Iru
On the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn (bronze relief plaques) and Aken'ni Elao (carved tusks), a particularly sacred type of brass Iru is shown being carried by members of the Emuru. These are globular jug-like vessels cast in brass with a long neck, topped with a ram’s head form. However, fragments of a similarly shaped bronze object (E 1902.457) have been identified, suggesting that this may have been a rattle rather than a vessel ( ).
Members of the Emuru guild, which dates back to the reign of Ọba Ẹwuare I, are shown holding Iru, particularly on the Ama-Ẹrọnmwọn. According to oral tradition, these Iru were taken by Ọba Ewuare from Olokun’s palace. Their spiritual powers were manifested through voices chanting “ise,” the affirmation used in Edo prayers. However, when Olua succeeded Ẹwuare I, he smashed the Uru and found nothing inside them. Only afterwards were the Emuru instructed to carry Uru resembling those taken by Ewuare ( ; ; Chief Osuma in Bradbury 1958, B.S. 113).
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