Eastern Ijo or Nembe Ijo peoples, Nigeria
Early 19th to mid-20th century
Wood
31 x 8.8 x 9 cm (12 3/16 x 3 7/16 x 3 9/16 in.)
2005-6-86, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (cat. no. 56)
More/Less Information
The lives and culture of the Ijo revolve around the many waterways of the Lower Niger Delta region. There is a widespread belief in water spirits who are invoked in masquerades featuring carved wooden masks that are usually worn on top of the head or on the forehead. According to one myth, the masks originated when a woman who had been kidnapped by water spirits returned to her people with the plays she had seen beneath the water.
|