Many different kinds of shrines and altars have been made in and across Benin City and the wider Kingdom over time. Due to the widespread destruction and looting of Benin City by British forces in 1897 during the expedition it is very difficult, if not impossible to establish with certainty where different objects may have been prior to February 1897.
However, the creation and maintenance of shrines and altars continued despite this destruction. Based on contemporary practices in and around Benin City, Charles Gore (2007[52]) has differentiated between three different kinds of shrines: royal, personal and community. These act on different scales and with different associations of object types and materials used to make those objects. These altars and shrines are placed within palaces, compounds and in their own purpose-built spaces, and may sit side-by-side with other altars and shrines. In the palace of Chief Ogiamien, there are over 30 shrines that serve different deities as well as ancestors (Nevadomsky, Lawson & Hazlett, 2014[51]).
Royal shrines include a number of ancestral altars, dedicated to deceased members of families. The aru erha, shrine to the father, is "the template for the constitution of many other shrines. It is the basis for the organisation of non-Christian households and underpins notions of kingship." (Gore, 2007, p.131[52]). Prior to 1897, deceased Oba's were memorialised in the Royal Palace, each with their own separate altar. Although destroyed by fire in 1897, when Oba Eweka II was reinstated in 1914, he introduced shrines to his 4 predecessors and a communal shrine dedicated to all prior Obas (Gore, 2007[52]).
Within households, personal shrines can sometimes be found. Gore (2007, p.132[52]) separated these into a further 2 kinds: firstly those which relate to the "cultural configuration of personhood in Edo society”. These tend to relate to ehi - similar to European conceptions of destiny or pre-destiny, uhunmwun - the head, and ikegobo - the hand. The Oba and Iyoba also both have their own Ikegobo, with altar objects cast in brass, rather than wood as would be the case for shrines belonging to any other figure in Edo society. The second kind of personal shrine are those set up for specific deities. There are many different deities in Edo belief, however the two most commonly and readily identified are Olokun, deity of fertility and wealth amongst other things, and Osun, deity of medicine.
The third kind of shrine are those belonging to communities. These typically serve a village cluster and, similar to personal shrines, are often associated with deities. In comparison to sumptuous royal shrines and some personal shrines associated with the Oba and nobility, these village shrines usually feature mud sculptures and accumulations of different objects, both natural and manmade.
Although it is known that many of the objects looted by the British from Benin City during the Expeditioncame from altars and shrines, it is much harder to make clear assertions regarding exactly which kinds of shrines different objects may have been part of. In the past, scholars have made suggestions depending on the iconography seen on and in objects, as well as the material from which they are made. However, these are assertions and may change as research develops. For this reason, we have decided to group together all objects which may have been on an altar or shrine of any kind together, rather than to try and specify exactly which kind of shrine or altar different objects may have been part of pre-1897.
This category includes a range of objects made of different materials: brass, bronze, wood, ivory, coconut shell and stone. Although the Commemorative Heads and intricately carved ivory Altar Tusks are some of the most well-known objects associated with shrines, there are many others. For example, Ancestral or Rattle Staffs, stone Celts, Carved Coconut Vessels and cast Altar Rings.