Uko Ẹkhaẹ

Uko Ẹkhaẹ (powder keg) directly translates to ‘powder container’ in the Edo language. These are usually small casks that were used to store and transport powder.

Only three Uko Ẹkhaẹ are known in collections today. These are cylindrical containers with a flat bottom and top and a small cylindrical opening, usually stoppered. They all have lugs, one at the base and another at the top, to allow for a strap so they could be slung across the torso and carried. Although covered in repoussé-decorated brass sheeting, these kegs are in fact made from wood. While they have been historically described as gunpowder kegs (e.g. Roth 1903, fig.139, p.129 ), , Plankensteiner (2007, p.303 ) points out the opening is too large for gunpowder to have been effectively poured into the narrow jet of a gun. Furthermore, residue analysis from the interior of one keg showed remnants of reddish powder, possibly a natural dye. Based on this evidence, the context in which these kegs was used is likely to have been ceremonial.