Yams cult mask "mma ji" · Nigeria, Igbo-Afikpo · ID: 3047120
not available anymore
Provenance
Heinrich Siemers, Bayreuth, Germany (coll.1969/70 in Cameroon)Size
H: 36,5 cm
H: 14.4 inch
Description
wood, pigments, plant fibre, cord, base
The upright projection on this mask represents a yam-cutting knife “mma ji”, which gave the mask its name.
Accordingly, the masks appear, among others, at dances of the “ikwum” society, performed to thank ancestors for the strength given to men to cultivate fields.