An Ethnographic and Space Syntax Analysis of Benin Kingdom Nobility Architecture

The Benin kingdom is noted for its sophisticated brass art, large earthwork system, and complex political hierarchy. The kingdom style of nobility architecture has endured for hundreds of years, and a few structures may still date to ca. ad 900–1200. The complex floor plans of these large compounds appear to be based upon traditional kingdom social organization that is fast changing, however. Since most structures are still residences, some renovated, a study utilizing both ethnographic fieldwork and the technique of space syntax analysis proved useful to examine historical room meanings and functions and room access. This paper discusses a particular World Heritage site, Ogiamien’s Palace, and other Benin kingdom chieftaincy sites. It describes the symbolic and ritual meanings of residential room use and room plans that on observation show seemingly wide layout variation. The results of the cultural analysis are then compared against the permeability plans and the quantitative formulas of space syntax analysis, to confirm the traditional social nature of spatial use in chieftaincy palaces of the former kingdom and suggest an adherence to an underlying ideological paradigm. This paper takes the additional step of employing the software GraphPad Prism to determine real correlations among calculated values; the results indicate a strong cognitive consistency of design and use for the structures over time in spite of visible layout variability.