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SPEAKER_04: Since the beginning, Mercedes-Benz has been a champion of women. After all, a young girl named Mercedes inspired the company's name, and it's been dedicated to the next generation ever since. From June to August, we shared bonus episodes that highlighted some of Mercedes-Benz's employees and ambassadors who've been encouraged to pursue their dreams and have broken barriers while doing so. We also shared the I Am Mercedes campaign, which focused on young women across the country named Mercedes who are making a difference in science, technology, social change, and in the creative arts. Thank you to the people at Mercedes-Benz for their sponsorship and for support of Womanica and Women Everywhere. To listen back to any of these bonus episodes, please head to the show notes.
SPEAKER_05: Hi everyone. From Wonder Media Network, I am Anamalika Tubbs, the author of The Three Mothers, How the Mothers of MLK Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. My work focuses on motherhood through the lens of feminism, intersectionality, and inclusivity. Be your guest host for this month of Womanica. This month, we're talking about mothers, women who ushered forth new generations and new futures through their care, work, and imagination. Today, we're talking about a woman who rewrote the rule book on mothering in ancient Benin. She fought for her son's life and place on the throne and made herself a queen in the process. Let's talk about Queen Idia. In the late 15th century, a prosperous kingdom flourished in West Africa, the Kingdom of Benin. Its tropical forests teemed with wildlife, leopards, pythons, pangolins. The waterfront saw trade with civilizations near and far. Benin's oba, or king, were a tunic of red coral beads brought to the kingdom's shore from as far away as the Mediterranean. But the kingdom was also fiercely independent, powerful in both its economic influence and its wealth of warriors. Its position between societies further inland and Europeans on the coast allowed the kingdom to control commerce in the area. Benin was a trade capital, a hub for gold, ivory, and pepper, as well as the West African slave trade. This is the Benin Idia was born into, and the kingdom's potential collapse spurred her into history.
SPEAKER_05: Idia was the second wife of Oba Ozoluwa. Idia and one of her co-wives gave birth just a few hours apart, and technically Idia's son, Esige, was not the firstborn. Legend says that while he was born just after his brother, Arhuang, Idia was able to inform the oba of Esige's birth first. This fast action meant that Esige could become heir, despite the fact that Arhuang was the true firstborn son. All the same, Idia nurtured her son and raised him to ascend to the throne. She knew that their best chance at survival and her best chance at gaining any power lay in Esige taking the crown. As the two sons grew up, they led two important cities. Arhuang was based in Uro, about 20 miles away. Esige and Idia lived in Benin City. That distance gave Idia the leeway she needed to prepare. She used her knowledge as a priestess to school Esige in prayer and medicine, and together they raised an army to prepare for impending war. At the end of the 15th century, Oba Ozulwa died. The dispute for the throne was immediate. It rattled the kingdom of Benin, nearly shaking its foundation as a political and cultural center. The neighboring Igala peoples saw the opportunity to stage their own attack on Benin's northern territories. Idia's army, including Idia herself, fought them back. In Benin oral tradition, Idia stands as the only woman to have gone to war. When the war came to its conclusion, Esige became the 16th Oba of the Benin Empire. But even after the war, with her son's position protected, Idia was in danger. Tradition stated that once an Oba was crowned, his mother must be eliminated to rid the throne of future threats. But Idia had been instrumental to Esige's success. He hid her away in a secret shrine while he worked to get rid of the custom. Once he succeeded, Idia returned to Benin as a venerated leader in her own right. He created a new title for her, Iyoba, or the Queen Mother. As Iyoba, Idia was given her own residence with villages, chiefs, and servants to oversee. She gained the right to bear a sword of office and to wear the red coral beads of the Oba, rights previously assigned only to the closest male followers of the Oba. Idia ruled alongside her son, counseling him on his own kingly duties. And even after Idia's rule, the Iyoba remained an important role. The Queen Mother had no other children and devoted her life to protecting the Oba. Obas even wore carved ivory masks representing the Iyoba during important ceremonies. After Idia died in 1550, Esige commissioned a carved ivory mask of her likeness. Two vertical bars of inlaid iron between her eyes symbolized small incisions filled with medicine, one source of her metaphysical power. The mask was placed on ancestral altars throughout the history of the Benin Kingdom and into modern times. In modern day Nigeria, Idia's mask is also revered. In 1977, it was selected as the official emblem of the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. All month, we're talking about mothers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanaka Podcast. Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow.
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SPEAKER_01: Do you hear it? The clock is ticking. It's time for the new season of 60 Minutes. The CBS News Sunday Night tradition is back for its 56th season with all new big name interviews, hard-hitting investigations, and epic adventures. No place, no one, no story is off limits, and you'll always learn something new. It's time for 60 Minutes. New episode airs Sunday, September 24th on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.