Rooster Figure (Ọkporhu)

The Benin bronze cockerels were not mere decorative objects but potent symbols of divine vigilance—their crowing was believed to awaken the ancestors each morning. The Okukor's aggressive posture, with raised hackles and open beak, visually embodied the Oba's role as the 'awakener' of his people, both spiritually and militarily."

— Barbara Plankensteiner, Benin Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria (2007), p. 301.