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Plenipotentiaries In Culture

By Ambrose Ekhosuehi (Last Update July 12, 2020)

Plenipotentiaries, (having full powers); mediate divine providence and human beings in culture. Mediators exercise intercessory role. There is also the possibility of direct access by human beings to the Supreme Being.

Plenipotentiaries are guardian spirits with full powers and are believed to live in the spirit world interceding for human long life. They are responsible for favourable and un-favourable happenings. Plenipotentiary angel is believed to be with human beings, each with a person all the day. At night they give account to Almighty God.

In Benin culture the Angel — Ehi is represented with an object — a pillar of white chalk (Osorhue) and does not want any blood sacrifices. The head is believed to be the helper and to render account of the happenings to it during the day hence Obo Ehi neo. Obo Ehi o ye; it is in the angel’s hand, Angel’s work; it is expressed whenever a person has achieved any thing extraordinary, or has had outstanding good fortune.

Ehi — Guardian Angel is the spiritual counterpart and guide of the living person. The living person and the guardian spirit are thought of as two in a single personality. Many people believe that these two in one alternate in successive incarnations.

The Guardian Angel, advise, remind and lead person to ask, request for every thing when praying because the angel knows best what to ask for. Their task is to guide person along chosen path and to ensure well-being. Of the person who is an irremediable social failure, it can be said that the person is misguided, close as a person and the angel, they are yet thought of as being independent agents and so there is a possibility of conflict between them.

Plenipotentiary must therefore be propitiated in much the same way as other supernatural entities and failure to do so, results in trouble. It is a personification of predestine and is the way a person has to go. It is the symbolic recognition that people are born with different endowments, with different potentialities for social achievement.

Plenipotentiary in one sense is an independent entity which allows things to be done and also leaves open the door to hope because it can be approached to set things right. At the same time, the notion that the Angel is really another aspect of human self recognizes that the failure is ultimately in one’s own make up.

In theory, the successful person is as much more beholding to the Angel as the people do in-deed to thank their Angels with offerings from time to time, but in practice there is a strong tendency to blame one’s plenipotentiary for failure and to attribute success to one’s Head or Hand.

The Benin people, like any other, vary tremendously in the degree to which they understand their own symbolism. They are subtle symbolic patterns of reference through which the interplay of innate potentialities, birth, individual character, skill enterprise, co-operation and competition can be recognized as governing the progress of the individual to adjust emotionally and intellectually to the vicissitude of life in human society.

They probably assist the person to shed some of the guilt for failure and provide a vehicle for the expression of self-satisfaction.

Numerous spirits with more or less specialized spheres of influence or activity can be found. It is said that every human being is assigned at birth to one or more guardian angels; that every blade of grass has over it an angel, and that every child has its protecting spirit.

There are also seventy- 70, guardian Angels of nations; one in charge of each state. These seventy tutelary princes of nation are either angels — or demons.

They are invested with full powers as special ambassadors — plenipotentiary; and of the 70 tutelary angels, only those of four nations are named — Dobiel for Persia, Samael for Rome, Rahab, Uzza, Duma, Semyaza, for Egypt and Michael for Israel.

Dobiel means bears god, is the guardian angel of Persia. In the light of the legend that all 70 or 72 tutelary angels of nations, except Michael, became corrupted through national bias, Dubbiel or Dobiel was regarded as corrupt and evil angel; Demon.

Samael belongs to the order of seraphim and is the first of the art critics. Samyaza was leader of the evil angel who fell. In Legend, he is the seraph tempted by the maiden to reveal to her the explicit name of God.
Rahab means violence, is the prince of the primordial sea.

Rahab designates Egypt as an earthly power of evil, an angel of insolence and pride. Rahab is called the angel of the sea. In Lore, Rahab emerges as the Great whore, triple goddess of Heaven, Earth and HeIl. Uzza, like Rahab, is the tutelary angel of the Egyptians.

Michael — who is like God, ranks as the greatest of all Angels, whether Jewish, Islamic, Christian; writings in secular or religious lore. Michael derives originally from the chaldeans by whom he was worshipped as something of a god —deity.

Michael is chief of the order of virtues, Chief of archangels, prince of presence, angel of repentance, righteousness, Mercy, sanctification, and tutelary angelic prince of Israel.

In Jewish Lore “the fire that Moses saw in the burning bush had the appearance of Michael, who had descended from Heaven, and is usually denominated the angel of the burning bush”.

Michael is one who provides sustenance for mankind. Christians invoke Michael as the benevolent angel of death in the sense of deliverance and immortality and for leading the souls of the faithful into eternal light. Michael is victory of Heaven, and is depicted as wing Angel with unsheathed sword, the warrior of God and slayer of the Dragon. He holds in his hand the scales of Justice.

In the war of the sons of light against the sons of Darkness, Michael is called the prince of Light. He leads the Angels of light in battle against the Legions of the angels of darkness.

Michael as the angel of light brought Asenath from Palestine as a wife to Joseph in Egypt. He saves Daniel companions from fire and is the destroyer of Babylon.

Michael is the spirit of the planet — Mercury and brings the gift of patience. Pope Pius XII in 1950 declared Michael the Arch Angel Patron of Policemen.

In all, plenipotentiary Angels have direct access and mediate divine providence and human beings with favourable and unfavourable happenings in culture.

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