Aken’ni Elao (altar tusks) are usually ivory tusks carved with scenes of ceremonies or spiritual activities. These were placed at the ancestral shrines of the Ọba and were primarily made as a historical record for documenting events. For the Edo people, the white colour of ivory represents the purity of spirituality. The Ọba owns one tusk from every elephant killed by right and reserves the right to buy the other one. Aken’ni Elao are placed in the opening in commemorative heads at the ancestral altar.

) speculated that the Igbesanmwan began carving tusks specifically for altars around 1750 during the reign of Ọba Akengbuda. According to reports by members of the British expedition in 1897, carved ivory tusks were found on altars in Ọba Palace. Owing to the destructive nature of the expedition, and because so little was recorded, it has been difficult for scholars to reconstruct the exact ways tusks were used or their number (Blackmun, 1983, p.60

). However, a rare image taken by Cyril Punch in 1892 shows an altar with tusks and other objects arranged on top. It is believed that tusks – carved and plain – were mounted on bronze commemorative heads and placed on royal altars.

This category includes whole tusks as well as fragments.

Aken'ni Elao

Altar Tusk

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.

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