IDNO

P.61521.GIJ

Description

An Afkipo mask known as Mba. The mask consists of an oval white face with two slit eyes, arched eyebrows, long bridged nose, pouting open mouth, two linear markings on the face, three round circles on the sides of the cheeks, and a scalloped ridged hairline. A darker paint/pigment is used to accentuate the eyebrows, nose, mouth and facial markings. The top of the mask is a flat board, rectangular in form, extending vertically, painted in different colours.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Cross River area

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]; Afikpo

Named Person

Photographer

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

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1930 - 1939

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

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

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.61454.GIJ to P.61563.GIJ were kept in box 6, now numbered C338/.

Context: In reference to the two masks in this photograph, Jones wrote and article, “On the identity of Two Masks from S.E. Nigeria in the British Museum”. He writes that “the data about them are vague. They are said to come from S.E. Nigeria and to be probably from Ibo. They can without difficulty be identified as Ibo masks. The long, narrow face, the prominent, narrow nose, the protruding mouth, the slit-like holes, the diagonal cheek scars and the quartre-foil design on their crests are typical of Ibo features of their own - the board-like crest, the absence of ears, and the way in which a narrow belt of woven raffia is attached to the masks. These are all features which occur in the masks of one area of the Ibo country only, namely, that occupied by the Edda (Ada) Afikpo, Unwana, and Nkporo clans of the Afikpo division of the Ogoja province of S.E. Nigeria. The humanised ones are called akpara Oba or nwabogho. They are usually in pairs and are worn by young men, made up as girls, who dance facing each other, and take off the behaviour of young girls admiring themselves.” (Jones, 1939, p.33)

Context: The masks, sculpture, and culture of this area are described in detail by Ottenberg. He writes that, “ the Afikpo belong to an Igbo subgroup called Ada or Edda (Forde and Jones 1950, pp.51-56), which includes the Okpoha, Edda, Amaseri, and Unwana village-groups, all of which border on the Afikpo, Nkporo and Akaeze, both short distances away. The Ada have many common features in their history and culture. They have past associations with the famous slave-trading Igbo of Aro Chuku, some forty miles to the south, and their population includes other immigrant groups from various Igbo areas, as well as residue of ancient non-Igbo peoples having Cross-River cultures (the earliest in the Ada area). The Ada are known for the prevalence of double unilineal descent, for well developed age grade organizations, for their military and head-taking activities in the past, and for their characteristic forms of art and rituals. These features differentiate them from other Igbo and from the Cross River groups” (Ottenberg, 1975, p.3) In relation to masquerades, he writes that, “Each village also has a secret society, although it is not really very secret, for it lacks an exclusive character. All males are expected to join it by the time that they are adults, and many become members as children. It thus excludes females and uninitiated boys. The secrecy involves much of the initiation rites, certain titles taken within it, and some other events. The masquerades, which form one of its principal activities, are generally held in public, although there are secrets associated with them.

Context: Afikpo Art and masks are well documented by Ottenberg. He notes that the Afikpo use the same word ihu for mask and for face. Wooden masks are the major sculptural form of the Afikpo. “Putting on a mask turns a person into a sprit or mma. Ottenberg has identified twelve types of wooden mask types at Afikpo. “Each one of the mask has forms of the adult society has its own stylistic features easily recognizable by Afikpo and one or more names by which it is referred to. Many of the masks are associated with particular forms of behavior. A mask is sometimes found with a certain type of costume; sometimes the names of the mask and costume are the same.”(Ottenberg, 1975, p.17)

Context: Jones writes about the Ngusu Ada masks and describes their distinctive characteristics. See Jones, 1939, pp. 33-34.

Bibliographical Reference:
Forde and Jones. 1950. “The Ibo and Ibibio Speaking Peoples of South-Eastern Nigeria”. International African Institute, Ethnographic Survey of Africa, Western Africa, Part III) (London)
Jones, G.I. 1939. “On the Identity of Two Masks from S.R. Nigeria in the British Museum”, Man, Vol. 39, pp. 33-34.
Jones, G.I. 1955 “A Memoir of Early Field Photography”, African Arts, XVIII, no. 4, pp. 64-67.
Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)
Ottenberg, S. 1975. Masked Rituals of Afikpo. (University of Washington Press)

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 23/1/2008]