Umozo
The Umozo is a type of sword with a short, broad, and curved single-edged blade that was used by warriors during warfare (Bradbury 1973, p. 260; Osadolor 2001, p. 109). According to Benson Osadolor (2001, p. 109), it is remembered in Benin City as one of the oldest kinds of weapons used in warfare and “was better for the attack than defence”.
Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here