Öka Travelling Blacksmiths

Son of the late Eze Nri at Oreri, wearing Benin-style bronze pectoral mask. Photo: Thurstan Shaw, 1960.

Awka smiths working on the eastern side of the Niger among the Igala were known not only to copy but also to make outright purchases of bronze goods from local casters. These bronzes were sold to northern Igbo who used them in title-taking activities. Extrapolating from this experience, it is quite possible that Awka smiths exploited their particular sensitivity to metal goods and facilitated the distribution of these and other bronzes among Delta peoples. The programmed movements of Awka men, therefore, may well have influenced the flow of divergent bronze styles throughout the Delta.

– Nancy C. Neaher (1976). "Igbo Metalsmiths among the Southern Edo."