This was the way…
I descend from the royal medical corps of the Benin empire court (current day Edo state in Nigeria).
My ancestors fled when the British terrorists attacked the walls and burned everything down in 1897.
Benin empire (not to confuse with current day Benin or Dahomey kingdom) was one of the rare African Kingdom which refused to get involved in the capture and sales of people to Europeans. They have built a huge wall to protect the Bini people.
Benin also refused Islam and Christianity, as the Bini mythology and rituals are far superior and more elaborate and knowledgeable than the foreign religions.
Benin Kingdom houses had tape water, street lights, fractal city design, guild of art, craftsmanship, masonry long before many other civilisation. It was one of the most advanced civilisation untouched by slave trade and colonialism until the end of the 19th century.
They have to resist attacks from Northern Islamic tribes, and that’s the topic of this post.
I will share with you two weapons my fore grandfathers had designed for the city protection.
First the bees calabash. Hundreds of calabashes were designed to host nest of bees. In time of peace, the bees produce honey, however in time of war, the calabashes of bees are thrown as target bombs on the invaders down the walls. Bees would immediately attack and often the enemies would flee never to be back.
A special herbal mixtures protect the Bini people from the bees. That was a very effective natural weapon of Defense.
Trees were planted around the wall where nest of bees are grown with wire triggers.
To take revenge on the enemy tribes, rodents are grown by thousands and unleashed on the enemy tribes crops during harvest seasons.
My grandfather had revealed more to us about the natural weapons that kept the city protected until the British terrorists came.
He explained to me what he thought went wrong against the British, but that would be for another post.