Brooklyn Museum: Collections: African Art

Double Gong (Egogo). Nigeria, Royal Court of Benin. Edo artist, early 16th century. Elephant ivory, 14 1/8 x 3 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. (35.9 x 9.5 x 5.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Augustus Healy and Frank L. Babbott Funds, 58.160

Elephant ivory ornaments and ceremonial objects are among the most prized possessions in the court of the oba (or king) of Benin. Ivory is valued because the elephant is associated with the "king of the forest" in Bini thought and, traditionally, one tusk from every elephant killed in the kingdom was given to the oba. The white color of ivory was also associated with purity and with Olokun, the god of the sea, who is the oba's equivalent in the spirit world.

Ivory gongs are still carried by the oba on occasions such as the Emobo ceremony, in which the oba annually purifies and strengthens the nation by striking the gong to drive off malevolent spirits. The gong is struck with an ivory wand, but since it makes only a soft, dull sound, a royal retainer walks behind and strikes an iron gong as well.

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