african Mask Igbo Face Mask Cross River Nigeria African Tribal Arts masks for wall-G2074

SIZE(CM): 33.3/15.7
Some masks appear at only one , but the majority appear at many or all. Best known are those of the Ibo mmo society, which the of deceased maidens and their mothers with masks symbolizing beauty. Among the Southern Ibo, the ekpe , introduced from the Cross River area, uses contrasting masks to represent the maiden and the elephant spirit, the latter ugliness and aggression and the former and peacefulness. A similar contrast is found in their okorosia masks, which correspond to the mmo of the Northern Ibo. The Eastern Ibo are best known for masquerades associated with the harvest festival, in which the forms of the masks are determined by tradition, though the content of the play varies from year to . Stock characters include Mbeke , the European; Mkpi , the he-goat; and Mba , which appear in pairs, one a boy dressed as a girl mimicking the behavior the other representing the being satirized. A great many other decorative wooden objects are made,