Ekpo mask

The masks of Ekpo society are called sickness masks. They actually represent the spirits responsible for illness or deformation. In some ethnic groups it is the healers, magicians or sorcerers who carry them. Ekpo society is a very important society, the most important for the IbibioIt also deals with the cult of ancestors who are asked to protect the healing of the sick and also participate in the initiation of young people. They address political issues and ensure the security and stability of the village. In reality, Ekpo society has social control.

Ekpo masks usually have large eye orbits, but in the case of this mask they are truly enormous. Because of the way in which the wood is covered and moulded, there is no doubt that it has had to be the work of an expert, certainly the blacksmith, because of its mastery of the metal and also, in most cases, it is usually the sorcerer, fortune teller or priest. In this mask, the sides of the eye orbits are enhanced by their length and thickness. At the bottom of these orbits appear two small eyes. The wrinkles that cover the metal part are the result of the blows of the tool that has shaped it. Something unusual in this type of mask is its large, open, wooden mouth, showing two rows of trapeze-shaped teeth that are opposed by its base, separated by a central line. And his nose, represented by a kind of oval triangle, with the vertice upwards and a small central partition at its bottom. It's certainly a mask that breaks all the molds.