Uhẹnhẹn/Ekuyẹ
Uhẹnrẹn is the older term meaning ‘spoon’. However, Ekuyẹ, which is a corruption of the Portuguese word colher, meaning ‘spoon’, is more commonly used today in Edo.
Included within this category are Uhẹnrẹn, which would be considered Benin-Portuguese ivories, as well as ladle-like spoons carved from wood. These ladle-like spoons may have been used to add palm oil to lamps (Roth, 1903, fig. 121, p.118 ). Whereas the latter would have been used as part of everyday, possibly domestic life, in Benin Kingdom or City, the former had a very different context of manufacture and use. Benin-Portuguese ivories, which such spoons are considered to be, would have acted as objects commemorating travels as well as signifiers of wealth among the Europeans who owned them.
Educational Material
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