IDNO

P.72271.GIJ

Description

An Ekpe (Egbo) masquerader in a tight fitting faceles costume The costume is made of tight fitting netting that is stitched with a patterned geometric designs, around the waist are additional pieces and pouches of cloth. He is wearing a white hat with a black band is on the head. The masquerader is holding a staff in one hand and a white feather in the other. Male spectators are behind the character and a thatched buillidng with a pitched roof and bamboo fencing is in the background.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; Southeast Nigeria; Umuahia

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.71972.GIJ to P.72000.GIJ and P.72249.GIJ to P.72371.GIJ were kept in box 8, now numbered C297/.

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 achieved this (horror and terror) 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.” (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 said 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.”

Context: In relation to the costume in Ekpe masquerades, Jones describes the variations. He states that, “the actor wore all-enveloping tights which encased his head, limbs and body and were made of netted fibre in the Cross River, of raffia cloth in some Cross River Ibo communities. In the netted costume the actor’s head was completely covered and concealed by the net and he wore no headpiece. In the ones made of cloth the part that went over the actor’s face was sometimes given eyeholes or was worked into a cloth mask. In other cases it was removed and replaced by a wooden face mask. In the Cross River masquerades the characters with a very active role and referred to in early accounts of the Old Calabar Ekpe (Egbo) masquerade as Egbo runners, were dressed in net tights, while those with more decorative and stately roles wore drapes, which in Old Calabar masquerade were made of imported cloth. In some areas many of the characters performed vigorous dances which involved mainly stamping and other movements of the feet with rattles attached to the ankles and also sometimes to the waist, which were shaken in time to the drum orchestra (Jones, 1984, p.43).

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)
Jones, G.I. 1989. Ibo Art (Shire).

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 13/12/2007]