Emẹ
Emẹ is the generic term for monkeys in Edo (Ọbazee 2025, p. 99). They appear much less frequently than other animals, shown either in full form, crouching or resting on their haunches, with their arms threaded around or resting on their knees; in other cases, only their faces are depicted.
The monkey is associated with success and good fortune (Blackmun 1984, p. 158). In the early 1980s, Paula Ben-Amos (in Blackmun 1984) suggested that Emẹ are associated with the Ehi (personal destiny), “particularly when the Ehi guides one steadily upwards towards success.” Paraphrasing Osemwegie Ebohon (1979, p. 46), Barbara Blackmun (1984) also described a connection between Ọba Ewuare the Great and Emẹ based on a praise name for the warrior king: “the thin headed monkey who hurled himself at his foes.” Emẹ, along with frogs, are also used in palace rituals to promote success in battle (Girshick Ben-Amos 1999, p. 106).
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