George the Poet - The Benin bronze
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- Опубліковано 15 лис 2015
- George the Poet performs a spoken-word poem about an African work of art - a Benin bronze plaque - in the British Museum's Africa Gallery.
George has taken up our Huge History Lesson challenge to investigate and get inspired by a museum object. George’s poem tells the story of the Benin bronzes, a series of plaques depicting the Benin court following Europe’s first contact with West Africa in the 15th century. See more on the plaques at www.teachinghistory100.org/obj...
Inspired by George? Think you and your class could tell your version of history in one of the world’s biggest museums? Then the Huge History Lesson is right up your street:
www.tes.com/hugehistory
The Huge History Lesson is a partnership between the British Museum and TES, supported by Arts Council England.
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I am author of the books: The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall, The Real Wakandas of Africa and The Real Vibranium of Africa (by Maurice Miles Martinez). Nice poem! In the Great Wall of Africa, I discuss the Benin Bronzes and current issues around returning them from Museums. Most people are unaware that African people built a wall before transatlantic slavery in the Benin empire that is one of the most massive structures in the world. At 10,000 miles long, the Great Wall of Africa contains more material than all of the buildings in New York City’s Manhattan. If cut into 1 meter high blocks, it would wrap around the equator more than 65 times! It is arguably the planet’s greatest man-made structure. Yet, it has been ignored by historians. In my book The Great Wall of Africa: The Empire of Benin’s 10,000 Mile Long Wall, I explore the dimensions of the wall, the history of the Benin Empire’s Kings (Obas) and the stolen Benin Bronzes. These treasures that sit in the world’s museums amount to more than $14 Billion. Most people who read this book are left wondering why they never heard about the Great Wall of Africa in their history classes. The world needs more videos on this topic.
Maurice Miles Martinez
😂 we wuz kangz!!!
How ironic that this is posted by The British Museum? You understand that these treasures are stolen and instead of returning it to the locality from which it was deprived... you have a Ugandan poet narrate the tale. The poem was beautiful albeit hollow when contextualized.
They are the spoils of war
"Gun beats spear." -Frankie Boyle
@ Michael Neggussie Exactly 💯 SMH Still haven't returned 😒 Them.LEGALIZED THIEVES
@@Tusker1970 spoken like a true devil!
Theres a good video from vox about this
We appreciate you for this wonderful poem. Benin shall Rise Again.
May God Almighty and Our Ancestors bless you with good health and Wealth. Thank You.
Ọba gha tó Ọ kpére....isẹẹ
*The Stolen Benin Bronze
There. Fixed the title.
I'm not much into poetry but this was awesome. I love it! I love West African history and knowing all of this just made the poem that much better. I do videos about African history on my channel. My display picture is actually of a Benin warrior.
Every time I go to the British Museum I always find myself spending 15 - 20 minutes staring at and studying these figures....it’s strange, but it’s almost as if they are calling to me......they should be returned they were not a given, they were taken.
Thank you sooo much brother 🙏🏾 you don't have a clue how much I appreciate you/your work. May God continue to inspire, bless & protect you 👌🏾👏🏾👏🏾💕
protect you
I'm from South West NIGERIA!
Incredible!!
Wait,😂😂😂 the BRITISH MUSEUM is posting THIS😂😂💀 you guys I'm sorry, What!! Nigeria demands back it's heritage then you make a Ugandan poet 😂🤦🏾♂️ tell them to their faces they're not getting it back?
Real smooth guys, real smooth. Guess this is what you think of Nigeria's sovereignty
As a Benin person I loooooove this!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Me too
WE are here
Sharp
Benin Kingdom ever ready to make the world a better place for all
Slave trade and human sacrifice?
Are you mad @@Bonzi_Buddy
This video opened my eyes to Benin. Led me down a road to learning about the civilization and what remains today. Fascinates me and leads me down other roads. Thank you to you and George who is excellent 👍👌👍👌👍👍👍
Fantastic poem!
You just know if he became a "rapper" he would slay the scene
Breathtaking
i absalutley love this poem!
He mentioned rubber and palm oil...but not their "real" trade that made them wealthy. I wonder why.... Hmmm.
Beautiful
My Benin my in heritage
Raw skills!!!
We Beni's, we will have those artifacts back to Benin City, by the Grace of God, we will have, Oba ghatorkpere ise.
A very powerful poem
It is like most works of art... fiction!
Amazing poem!
Please add a transcription and subtitles ; I know some teachers who would love to present this to their students.
+Gabriela Simões captions have been added. Hope this helps
+The British Museum Thank you so much. 😊
Check out my channel. I have documentary type videos on African history. I recommend you watch my "A brief history of the Benin Empire" and my most recent video. I actually had a teacher comment my Benin video telling me she showed it to her class. I was very touched by it.
The British Museum Are you the person rapping in the video?
@@neggro123 man said rapping hehehe
I don't know if it's true, but Wiki states that : On 29 November 2022, it was announced that the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, London had signed its Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria. The formal signing ceremony took place on the evening of 28 November 2022 in front of Nigerian royalty and other dignitaries. On 7 May 2023, the Bronzes were given to the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, through a presidential decree, and effectively became his private property.
The British hasn’t returned any of the stolen Benin artifacts, Germany has returned 22 but they have almost a thousand still in their museum.
Amazing poetry, thank you!
Well appreciated 👏🏾👏🏾
Powerful
thanks George The Poet for upholding Uganda
Great Benin Kingdom
emotional 😭
What a treat, George the Poet, what treat!
