IDNO

N.13244.GIJ

Description

A Mau (Ghost) masquerade depicting four masqueraders:
Iro Ekpetu (Merciless), Eju Ono (Long Mouth), Iro Ekptu (Merciless) and Awo Ohia (Traveller or he who travels through the bush) and his attendant.

A Mau (Ghost) masquerade depicting four masqueraders:
Iro Ekpetu (Merciless), Eju Ono (Long Mouth), Iro Ekptu (Merciless) and Awo Ohia (Traveller or he who travels through the bush) and his attendant. From left, Iro Ekpetu (Merciless) is wearing a black,fierce face mask, with eyes and protruding teeth painted white, cloth top and tights, and a raffia skirt around the waist. Iju (Eju) Onu (Long Mouth) is wearing an animal-like mask painted black with white marking and horns, a cloth top, tights and a raffia skirt around the waist, holding two sticks in a frightening? position. Iro Ekpetu (Merciless) is wearing a black,fierce face mask, with eyes, nose, mouth and ears painted white,with a cloth top and tights, and a raffia skirt around the waist. Awo Ohia (Traveller - he who travels through the bush) is wearing a netted striped costume in which the whole body is completely covered and concealed by netting; the netting on the head is black and the netting from the neck down is patterned and striped; this character is not wearing a mask. An attendant stands behind him. All characters are waving thin ?stick switches. In the background are mud and thatch buildings, a child, trees and vegetation.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; South Eastern Nigeria; Ontisha Province; near Awka; Amuda village

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]; Isuochi

Named Person

Iro Ekpetu; Merciless; Eju Onu; Long Mouth; Awo Ohia; Traveller [names of mask characters]

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 “ISU-OCHI - etc. ...” by G. I. Jones, and numbered “C13/” by the cataloguer

Context: During the Mau or ghost masquerades, there are different ’characters’ who perform in the masquerade. Jones writes about the division between ‘beautiful’ and ‘ugly’ characters. The former were thought of as beautiful, serene and usually female beings, the latter as dangerous, aggressive and masculine. The beautiful were usually white-faced with black hair an gaily decorated head-dresses. The fierce were black and red. The modes of the former were rounded and angular, those of the latter also included the stylised and occasionally abstract, and the carving often incorporated fangs, horns, beaks and other fearsome animal features (Jones, 1984, p. 139). More specifically in relation to Iro Ekpetu:, Jones describes a masquerade performance in Amobia in which there were many different characters and one of the masqueraders was a black fierce and masculine creature with masks that combined animal and human features (Jones, 1984, p.59) whereas Oji (Eju) Oni (Long Mouth) belonged to the benign or comic animal category. The frontal part of his head mask projected forward as a muzzle or pair of jaws, the middle section carried a high human forehead and a high carinated human nose, occasionally flanked by bulbous eyes; the rear part as finished off with horns or animal ears or more abstract projections. Jones also mentions that some of the characters do not always wear masks, but hey wears netted costumes in which the actor’s head is completely covered and concealed by net but without a mask or headpiece.

Aniakor and Cole discuss the differences between beauty and beast and good and bad.

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press); Cole, H. & C. Aniakor, 1984. Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos (Museum of Cultural History, University of California)

Publication: The photograph has been digitised for the European Collected Library of Artistic Performance (ECLAP) and is accessible on the portal http://www.eclap.eu/drupal/. [SG 30/10/2012]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 18/10/2007]