Also called the Church of the Oba of Benin and his elders, Holy Arousa Cathedral is a unique church in Benin City. When I say unique, I mean it. When I say church, I am not quite sure what I mean.
The truth is Arousa is quite an oddity but you will see what I mean soon:
The ‘Church’ Like No Other
First of all, Holy Arousa Cathedral is not really a church or a cathedral by definition. For one thing, in this building, Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists can worship together under the leadership of the Oba of Benin.
So you are probably thinking, ‘okay, so it is a shrine’. But not really. You see, the Holy Arousa was founded in 1517 during the reign of Oba Esigie, son of Queen Idia. It was thought to have been built by the King and the Portuguese Christian missionaries. Arousa means a site for worshipping God.
‘Wait a minute,’ you are probably saying, ‘did white Christian missionaries build what is essentially a shrine?’ Well contrary to popular assumption, some think Aruosa actually predates early Portuguese missionary interaction with the Benin Kingdom and is, therefore, older than six centuries and fifty years.
Edion Choir
A wonderful feature of the Holy Arousa is the choir. Don’t worry, I’m not about to say they are world-class. The choir, called the Edion Ni Kao Nomadode meaning the elder that will never go astray, is made up of elderly people. Yeah, at least there’ll be no insufferable oversinging soprano.
The Arousa Bible?
Once, the Ohen-Osa, or Chief Priest of the Church, explained that Holy Arousa has its own special holy book called The Book of Holy Arousa. This holy book was written by wise men with the dictate, teachings and sayings of the Ancient Benin Kingdom. I wonder if it has its Old and New Testaments, hmm.
Last Thoughts
Holy Arousa is one of the oldest churches in Africa. Today, it is common to see tourists from America and Europe visiting the church. I mean, tourists will go anywhere.
What do you think about Holy Arousa? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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