Elubasẹ/Isevbere
Description
Elubasẹ are a type of Eguen, an anklet which has integral rattles. The rattle pellet is made from fibre originating from the Urua palm (Borassus flabellifera). Each rattle is about 5 cm in diameter and contains two or three Esalobo grains. According to oral tradition, Eguen anklets were introduced into Benin by Ogiso Ere in the tenth century. Elubasẹ are worn by children as a way to track... Read more
Elubasẹ are a type of Eguen, an anklet which has integral rattles. The rattle pellet is made from fibre originating from the Urua palm (Borassus flabellifera). Each rattle is about 5 cm in diameter and contains two or three Esalobo grains. According to oral tradition, Eguen anklets were introduced into Benin by Ogiso Ere in the tenth century. Elubasẹ are worn by children as a way to track their movements.
As early as 1899, Read and Dalton commented that the anklets worn by figures on plaques were a signifier of high rank. Today, anklets continue to signify social status – the Ọba wears many ivory and coral anklets up his calves as part of his ceremonial regalia (Okpokunu, Agbontaen‐Eghafona & Ojo, 2005, p.162). However, anklets were not the preserve of the Ọba alone, and different kinds and quantities were worn by other members of the royal court and Edo people. For example, Flora Kaplan (2006, p.85) described a photograph of Iy’Ọba Aghahowa N’Errua, who took her title in 1981, in which she wears coral anklets as one of a number of insignia of her newly invested high rank. In contrast, brass anklets would be worn by young male attendants to the Ọba (see attendant figure), such as sword bearers or Omada pages (Kaplan, 2006, p.90).
Edo designations
English designations
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20 objects
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