First heard you on TV from F1 in Monaco and now this, please do more history!
he's talking about some thing serious how is it a treat
At first, all I could think was that I was surprised that The British Museum allowed him to make the video there since he's literally calling them out as the colonist thieves and murderers they are. But it's such a powerful poem! I was going to share it...until I realized The British Museum posted it. War criminals who still refuse to return their spoils, then post a video about it for marketing purposes?! The definition of irony right here, folks!
This video does not have nearly enough views :(
THE GREAT ONES NEVER DO, SADLY.
well done george; well done❤
WOW!
Two words: History Debunked. Look it up on UA-cam....
what is the title and the author of this poem, can anyone share? Thanks a lot!
Owner: Return my stolen items
Thief: Here is a poem for you 🤝
Fascinating 👌from a Bini man 🫅🏿
👍🏿💯🔥
The subject of Benin's history, and its relationship with the Portuguese traders in particular is incredibly complex and very interesting. The British came 300 years later. I thought this poem was very good but somewhat lacking in the historical facts. It's an eye opening period of history very worthy of study.
British we need all our artifacts back to Benin city Nigeria.
👋💕🤔
Hey British Museum, it isn't too late to delete this! I find it strange that you would attempt handing us a history lesson when you could just return the stolen artifacts.
I watch this at school
I find it appalling that this is not told by a Benin poet, that it is a tale endorsed by looters through the lips of a Ugandan. Art should be pure, sincere and truthful.
Is that all the export of Benin? I recall not all benign. Benin is empire and shall he reign no differ than Britain. The plunder he obtain and enemy they slain and from pain, a margin they gain. Should we sweep under Ewe, or under the throne in London. Good story we gain, hope history washed by rain.
God said he will return everything they stole an more .
GIVE THEM BACK TO THE PEOPLE KNOW
Give the people back too.
nice...but it's hard to follow a brits accent...I wish you could of included the written part in the.decription....he put a lot of creative thought and talent into this....and it's nice to hear it in thr poets.voice...but I prefer a curator talking about thr piece....sorry.
+Sislertx captions have been added. Sorry for the delay!
+talk2me9ja sorry for u
The great Benin kingdom!
Love GtP, this really is great, and has great impact. However, having studied the Benin Bronzes I have to say not totally correct in my understanding. For instance, the brasses were certainly not on the palace walls at the time of looting, it makes the crime no less heinous, but I think that is one fact which is slightly misrepresented. Additionally the expedition which left only two survivors, difficult to summarise in poetry, but there is much more context to it than expressed in this poem.
Did the King of Benin own and trade slaves?
Never owned and traded slaves they would sometimes trade a few war captives
We never owned or trade slaves
@@RileyFreeman_ Slaves.
@Tusker1970 The Benin Empire (Edo people/trube) in Nigeria 🇳🇬 is NOT Republic of Benin 🇧🇯 (country) formerly known as the Kingdom of Dahomey, who were trans Atlantic slave traders (this is public information). The Oba (king) of the Benin (Edo people) was not involved in the trans Atlantic slave trade , they traded with the Portuguese long before the British knew about them and showed up. Btw the Benin (Edo people) 🇳🇬 are NOT ETHNICALLY related to Benin 🇧🇯 (country and its people) in any way or form.
@@joye5761thank you ❤
Great value was lost
interesting poem .These are stolen artefacts from benin empire by the British troops
Give it back!!!! Are you proud of your evil history? Don’t rub it in our faces. Give back the bronzes my people worked for. We bought the brass used to create these images. We didn’t steal it. It does not belong to the British Musuem, it belongs to The Benin People
who is here for the English homework
yo we wuz kangz an sheiiiit
Return stolen treasures.
The evil invasion of beninis kingdom by British force in 1897 was a backwards experience to the kingdom of Benin a strong kingdom was put under a corrupt establishment criminal organization government of fulanis military lslamic government of ñigeria may God almighty containue to bless Edo kingdom amen
George speaking in a stolen language. Time to return to the homeland with the bronzes, George.
How doubly ironic that only three of the exports that were exchanged by the Kingdom of Benin for the bronze in these plaques (ivory, pepper, and palm oil) are mentioned here. Of course the fourth export were slaves. History is never neat and tidy or so, if you will, black and white.
You fool where are your proofs??? Benin never sold or exported slaves.......The well known slave ports where Lagos, Bonny, Brass and Calabar. Calabar has the highest percentage of slave exports in the entire West African coast.....The Benin Oba's vehemently refused to engage in human trade the only place close to benin where slavery ever took place is koko in present day delta state and it was nana olomu of itsekiri that was in charge of that
Benin invented distinctive facial marks to clearly differentiate her people from others in other to wade off any slaver from ever capturing or selling an Edo Man, woman or child as slave
That's poetry ? God help us . . . Sounds like thinly disguised Anglo-phobia to me . . .
piss off
VonRyansExpress Are you a idiot......what the hell is wrong with you. You seem to just want a fluffy, sanitised, half truth view of history. That’s why people are so ignorant and disrespectful of other peoples cultures. Every country has unsavoury aspects to its past...one of Britains and the US greatest failings is that they like to pretend that past never happened, and it’s this denial that causes so much turmoil within both countries. Although not perfect, both countries could learn a lot from Germany....a country that faces up to its past, and makes it mandatory for all children to study it in school. Speaking about events that actually happened is not Anglo-phobia - maybe if you read more books about the true unsanitised version of your history you’d learn to be more tolerant.
"...thinly disguised Anglo-phobia", VonRyansExpress? It is about time the imperialist guff taught in British schools was challenged with the facts. I bet you believe the British were welcomed all over Africa and Asia. Might is right, eh?😉
Summed up my BA degree in a poem.🤎