A dance crest mask of the Ekoi, from the Cross River area of Nigeria, made of wood and leather. It comes from the legacy of Amidou Kouandou, Grand Imam and notable of ministerial rank in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon, who died in 2014.

1. Leather-Covered Masks

According to the collection catalogue, the Ekoi of the Cross River area are known for masks, and also figures, covered with animal leather. Goat leather was used most often, but antelope leather as well. The covering over a carved wooden core is the defining technique of this tradition and of the present mask.

2. Performance

The catalogue explains that these masks were performed in smaller groups. The body of each dancer was covered with a cape, usually of plant fibres or of cotton cloth woven in narrow bands. This allowed dancers to keep the anonymity required of members of secret societies.

3. Occasions

Initiation ceremonies, festivals for the dead, sowing and harvest were all occasions at which such masks appeared. Their task was to call upon ancestral spirits and to establish balance and harmony between the people on earth and the spirits that govern them.

Summary

An Ekoi dance crest mask of wood and leather, performed by anonymous dancers in small groups at initiations, funerals and the farming year.