Oba Ewuare II, The Oba of Benin has frowned at a dance by a groom named Izoduwa Imasuen,and his groomsmen at his traditional wedding ceremony.
Izoduwa Imasuen and his men danced and twirled the traditional Eben (Royal Scepter).
The wedding ceremony, which was captured in a video that went gone viral on social media, incurred the wrath of the revered monarch, for downgrading the age-long tradition of the Benin Kingdom.
The Oba, in a statement dated October 18, 2023, and signed by the Esere of Benin, Chief S. O. Obamwonyi, described the action of the celebrants as an abomination, aberration and a distortion of Benin traditional marriage processes and procedures.
He warned that only chieftaincy title-holders are traditionally allowed to twirl the Eben while paying homage to the Oba of Benin, and it’s never a part of wedding ceremony.
The groom has via Facebook tendered a heartfelt apology to the Benin royal Monarch.