History of Igueben at a glance

Igueben was founded around 1516, during the reign of the Benin monarch, Oba Esigie (1504–1550), who was one of the warrior kings of the great kingdom. War had broken out between the Kingdom of Benin and the Attah of the Igala Kingdom based at Idah, a town on the banks of the Niger River. Oba Esigie sent warriors in pursuit of men from Idah who had invaded Benin City. The Igala kingdom subsequently had to pay a yearly tribute to the Oba for this transgression. On their way to Idah, these warriors camped at a spot for a number of days before setting out on the final leg. Some months later when they had successfully accomplished their mission, they were returning home when they passed the same camp spot again. Whilst resting there, they found that the remains of the yams they fed on during their outward journey had germinated and blossomed. Searching for food and water, they found lots of succulent fruit and vegetables as well as many animals to hunt. The water from the springs also tasted good. They were very impressed with the fertility of the soil in this area. A further survey of the place showed that the landscape was flat and had no rocks or mountains; this they thought would be good for farming. There were lots of palm, coconut, rubber and walnut trees together with a variety of fruit like mango, orange, lime, guava, lemon, grape, pineapple, cashew, tomatoes, avocado pear, wild berries, peppers, okra, melon, pumpkin, banana, and plantain. There were also a wide variety of vegetables like water-leaf which grew easily and quickly. They found that tubular root crops like yams, cassava and sweet potatoes germinated and matured quickly. They knew that news of the discovery of this fertile land would please the king and decided that instead of going back to Benin, they would settle on the land and send their taxes back to him in the form of farm produce instead. They sent an emissary to the king of Benin to obtain permission to set up a new settlement in the area, ensuring that the king saw the advantages of a rich harvest and more crop taxes. After much deliberation, he granted them permission to settle and live there. To reward these soldiers for their effort and retain their loyalty, the king granted them the patent to engage in bronze casting for added trade; so they joined the Benin Royal Guild of Bronze Casters as the only ones outside of Benin City allowed to engage in bronze casting in the kingdom. (Anyone else caught doing this was put to death or banished from the kingdom, his family disgraced for ever). The new settlers perfected their craft of bronze casting and the production of the royal pestal called Eben. They cast and sent the Oba an Eben each year to show their gratitude and loyalty for this benevolence; this was accompanied by products from their harvest. The settlers later named the place Igue-Eben which means a village or camp for producing Eben; and so Igueben was born. The little settlement soon started to grow, particularly with the influx of traders from Benin city. They did business with distant lands toward the north eastern axis from Benin city. Its trade with other areas began to thrive and it became prosperous. Source wikipedia