Nigeria Trip - Part 2

The second part of our trip took place in Benin City, where Efe was born! Shortly after we arrived, Mason was baptised.
I am aware that many people believe that Jesus looks very differently than what is depicted of him in pictures in Indiana, but I have to admit this is the first time I've ever seen an African Jesus.
Father Omesa (who baptised Mason) invited us over a couple days later for dinner. One very common food there is called "Ema". It is yams (though not the sweet ones that we know, they are more like potatoes) that are mashed and pounded. You then pull a piece off with your fingers, and dip it into some soup to eat the two together. They tried to get Efe to eat some, but he already knew he didn't like it. I gave it a try and it was pretty good! I went back for seconds and then they all teased Efe about me liking it because he didn't like it himself.
We went to meet Efe's grandmother (his Dad's mother). She was so sweet. She came out of her bedroom, hunched over with a cane. I saw her hug Maro and she just held on while singing a song. I thought it was so cute and sweet. Then, she did it to everyone, including me! :) Mason got to meet her for the first time.
A couple days later, it was a party at the Aghimien house. Efe's cousins came over and were up all night cooking traditional Nigerian food for the party. It was so nice of them and the food was great.

On our last day, we got a very special treat. We got to go to meet the King of Benin, or the "Oba". This was a rare honor, so I really didn't know what to expect.

We entered a room with blue walls and pictures of people that looked presumably important. On one side of the room were large chairs full with men in full-length white dress. On the other side were large, antique-looking chairs that were empty. Straight in front of us sat the Oba, wearing an all white, satin-looking gown with a cap.

We walked straight in and Efe's dad made a salute that I did not recognize to the Oba. We all fell to our knees. As I knelt, I waited to see what would happen next. The Oba made a motion telling us we could get up and sit in the empty chairs that were waiting for us. We all sat. I was nervous that Mason would not oblige, but he did well.

Next, the Oba asked Efe's dad something in Edo, a language that neither myself nor Efe understand. Efe's dad stood up and talked for a while. He then introduced each one of us, one at a time. After he was done speaking, the Oba gave us money! I was surprised and not sure why he was giving us money. Efe's dad later told us that he does give out money but I never fully understood why.

The Oba then told us that we could have a picture. We all walked up to get close. I guess I was getting too close, because one of the guards nudged me to back away. Even though none of us could touch him, he called Mason over and let him shake his hand. I don't think Mason knew how lucky he was.

To view all of our pictures from Nigeria, please click here