IBIBIO, NIGERIA

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Among the Ibibio in Nigeria, the Ekpo society acted as an agent of social control, propitiating the ancestors for the welfare of the group, upholding the authority of the elders, and generally maintaining order in the absence of a centralized state. The security structures of daily life were assured by the appearance of the ancestors through wooden face masks. These portrayed the consequences of one’s actions in life and the effect they had upon a person’s spiritual destiny.

Disfiguring diseases were regarded as divine retribution for misdeeds, a justified punishment inflicted for transgressions of the social contract. A mask depicting a face ravaged by leprosy, gangosa, or smallpox showed the reward one could expect from evildoing, striking fear into the public and instilling respect for the rules of the Ekpo society.

Once a year, Ekpo masks emerged from their secluded forest lodges and appeared in the village for a period of about three weeks. Maskers performed largely for initiated men, but on the first and last days of the harvest season a performance open to the entire population took place at the most important marketplace. Once gathered, the ekpo dancers swirled around the arena with incredible vigor and unpredictability, lunging and leaping in chaotic bursts, threatening the crowd and one another. The Ibibio recognized that once a mbop (mask) was put on, an ancestor’s soul (ekpo) possessed the wearer, allowing the masquerader to commit acts of havoc with impunity.

This remarkable mask is elaborately structured, showing a skull-like face and additional maskettes to either side. The macabre grin and wide, staring eyes of this mask must have enthralled the crowds before whom it danced, leaving a lasting impression of a stricken soul.

Publication History:

Robbins and Nooter: "African Art in American Collections, 1989" #707

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