Igho (manillas) translates directly from Edo to mean ‘money’, and as manillas were a form of exchange in the past, they were and are called Igho. Igho were the principal currency used within southern Nigeria during the Ọba dynasty. The British attempted to end the use of Igho with the NativeCurrency Proclamation of 1902, which prohibited the import of Igho with the aim of encouraging the use of coined money. However, Igho continued to be used, and in 1948 the British undertook a major recall dubbed ‘Operation Manilla’ to replace them with British West African currency. In contemporary Nigeria, images of Igho can be seen on the 100 naira banknote, illustrating their continued importance as a symbol of money and wealth.
Igho vary in size and weight, but they are typically horseshoe or semi-circular in shape, with flattened terminals. In the pre-colonial period, copper and its alloys (brass and bronze) were highly valuable in the Kingdom of Benin and across much of western Africa, and this metal was perceived as the ‘red gold of Africa’ (Herbert, 1984). The word ‘manilla’ has Portuguese or rather Latin origins, however the origin of the objects themselves is less clear (Johansson 1967). Although produced extensively by European powers such as the Portuguese and British from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, it is thought these forms were based on earlier armlets and neck rings made in West Africa. Edo oral tradition says that fishermen along the coast caught Igho in their fishing nets from the shipwrecks of European ships; meanwhile some people have also said Igho were made from other copper objects from the wrecked ships along the Bight of Benin.
For the Kingdom of Benin, Igho are highly important objects. In addition to being a form of money, they are depicted in artworks such as the plaques and are associated with the deity Olokun. Furthermore, it is believed these manillas served as the raw material for a number of the ‘Benin Bronzes’, re-casting currency into objects that reflected and re-enacted the Ọba’s wealth and divine right to rule through the objects used and displayed in the palace.