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1942.13.651

Bell

1942.13.651

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Collection type
Object
Description
Bell
Geographical reference
Nigeria
Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria
Calabar Port Harcourt Itu Arochuku
Cultural groups
Igbo
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1932
Date collected
1932
Acquisition information
Donated: 1942
Materials and processes
Material Iron Metal, Process Wrought
Dimensions
Depth 20 mm, Length: max 360 mm, Width: max 210 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1942.13.651 Other numbers: 13/1932
Research and responses

Arochukwu also spelt Arochuku is a town, Abia state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the road from Calabar to Umuahia. Arochukwu was the headquarters of the Aro, an Igbo (Ibo) subgroup that dominated southeastern Nigeria in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was the seat of the sacred Chuku shrine, the source of a much-feared oracle (called Long Juju by the Europeans) that acted as a judge for the Igbo supreme deity (Chuku) and that, as used by Aro middlemen, served as the major recruiter for the slaves sent to the port of Bonny (Ubani) for sale. The shrine and power of the oracle were destroyed by the British in their campaigns against the Aro people in 1900-02. [Encyclopaedia Britannica on line] [AP 29/6/2001]

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