The Alake and his Council, group portrait at the Opening of the Courts, Lagos, Nigeria

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art. Visual details below describe the original material.

Eleven Chiefs donned in ceremonial dress are seated with Colonial officials, at the opening of the Lagos Courts. The man sitting second from the left is the Alake of Egbaland, Gbadebo I, the paramount king of the Egba in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He reigned between 1898 and 1920. Sitting on the left of the Alake, under the largest umbrella, is his Government Secretary. The fifth sitting man from the left is the Agura of Gbagura Olubunmi, who reigned from 1897 to 1910. He is a ruler under the hierarchy of the Alake Gbadebo I. To the right of the Agura, beside the child and at the center of the first row, is the Mohammedan Chief, Suleiman. Each ruler is accompanied by their entourage, which hold umbrellas over the leaders to keep them from the sun and signify their prestige. The four men sitting to the right of the white colonial officials are more chiefs, possibly from the lower Niger region. The white man sitting on the far right wearing a pith helmet, is Cyril Punch. The mustached man to the left of Punch is W.H. Himbury. [Information provided by Taiwo Kola-Korolo (PT, DPT, MPH, OCS, CCI) May 2023. He is from the Yoruba speaking tribe of Mahin, in the llaje region of Ondo state, Nigeria. He is from a Royal family on both maternal and paternal lineages and the great, great, great grand scion of King Manuwa of Itebu. Paternally, he is from the Jadigba Dynasty, the gatekeepers of the "Ekine" (the mother of all Masquerades in Mahin). Taiwo is a Board Certified Orthopedic Physical Therapist by trade, Global Health specialist, a Poet, Philatelist and an avid lover and researcher of Anthropology and History. He has invested much time, effort, and resources in researching the history of his region which has not been coherently elucidated thoroughly based on Archival sources.].

Collection

W. H. Himbury photographs

Catalog date

[18--]

Recorded places

Africa; Africa -- Colonization; Abeokuta (Nigeria); Lagos (Nigeria)

Recorded subjects

Government and politics -- chiefs; Kings and rulers; Occupation, Colonial; Clothing and dress; Portraits, Group

Format and extent

1 Photographic print (albumen., b&w, 13.9 x 20.5 cm.)

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