The Otsa Festival of the Ekperi: Igbo age-grade masquerades on the west bank of the Niger?

The Ekperi speak an Edo language and trace their origins to the Edo kingdom of Benin in their orthodox history. Nevertheless, they and other northern Edo peoples living in eastern Nigeria's Etsako local government area share such cultural institutions as title associations and masking traditions with their riverain Igala and Igbo neighbors, who live to the east, across the Niger River. Masking traditions tend to be associated with age sets, as among the northern Igbo, and stylistically the masquerades reflect eastern prototypes. Horned masks symbolize male aggression; carved wooden or appliqued cloth masks display elaborately coiffed hairstyles of nineteenth-century maidens; and "tall ghosts" made of fabric represent senior ancestors. The very eclecticism of eastern Etsako masks evokes an Igbo rather than an Edo model. The masquerades, their context, and the languages associated with them suggest a continuum of age-grade masking traditions from the east bank to the west bank of the Niger, and indicate greater complexity in the cultural background of the Ekperi and their neighbors than the orthodox history allows.

Today numbering about 15,000 or more, the Ekperi occupy settlements dispersed over 400 square miles west of the Niger River in the southeastern corner of Etsako local government area in Edo State. Benin City is some 70 miles to the north, but Ida]l, the ]gala capital, is only 15-20 miles to the west, located on the opposite bank of the Niger. The Ekperi claim to have migrated from Benin in the early sixteenth century during the Benin civil war known as Okwu-Oba (Alonokua n.d.:3). Local histories further suggest that they and the neighboring Uzairhue, Avianwu, and Uwepa-Uwano descend from a common Edo ancestor, Oluku (Bradbury 1957:103). At the time of Ekperi's departure from Benin, Benin and Idah were engaged in open warfare, and both kingdoms record the settlement of fringe areas in the aftermath of conflict (Boston 1962:380-81; Dike 1976: 6/2-5). The prevalence of night societies and title systems like those of the Igala and Igbo suggests that a local population inhabiting the area prior to the sixteenth century absorbed Igala influence (Eboreime 1978:2; see also Borgatti 1976c, 1979c, 1989).

Peacetime activities resulted in even greater cross-cultural communication among the peoples living along the Niger, for the river served as a major highway to the coast. The Igala capital at Idah faces the northern Edo settlement of Agenebode (Uwepa-Uwano) on the opposite bank, and what is now the Ekperi area is said to mark a point on the border between Edo and Igala authority prior to the Idah war of 1515 (Eboreime 1978:2). Furthermore, the Igala were a nautical people who regularly traveled downriver to trade. Elizabeth Isichei notes that they often stayed away from home for long periods of time, living in large covered houseboats or in temporary housing. From fills it was but a short step to permanent settlements. Indeed, a whole chain of Niger Igbo towns claim Igala origins, as Ossomari does, or like Illah, have quarters that trace descent from Igala. Both of those communities use masquerades that retain Igala as a spoken language (Isichei 1976:54-55). (1)

A process of settlement and resettlement along the Niger continued into the nineteenth century. R. E. Bradbury points out that the "multiplicity of settlement in the relatively small Ekperi tribe is due to scattering, during the last century, by Nupe raiders" (1957:100). As one local historian notes, villagers fled "to the high forested Elephant country lying to the south" (Alonokua n.d.:4). Thus, correspondence was broken between territorial groups and descent units--facilitating cultural change and innovation. Certainly, many cults throughout the area date from this period, having as their purpose the protection of the community from the depredations of war (Borgatti 1976b:60-61).

Masquerade Types

The Ekperi annually celebrate the feast of Otsa to purify the land and reinforce community solidarity. Every three years, new masquerades are introduced as an elaboration to mark the formation of the boys' age company that occurs at this time. (2) I observed Otsa festivals in three Ekperi communities between 1972 and 1973: Azukhala, Ugbekpe, and Udaba. I collected information on the sequence of events and data on masks in Ogonochi and Osomegbe as well, photographing Otsa festival masks, but not in performance context. (3)

Responsible citizens sponsor the masquerades for Otsa that are performed by the members of the dance society called the Igbokobia. Depending upon available resources, festival congregations, organized by quarter, create one or two new masked performances. Consequently, each congregation builds up a repertoire of images that may be drawn upon in succeeding festivals. Thirty or more masked performances may take place during the three days of public celebration that mark the end of the Otsa festival period.

