. At the height of its dominance in the 15th century, the city of Benin was an architectural and urban design marvel. According to estimates by New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, an environmental writer and author of the Last Generation, Benin City’s walls were "at one point four times larger than the Great Wall of China and consumed a hundred times more materials than the great pyramids of Cheope, Egypt. Pearce estimates that these walls extended for some 16000km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6500 square km and were all dug by the Edo people. These walls took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct. It was also asserted that it was the first city to have street lights in the form of bush lamps – using oil and wicker. This African city was way ahead of its European counterparts. 

SDG 11.
 Image source: www.isglobal.com

This is where looking inwards and utilizing sustainable and abundant raw materials such as earth currently in abundance would prove invaluable in making houses truly affordable. Goal 11 of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Two of its major targets by 2030 include the provision of support to developing countries for sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials as well as the strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

From Arizona to China, there has been a resurgence in the use of the rammed earth technique of building construction around the world due to several factors such as the readily availability of the raw material (soil), low energy requirements due to its thermal mass, high fire resistance, great aesthetic appeal among its many advantages. In terms of usage and widespread acceptance of rammed earth as a conventional building material, Australia is light years ahead of its counterparts with provision been made in the country's building code for the design and construction of rammed earth structures. The 2017 World Building of the Year Prize was awarded to an earthquake resistant building in Guangming Village, China constructed from stabilized rammed earth.

2017 World Builidng of the Year in Guangming, China
Image Credit- www.independent.co.uk

Currently, what has been described as the largest rammed earth structure in Nigeria is under construction at the Redeemers University. The university beat fourteen others from Central and West Africa to clinch a World Bank Grant for the establishment of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID). A South African based construction firm  has been subcontracted for the stabilized rammed earth civil works. Post Covid-19, sustainability in all spheres of human endeavour will be important, especially our building construction processes. Who knows, the rest of the world may just look to Africa with its vernacular building systems and materials for solutions with regards the sustainable development of the environment.  Yes, I am making a strong case for constructing with a variant of our good ole mud or portor-portor as it is referred to in Benin City. Here in Nigeria, we have a unique and admirable penchant for creating compound repetitive words? Pata-pata, last-last, je-je, so-so, …………do feel free to fill in the gap.