IDNO

P.71573.GIJ

Description

Onyema Ogadi, a boy’s mask on a masquerader. The mask is painted white with black markings to accentuate the eyebrows, nose, and mouth. There are black crisscross designs underneath the eyed and black circles dotted along the forehead vertically and horizontally, and the top of the mask is painted black. The mask has two black incised horns pointing out from the top and is covered in long raffia “hair”. The masquerader is wearing a striped, woven top. In the background are spectators. a building and trees.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; South Eastern Nigeria; Onitsha province; Nri Awka; Nimo [town]

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]

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.71504.GIJ to P.71662.GIJ were kept in box 4, now numbered C301/.
P.71573.GIJ to P.71585.GIJ were found wrapped in paper, now numbered C301/5/.

Context: Jones writes about boys masquerades and says that “uninitiated boys were expected to ‘play at masquerading’ and had their own masquerades, which were either imitations of those of their elders, like the Anang (Ibibio) Ekpo ntoke eyen (small boy’s Ekpo), or masquerades which had ‘died’, that is, had been discarded by their seniors and been replaced by others. For their masks and costumes boys made use of anything they could get hold of or make. Many of the cruder masks in European collections were probably made by boys for their masquerades; on the other hand I have seen them using very old ones discarded by their elders. The secrets from which the uninitiated were excluded, usually on pain of death, included the privacy attached to society meetings and information abut its rituals, masks, instruments for making ghostly noises and other property of the society. These were revealed to members during their initiation, together with instructions and training in their use” (Jones, 1984, pp.61-62)

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 19/11/2007]