Ejagham (Ekoi), Cameroon & Nigeria

Mother Earth headdress with moving hands. The Ejagham are found in the easternmost part of southern Nigeria and in the contiguous area of the western Cameroon. They are primitive agriculturists and their main crops are yam, coconut and maize. The Ejagham produced skin-covered wooden headdresses and masks of a demonic naturalism. Earlier skins of slaves, later skins of antelopes, were used. It is presumed that all masks and headdresses represented ancestors. They have mythological significance: male images representing Father Heaven, female Mother Earth. The Ejagham masquerades performances generally took place at the initiation or funerals of members of the associations, and also at periodic rites connected with agriculture. The skin covering the headdress served as a magical agent to invoke ancestral spirits, thus eroding the barrier between living and dead participants in communal rituals.      

Material:  wood, antelope skin, vegetable fiber

Size: H. 26”, W. 14”, D. 13”