IDNO

P.71362.GIJ

Description

A close up view of two Ibibio masqueraders kneeling down on the ground. The masquerader on the left is holding the chin of the mask with one hand and a stick in the other. The face of the wooden mask is round and consists of a high protruding forehead, slit eyes, nose, two slits on either dies of the nose, open mouth with teeth. There is a triangular white border around the forehead with two incised arched hair designs ending in coiled braids. The face is dark with white markings under the eyes, on the sides of the cheeks and mouth. Raffia or plant fibre is attached as a “hairpiece”. The costume consists of a dark shirt and woven cloth around the waist. The masquerader on the right is holding white sticks in one hand. The face of the wooden mask is round and consists of slit eyes, nose and mouth with three markings on the side of the face. There is a border around the forehead and two coiled horns emanate from the sides of the head. The face is dark with white diagonal markings from the eyelids to the cheeks and around the border of the head. Raffia or plant fibre is attached as a “hairpiece”. The costume is made of plant fibre. In the background are spectators.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; South Eastern Nigeria; near Umuahia; Uzuakoli area

Cultural Affliation

Ibibio

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.71320.GIJ to P.71399.GIJ were kept in box 3, now numbered C303/.

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 Ibibio, Ijo and Ogoni
2. Ibibio
3. Two masquerades from Uzuakoli (1st image).

Context: Jones devotes a chapter to the Anang (Ibibio) style and shows the diversity in the masks and sculptures. Jones writes that, “The Ibibio style was only one of a number of styles found in the Anang area. I called it Anang (Ibibio), distinguishing where necessary between Traditional Anang (Ibibio), the style of the Ekpo socieity masks, and modern Anang (Ibibio), the style of some of their Ekong masks and other more recent masquerades as well as some of most of the heads, masks and figures which they made for sale outside the area.

There is a wide range of masks and “it was in this style and in this area that Eastern Nigeria face masks attained their greatest development. They were heart-shaped, oval or rectangular in form and they could be carved on circular or on rectangular panels , they could have additional smaller faces carved on the forehead, on a superstructure above it, or on panels hinged to its sides. While normally human in form, they could on occasion be in animal form, or in a combination of human, animal or bird features in order to horify and strike terror into the beholder. But another type of Anang mask achieved this even more successfully by depicting 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. Another feature confined to masks in this Anang (Ibibio) style was the representation of the Idiong ring, a circlet of leather fitting tightly around the forehead - the insignia of a member of the prestigious Ididong society ofdoctors and diviners. Another exclusive feature which the ibibio shared with those of the Ogoni was the possession in many cases of a moveable lower jaw. Keloids and other scarifications were not of much use in distinguishing between Ibibio masks. Many carried a rectangular groups of them on each temple, often balanced by one in the center of the forehead, some carried a single vertical scar on the forehead, while some were without any facial markings.” (Jones, 1984, pp. 74-179)

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 14/1/2008]