IDNO

N.13126.GIJ

Description

Part of the Nkporo Ifogu masquerade.

Three masquerade characters: two wear all-over raffia costumes, crested feather headdresses, striped raffia net hood which tapers to extended points, and waist cloths. They each carry a folded cloth. The third character known as Ogwu Aba ( singer) is wearing a loose raffia costume, raffia headdress, and striped raffia net ‘mask’ which tapers to a point. holding a staff. There is a crowd and a thatched building in the background.

Physical Condition: Slight yellowing of negative.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Eastern Nigeria; Cross River; Etitiama village

Cultural Affliation

Nkporo; Ada group; Cross River Igbo; Igbo

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

1932 - 1938

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Format

Film Negative Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in a film storage album labelled “Masks & Plays - Nkporo.” by G. I. Jones, and numbered “C11/” by the cataloguer.

Publication: Same image published on John McCall’s G.I. Jones website with the following information: [Source: www.siu.edu/~anthro/mccall/jones/, AF ]
1. Index to Nkporo Igbo
2. Two Ofogu? masks, Boys initiation, Etiti Ama (17th image).

Context: G. I. Jones describes this specific masquerade in his article ‘Ifogu Nkporo’: “Following [the two main dancers] were two apparitions that seemed to have made rather an unsuccessful raid on a repertoire company’s property chest and come away with some acrobatic tights and Hiawatha headdresses. Over their faces they wore the same raffia bags as the band. One corner of the bags hung down in front of their faces like the drooping snout of a tapir, and when they wanted to see where they were going they stroked their snouts with their hands and drew them out in front of them. How they managed to get into their tights, which were of woven raffia, was an unsolved mystery.” (Jones.G.I. 1939, p.120). He goes on to discuss the other character, Then came two announcers, creatures with similar snouts and covered from top to toe in loose raffia till they looked like perambulating hayricks. They carried staffs in their hands and wandered about making announcements which nobody listened to.”

Further description of the masquerade is found in the caption under a similar photograph, “Ifogu masquerade, Nkporo tribe, Cross River Ibo. Hooded character with headdress of birds’ feathers and a rosette of cowrie shells, attached to a netted bag with streamer ends that can be pulled out in front in order to see the way. He has to be sewn into his costume of raffia sacking for each performance.” (Jones, 1989, p. 62, plate 54.)

Bibliographical Reference:
Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press); Jones, G.I. 1989, Ibo Art (Shire); Jones, G.I. 1939, Ifogu Nkporo, Nigerian Field, Vol. VIII, pp. 119-121.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 30/10/2007]