Ẹroro are an important part of the spiritual worship of Benin people. They are lined along the front of the ancestral altar and are used to summon the ancestors to join their descendants and partake in the ceremony.

In English, the term bell is used to describe the objects described as Ẹroro as well as 

. Most bells are Ẹroro and are made from brass and less commonly ivory. The clappers can be made of brass/bronze, iron, bone or wood. Ẹroro, which are quadrangular in form, were also depicted in other objects, such as plaques and sculptures of individuals. These offer an insight into how such objects were used and indeed worn, usually as part of regalia worn by the Ọba, chiefs and warriors. For example, quadrangular bells are seen being worn around the necks of warriors on relief plaques.

Ẹroro

Many bells from the Kingdom of Benin are held in museum collections today. Among these, Digital Benin researchers have identified two kinds: Ẹroro and Aza.

Bells are made from brass and, less commonly, ivory, and the clappers are made of brass/bronze, iron, bone or wood. The ringing of bells was critical to summon spirits and ancestors, and bells are also one of the typical altar objects which would furnish ancestral altars. Quadrangular bells were also depicted on plaques and sculptures of individuals. These offer an insight into how such objects were used and even worn, usually as part of the regalia worn of the Ọba, chiefs and warriors. For example, quadrangular bells are seen around the necks of warriors on relief plaques.

Bell

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Website

Online Catalogue

Manuscript collections

Photographs, sound, film and archive collections 

Pitt Rivers Museum

Internal Data (eng)

Braithwaite Batty, Beatrice

Collector

Donor

British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

Member of the British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

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