Ahianmwẹ-Ọrọ

The Ahianmwẹ-Ọrọ, meaning ‘bird of prophecy’ in English, is a bird with a long beak believed to be a messenger of the spirit world. If it cries ‘OyaO’ (disgrace), it portends danger or disaster. If it cries ‘Oliguegue’ (be grateful), it portends good favour, fortune, or luck. If it persistently cries ‘OyaO, OyaO’ in front of someone, it is prophesying that the person should be cautious and should not undertake a journey, or should return home rather than continue. But if the bird cries ‘Oliguegue’ continuously, the journey will be favourable.

In 1515, as Ọba Ẹsigie passed through the gates of Benin on his way to fight the Attah (king) of Idah, the Ahianmwẹ-Ọrọ made discouraging sounds overhead, ‘OyaO, OyaO’, portending that disaster lay ahead. The Ọba ordered the bird to be killed and went on to win the war. He said, ‘Nẹ O gha yin Agbon, ghẹi daho Ahianmwẹ notiẹ oya’ (whoever wishes to succeed in life should not heed the bird of prophecy). On the Ọba’s triumphant return from battle, he commissioned the Igun-Eronmwon to make an image of the bird on the finial of a battle standard to remind it that the Ọba was not subject to the fate of ordinary spirits (personal communication, Patrick Oronsaye, 2022).

The identification of which bird the Ahianmwẹ-Ọrọ represents has been a subject of scholarly debate throughout the 20th century. Some have suggested that the bird is an African pied wagtail (Melzian 1937, p. 5), an ibis (Dark 1962, p. 46), possibly a kind of kingfisher (Ben-Amos 1976, p. 252), a hornbill (McCall 1975, p. 293), or, lastly, a white-tailed ant thrush (Nevadomsky 1988, pp. 76–77). In the case of the Ahianmwẹ-Ọrọ, however, Joseph Nevadomsky (1988, p. 77) posited that the exact species being represented was in fact less important. Instead, the aim was to “convey certain notions about the supernatural powers of the Ọba” and that the physical attribute (e.g., the long beak) was in fact the Ọba Ẹsigie’s casters’ way of seeking to “emphasise its vocal powers of prophecy, and, perhaps more importantly, the overcoming of these powers by the Ọba.”