IDNO

N.13159.GIJ

Description

A documentation photograph of an Ekpe (Egbo) ‘pathological’ face mask. The mask consists of a black polished oval face with slit eyes, a distorted, crooked nose and deformed mouth.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Eastern Nigeria

Cultural Affliation

Ibibio; Anang

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 “IBIBIO & OKWU WALL” by G. I. Jones, and numbered “C12/” by the cataloguer.

Publication: Similar image of the same masquerade character is found in Jones, 1984, p.180, Figure 90 with the caption, “Ekpe (Egbo) figure.

Context: Jones writes about the distinctive types and features of the variety of masks found in the Anang area. He notes, “Another type of mask of Anang mask ahieved this (horror and terror) even more successifully by depiciting faces ravaged by disfiguring tropical diseases (for instance, rodent ulcers, gangosa, nodular leprosy). These ‘pathological’ masks were peculiar to the Ibibio, though some were copied by Northern Ibo.” (Jones, 1984, p. 177). He also writes, “In some of the Ekpe (Egbo) masquerades the only characters I observed were in the faceless tight-fitting or flowing net costumes in which the face of the actor was concealed beneath the net. In others (as represented by this photo) these types of costumes were combined with Traditional Anang (Ibibio) face masks. The masks were referred to as Isi Ekpo (Ekpo head) but the name of the masquerade was Ekpe (Jones, 1984, p.199)

Context: The Ekpe or Egbo society in the Cross River Area is described in detail by Jones. He writes that, “Their most widely distributed society and masquerade were called Ekpe, which the Efik of Old Calabar took over from their Ekoi neighbours and developed into a graded wealth society whose higher grades were restricted to those who could afford the exorbitant entrace fees. The Ekpe, known to European traders as Egbo, was distributed up the Cross River as far as Mamfe in the Cameroons. Ekpe was a spirit character that was never seen but only heard and the characters in Ekpe masquerades were siad to be his attendant spirits. Ekpe is the Ibibio and Efik word for ‘leopard’ but this society should not be confused with the so-called Human Leopard Societies, whose members were believed to transform themselves into leopards and in this form to kill their enemies.”

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)
Jones, G.I. 1989. Ibo Art (Shire).
Akpan, J. 1994. “Ekpo Society Masks of the Ibibio”. African Arts, Vol. XXVII, No.4, pp.. 48-53.

Related Image: This negative appears to be a unique image, with no matching print within the MAA Photograph Collections. [JD 1/2/2014]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 12/2/2008]