BENIN CITY
The story of African clothing, to the extent that even exists, has been written by outsiders who focus solely on styles of clothing which adhere to preconceived notions of what constitutes ‘authentic’ or ‘traditional’ African clothes, whereas I would argue that any dominant clothing style adopted and acculturated by Africans has become African. As a result of this Western bias, we rarely if ever see documentation of historical African clothing which lies outside the realm of that which Westerners deem to be ‘authentically African’. The work of Chief Solomon Osague Alonge (1911 - 1994), the first official photographer to the royal court of the Benin kingdom in southern Nigeria, provides a rare opportunity to observe historical examples of West African clothing of international origin alongside the types of clothing which meet outsider’s preconceived notions of Africa. It is particularly interesting to note that imported clothing neither predates nor postdates ‘traditional’ clothing in Alonge’s work - the two styles were worn and memorialized both before and after one another, and concurrently. This progressive outlook was perhaps only made possible thanks to Alonge’s insider’s perspective on what constitutes Benin style.
His Royal Highness Prince Solomon Igbinoghodua Aisiokkuoba Akenzua during the coronation ceremony where he was crowned Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, the Oba of Benin, 1979
Queen Ohan Akenzua, royal wife of Oba Akenzua II, 1956
A Staples, F Kaplan and B Freyer, Fragile Legacies: The Photographs of Solomon Osagie Alonge, Giles, 2017