A horse fantasia is a middle eastern tradition were a row of horseman in traditional regalia gallop for 700 feet and then fire old style muskets toward the heavens. If you are of the Bariba people of northern Dahomey/Benin, what a great way to remember when Persian King Kisra might have passed through. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
As practiced on this stamp, a fantasia might lose some of it’s magic. The row is only two and one is a woman, notice the closest is riding side saddle. Also the muskets are replaced by spears, so you will lose as well the heavenly directed booms at the end. The Bariba people are divided between modern Nigeria and Benin/Dahomey and don’t have much political power, so perhaps this is a way to not let them get too full of themselves.
Todays stamp is issue A57, a 2 Franc stamp issued by independant Dahomey on August 24th, 1970. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. There are later overstampted versions showing the country’s later name Benin and currency devaluations.
There are several versions of the Kisra legend. One is that he was Persian King Kosrough who after being defeated in Egypt by the Byzantines around 600 AD was unable to return to Persia and so his army wondered west Africa. The other is that Kisra is a translation of Christ who lead an army of Arabs against Mohammed and was defeated and his army wondered west Africa. Gosh even in their own legends, armies wondering west Africa are losers.
As Kisra’s army wondered, they attracted many Africans. He in turn would name them chiefs of their area. One of these was Sero who Kisra named King of the city if Nikki in modern Benin. He previously been his horse groom. Sero’s son, Sabi Simi took a wife from each of the five area Bariba people clans and through those wives created 5 Royal Dynasties that united the Bariba people. Stickler’s will note that the Kisra legend is unproven and it is currently thought that the Bariba people had arrived in the area from the east 600 years later than Kisra.
Nothing wrong with a good legend though and every year there is a Gaani Festival presided over by the would be Emperor of Nikki. There is a lot of dressing up and sacred trumpets and drums. Of course there is also a horse fantasia.
Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting