Benin ancestral altars

In Edo culture, the creation of Benin ancestral altars plays a vital role in honoring deceased relatives, preserving family legacies, and facilitating communication with the spirit world.

This practice was and remains widespread throughout Edo society, with commoners, chiefs and the Oba of Benin, or divine king, all establishing some form of family shrine.

The origins of ancestral altars in Edo culture are believed to trace back to the early era of Kingdom of Benin, though the exact timeline is unclear.

The creation of ancestral altars serves to honour and affirm family lineage, celebrate the life and achievements of the deceased relatives, and preserve their memory through the display of symbolic objects placed on shrines.

[3] However, a 2008 publication by the Art Institute of Chicago theorized that the practice of creating ancestral altars most likely originated during the earliest periods of the Benin Kingdom.

The British believed that by removing all the sacred objects from the Kingdom it would break the ancestral power of the ruler in the eyes for the Edo people and the practice of human sacrifice would stop.

[2] The commoners' altar is a mud rectangle surmounted by a long row of rattle staffs, which reflect the activities of generations of senior sons.

Specific to chiefly ancestral altars is the wooden commemorative head, or uhunmwun elao, which represents the chief by accurately depicting the regalia of his rank.

[6] These altar holds objects commissioned to honour the leader being commemorated, and thus are adorned and activated on a regular basis with libations of food or animal blood.

[4] By dedicating altars to the Iyoba and honoring her through sacrifices, the Oba could harness his mother's supernatural powers and receive support and guidance from her during his reign.

[4][11] Unlike the public commemorative court ceremonies celebrated to honor the Oba's predecessor, the sacrificial rites given to the Iyoba are private and therefore not a state affair.

[11] Centred on top of the round clay altars, these rectangular cast brass tableaus depicted a royal figure surrounded by attendants and court officials.

[6] In Edo culture, the Oba's head is especially symbolic, representing the pivotal role the monarch played in guiding the kingdom and ensuring success during his reign.

[11] The commemorative heads were not meant to be portraits of the past Obas; instead, they served as generalized representations, crafted from materials like brass, terracotta and wood.

[4] These brass commemorative heads typically feature high coral collars, known as odigba in Benin culture, often resemble brickwork patterns around their neck.

[2][6] Additionally, sumptuary laws were enacted to restrict the use of brass, ensuring that it was reserved for royal commemoration, emphasizing the power and status of the Oba and his family.

[2][4] Commemorative heads of the Iyoba share similar features, such as the coral crown and hanging beads, but they are distinguished by a unique coiffure know as the "chicken's beak," (ukpe-okhue) a hairstyle that signifies their rank.

[4] Each tusk placed on the royal altars conveys a unique story that highlights the political, economic, and spiritual conditions of the deceased Oba's reign.

[11] Aligned with the coral beaded crown on the top of the brass head, these tusks protruded upward and serve to connect the world of the living to the spirit realm of the ancestors.

Oba Akenzua II's ancestral altars, 1936
Since the 18th century, or possibly earlier, oba's altars have been embellished with matched pairs of carved elephant tusks, reflecting the increase in ivory's value at that time. The tusks were anchored on brass commemorative heads. Ivory's white color evokes spiritual harmony for the Edo; thus, its presence enhances an altar's sanctity. Ivory's important role as a commodity controlled by the oba also made it attractive for use on royal altars.
This cast-brass head, from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, would have been commissioned for a royal altar in Benin. Its relative naturalism and shiny surface make it both beautiful and frightening, appropriate attributes for a powerful monarch. The coral-beaded crown and collar represent the regalia worn by reigning obas.
This figure of a hornblower, from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, probably stood on an altar dedicated to a deceased king, or oba. His conical hat and elaborately wrapped skirt with a projection on the left side all indicate that he is a court official. The necklace of leopard's teeth was worn only by warriors. The horn this figure once held is believed to have been a type called an erere, blown during ceremonial sacrifices. A motif on the figure's kilt depicting an elephant, whose trunk ends in a human right hand, identifies this work with the reign of the oba Esigie, thought to have ruled from 1504 to 1550.
Head of an Oba displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Nigeria, Benin Kingdom, Ẹdo peoples, members of the Igbesanmwan (wood and ivory carvers) guild on display in The Cleveland Museum of Art