Zemanek-Münster

Elephant headdress for "ekpe" masquerade

Nigeria, Igbo, Ohuhu-Ngwa
not available anymore
Provenance
Pierre Loos, Brussels, Belgium
Size
H: 35,5 cm
H: 14.0 inch

Description

wood, tusks separately carved, polychrome painted,
In “ekpe” dances several pairs of headdresses appear. Present mask type, the masculine elephant-spirit is paired with a maiden-spirit considered his wife.

“Ekpe” festivals are year-end harvest celebrations thanking ancestors and Earth for abundant crops and children and honoring great warriors of the past.


Comparing literature

Cole, Herbert M., Invention and Tradition, Munich, London, New York 2012, p. 110

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