Ọrhiẹvbẹ

Ọrhiẹvbẹ are boxes that would have been used to store and present kola nuts in ceremonial and ritual contexts. Kola nuts were, and are, given to guests by hosts as a sign of courtesy and friendship, as well as of peace, order, and civilization ( ; ). Ọrhiẹvbẹ were carved in a variety of forms, including antelope heads, mudfish, and more typical rectangular and oval shapes. Sometimes Ọrhiẹvbẹ were also decorated with hammered brass sheet on the outer surface.

There are three types of Ọrhiẹvbẹ. The first is the most common and is used by all. The second type has a hole in the centre and is called Ọrhiẹvbẹ-Ewuare. A host would only put an even number of kola nuts in the Ọrhiẹvbẹ as presents for guests. The most senior man among the guests would open the kola-nut bowl and break the kola nuts into pieces after prayer. He, the breaker, would take the first piece, the host the next, after which the bowl would be passed around in order of seniority. The prayer is first offered for the host, then for those present, followed by the people of the land, and finally for the Ọba of Benin. This is the custom of the land.

According to Paula Ben-Amos Girschick ( ), Ọrhiẹvbẹ carved from ivory would have been owned by the Ọba because of the symbolic importance of ivory and the restrictions placed on its use in the Benin Kingdom. It is believed that the ivory Ọrhiẹvbẹ, known as Urhiẹvbẹ-Eyan-an, were carved by members of the Igbesamwan. Meanwhile, members of the Igbesamwan, as well as the Emada, may have carved some of the wooden Ọrhiẹvbẹ ( ).