Ẹyo Otọ
Ẹyo Otọ is a learning space about the objects and their Edo designations. Listen, view and read about their use, production and function.
Catalogue
Search, filter and explore data, images and linked research for 5,285 objects from 137 institutions in twenty countries.
Institutions
View objects listed in the 137 institutions in twenty countries currently holding historical Benin objects in their collections.
Provenance
Study the roles, biographies and object relations of provenance names found in the information provided by 137 institutions.
Map
Explore a present day map of Edo South (ancient Benin Kingdom) and Benin City. See the current location of the historical objects worldwide.
Oral History
Listen to oral traditions Benin people share, to transmit and preserve knowledge and cultural traditions from one generation to another.
Itan Edo
Itan Edo is the story of Benin Kingdom. Read about the cultural and historical trajectories related to kings, queens, guilds and more.
Archival Documents
Access the digitised archival documents that relate to the historic Benin objects, their provenance stories and the wider history of Benin Kingdom.
Archival Institutions
Explore a source guide of institutions that hold archival material related to the Benin Kingdom, its history and the objects shown on the platform.
Digital Research Tools
Study data on the platform with digital research tools and visualisations.
About the project
Mabel Osaruemwinnomwan Oviahon assists the content production and bibliographical reference for Itan Edo. Her extensive knowledge of Benin history and culture makes it possible to locate non-digitised texts in libraries in Benin City, particularly the Institute for Benin Studies, where she is a research assistant with a special interest in historical Benin objects, funeral songs and oral traditions. She collaborates in the establishment of an extensive bibliography brought together by Osaisonor Godfrey Ekhator-Obogie and on the documentation of oral traditions in Benin City.
Biography
Mabel Osaruemwinnomwan Oviahon is a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Benin Studies. She is a Research Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa, Nigeria (IFRA-NIGERIA). Her research interests are Cultural History in general and Benin Art History in particular. She worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Benin Studies until 2021. She is a graduate in the Department of History and international Studies, University of Benin, where she obtained her B.A in History. Currently, she is collecting and documenting funeral songs by the Benin people of southern Nigeria as part of an Institute for Benin Studies and IFRA-Nigeria collaborative project on digitalization.