{"id":16713,"date":"2023-10-10T13:38:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T11:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastplaces.wwwarcelona.net\/?post_type=viajar_conocimiento&p=16713"},"modified":"2024-07-19T14:59:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T12:59:44","slug":"ije-tribe-benin","status":"publish","type":"viajar_conocimiento","link":"https:\/\/lastplaces.wwwarcelona.net\/en\/travel-is-knowledge\/ije-tribe-benin\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ije tribe of Benin, tattoo masters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ije tribe of Benin<\/strong>, also known as Ohori<\/strong> or Holi<\/strong>, are a subgroup of the Yoruba people. This ethnic group live in the South-eastern Benin, in the surroundings of Onigbol\u00f3<\/strong>, in between Pobe and Ketou. The Ije people are numbering 110,000 and their primary language is Ede Ije. Often, the Ohori people, together with Ifonyi, Awori and Ketu tribe are known collectively as ‘Nagos’ in Benin. Ije women have a distinctive way of self-fashioning; displayed in hairstyles, dressing and body decorations such as scarifications and tattoos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Last<\/p>\n

Ecosystem<\/h3>\n

The Ije natural environment is a swampy\/marshy waterlogged depression<\/strong> (Kumi swamp). Historically, the area had been a safe haven for people fleeing persecution from larger ethnic groups as the Ketu, Oyo and others. For that reason, they don’t received the influence of Christian and Muslim missionaries. This fact has allowed to the Ije tribe continue doing facial and body tattoos and scarification.<\/p>\n

Ije economy<\/h3>\n

The Ije are artisans, agriculturalists and hunters<\/strong>. Their art can be observed in their beautiful bamboo homes, their baskets, pottery and sacred wooden masks and reliquaries.<\/p>\n

Do you want to meet the Ije tribe of Benin?<\/h2>\n

Join the historian and journalist Juan Ignacio Incardona<\/strong> on his next trip to Nigeria and Benin<\/a><\/strong> from 7 to 18 of December 2024 to meet the Ije people. Click here for more details of the trip to Nigeria and Benin.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditional Ije tattoos and scarifications<\/h3>\n

Formerly, the Ije of Southeast Benin Republic marked the body with extensive scar tattoos<\/strong> called ‘kolo<\/strong>‘. They were a form of beautification and proclaimed the courage of the bearer. Women were the primary recipients. The patterns were acquired before marriage and prepared women for childbirth. They were gradually applied to the body over several sessions.<\/p>\n

Ije tattoo masters<\/strong> were highly sought after and held in great regard<\/strong>. Tattooists, priests, or village healers inserted herbal remedies into these incisions. Short vertical scarifications<\/strong> placed beneath the eyes of children prevented them from trembling, a condition caused by spirits. Herbal infused cuts near the mouth might add to a hunter\u2019s courage and increase his memory. Magical tattoos<\/strong> were employed to attract specific deities or their spiritual familiars into the bodies of the initiated. Also, small cuts were made on the crown of the head and special herbs were applied to ‘activate’ the vital essence of the deity itself.<\/p>\n

Challenges of the Ije tribe<\/h3>\n

Tattoo practice stopped in the early 1980s when Christian missionaries came to Ije land and started influencing the local traditions. Scarification is still widespread but tattooing is a fading tradition that will disappear with the last generation of fully tattooed women. At Last Places we are trying to revive this practice by bringing tattoo masters from other parts of Africa, such as Nigeria and Niger, and also from Europe to see ways of how this living art may survive in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can learn more about the Ije tribe<\/a> of Benin at www.101lasttribes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Photos by Edith Scharffenberg<\/a> and Jordi Zaragoz\u00e0 Angl\u00e8s<\/a> taken during trip to Benin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16034,"template":"","etiquetas_viajar_conocimiento":[],"categorias_viajar_conocimiento":[306,207],"autores_viajar_conocimiento":[199],"class_list":["post-16713","viajar_conocimiento","type-viajar_conocimiento","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorias_viajar_conocimiento-africa-en","categorias_viajar_conocimiento-benin-en","autores_viajar_conocimiento-joan-riera-travel-guide"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ije tribe of Benin \u25ba tattoo masters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ije tribe (also known as Ohori or Holi) from Benin are a subgroup of the Yoruba people notable for the practice of scarification\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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