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

The British Museum’s archives are held in various locations across the institution. The items listed here aim to give an overview of the main locations where relevant archival and photographic material relating to objects from the Kingdom of Benin is housed. Key areas relevant for cultural objects from the Kingdom of Benin are: Corporate Archives; Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas archives; Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory archives; and the Anthropology Library and Research Centre.

Website

Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas 

Online Catalogue

Library & Archive

British Museum

Internal Data (eng)

Wikidata Link

Sotheby's

Auction House

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 more about the background of this statement here.

juju 

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dwarf

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aboriginal

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tribe

This word was redacted from the catalogue as a derogatory racialised word.

DB_redacted_word

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non-western

western-art

western museum

tribal

hofzwerg

For more information on this term and its violent and inherently harmful context to indigenous communities, see 

British Colonial Military Campaign on Benin, February 1897

expedition

exotic

negro

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Black Africa

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primitive

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medicine man

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