Yet another lead which points to the supposition that the introduction of Christianity to Benin took place during the reign of Ewuare, and that this monarch, rather than his grandson Esigie. was indeed the first Christian King of Benin, is suggested by the fact that the introduction of the two gods, ENINA and AVBAVBA into the Benin Pantheon of Deities, is attributed to Ewuare.
Enina is the god of Mercy, and , avbavba the god of Forgiveness.
These two gods are personifications of some of the finest attributes of man. The attributes which they represent are important parts of the make-up of Christianity and of other religions as well. The attributes are harped upon continuously by these religions, especially by Christianity.
Mercy and Forgiveness are abstract concepts, but Ewuare concretized them and incorporated them into the Benin Pantheon of Deities. This says something about the sophistication of the thought -processes of this king of Benin of more than 500 years ago. He created a chieftaincy title, the ERIYO, to be the priest of these gods. Chief Eriyo ministers to the gods on behalf of the Oba for the good of the Benin kingdom.
Chief Jacob U. Egharevba writes in the ‘’Short Hisiory of Benin” about the names earned by Oba Ewuare from the peoples who are neighbours of the Benin people as a result of the known exploits of this monarch during his life time. The EKITI Yoruba said of him:
Qba Ado n’gbogun lodo ile, Ogbomodu n’gbe I’orun:
“The Oba of Benin wages war on the earth below, with the sound of thunder and lightning. As the god of Thunder does it, the skies.”
This description of Ewuare at war is, I believe, a clear reference to this king ’s employment of guns, and perhaps also, of cannon, in his warfare activities. A sword in action in battle does not make a noise like thunder. So, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Ewuare did employ fire-arms in his warfare activities, lf he did make use of these new weapons, and he must have obtained them from his Portuguese friends. Therefore, the long-held belief that it was during the reign of Esigie, Ewuare’s grandson, that guns first featured in Benin warfare, might need to be reconsider
