Ekoi-Ejagan

The ekoi or ejagam are a Bantu village established in Cameroon and mainly in Nigeria, in the Cross River area. They have the “ekpo” society, a secret society of hunters and warriors, exercising judicial functions, maintaining social order and great religious influence. They worship the god of heaven Obassi Ossaw and Obassi Nsi, god of earth. Its members wear large masks, sometimes two-sided Jano masks, covered in antelope skin and scimera masks. Jano masks dominate the past and the future as they can see in both directions. At the same time, there was an "Egbebe" women's society which was responsible for the education of young people before marriage. Their dances symbolize the social order thanks to their aesthetic choreographies totally opposed to the masculine dances, violent and with a ferocious appearance. They are specialists and apparently the creators of the handmade manufacture of wood masks covered with goat skin or antelope. At first they were covered with human skin. Most of them represent women's heads with long, twisted slings forming spirals in the shape of a snail. male heads usually wear natural hair or horns. They have reliquary heads of the same style. Apparently in their origins they were real human heads, mainly defeated enemies. They have zoomorph and anthropomorphic masks.