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Africa Ibibio peoples (Anang subgroup), Nigeria Mask for Ekpo Society Wood, pigment, incrustation, fiber H. 11 1/2 in. (31.9 cm) Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection Indiana University Art Museum, 87.24.1 This mask was carved for the Ekpo Society, a men's association dedicated to propitiating ancestors for the good of the community, upholding the powers of the elders, and maintaining social order. Its dark color indicates that it represents the spirit of a person who was immoral and evil and who therefore was transformed at death into a ghost and forced to wander the world for eternity. |