Six months before a major festival, or Big Otsa, the head of the dance group, Ogakpogu (Keeper of the Great Gong), or his council--twenty or thirty young adults from the previous age group, and the dancers who form the Igbokobia--decide how much money should be collected from each adult. Although masking is primarily a male occupation, Ekperi women also play important roles. They serve as "mothers" who sponsor new plays and as supporters who perform in concert between masquerade plays. The position of "mother" varies from congregation to congregation, however. In Ugbekpe-Ekperi's Ogienokhwa Quarter, it is inherited; the "mother," as a public representative for the masqueraders during the festival, is approached by women who would like to make votive offerings. (4) In Azukhala-Ekperi, members of the dance society appoint important women to be mothers of new masquerades, making them financially responsible for costuming and other costs. During the festival, the "mothers" come to the dance area with their masquerades to sprinkle chalk and water, symbolizing peace and good luck, and to collect gifts on behalf of the masqueraders. (5)

Emphasis on change and innovation obscures the earlier history of the festival. Members of the Igbokobia range widely in search of new forms, going west to Igarra, north to Igbira, east to Igala, and southeast into Igbo country--any neighboring place. They commission costumes, pay to learn the dance and associated medicines, and then make their presentation. (6) For example, Ugbekpe-Ekperi's Ogumogu (Fig. 1), a fabric-covered collapsible set of circular ribs, like a "slinky" that changes height and diameter in performance, has Igala antecedents (7); Tide Na Wa (Fig. 3), also known as Agadogu, a high-wire act, comes from Ishan (8); and Udaba-Ekperi sources maintain that Opili (Fig. 4), a masquerade that wears a flat, white wooden face mask and an elaborate embroidered Hausa robe, reflects its Urhobo origins in both name and aspect. (9)

[FIGURE 1, 3-4 OMITTED]

Once introduced, masquerades are traded extensively so there may be numerous secondary points of distribution. Azukhala-Ekperi's Agulese (Fig. 5), for example, is a version of the widely distributed cloth applique masquerade known as Okakagbe (Borgatti 1979b). In 1972 Azukhala negotiated for the rights to this masquerade in Aigyere, a neighboring northern Edo (Uwepa-Uwano) community. The people of Aigyere themselves had acquired it from the southernmost riverain Ekperi community, Udaba, which in turn had borrowed it from nearby Igala sources. (10)

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

Preliminary Masquerades

Although a multiplicity of masquerades perform during Otsa, certain key images set the tone for different phases of the festival and provide themes on which numerous masquerades will play as "variations." Historically, the towering Umese (Fig. 6) is the senior masquerade in any Ekperi community, and the "owner" of the forest sanctuary called okula. A "tall ghost" clad in locally woven cloth, Umese travels from house to house on Otsa eve--singing, dancing, and collecting alms or offerings to clear the way for the daylight masquerades. (11) The fact that it sings in Igbira suggests an Igbira derivation, although the mask type itself is widespread, its distribution following the paths of the Niger and the Benue Rivers. (12)

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

Youthful Egbemamu masqueraders wearing ragged cloth masks and costumes open the first full day of dancing (Fig. 7). According to sources in Ugbekpe-Ekperi, the costumes are made by old men who invest them with special medication (ixhumi) that protects the dancers from injury or disgrace during performance. (13) Not only does the dancing of the Egbemamu prevent untoward occurrences during the performance, but it provides protection for the community during the year to come. The dancing of young boys activates that power, given the costumes by the elders who make them.

[FIGURE 7 OMITTED]

Whipping masquerades Akpele and Ekpenike, so called because they chase youngsters with whips, follow Egbemamu. Akpele wears a haystack-style costume and features a crownlike headdress constructed of tubes wrapped in cloth and colored fiber. (14) Similarly clothed, Ekpenike has a detachable wooden mask and a surmounting headdress that symbolizes a long-beaked bird. Ekperi people consider both Egbemamu (also known as Anume-e) and Akpele to be indigenous forms. Ekpenike is thought to derive from elsewhere. Ekpenike from Azukhala-Ekperi's Iviakpera Quarter has a headpiece that was carved by Idawo around 1942 (Fig. 8). (15) It was one of the few older extant wooden images remaining in use among the Ekperi in the 1970s, others having been sold to Phillip Allison for Nigeria's Antiquities Department, now the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, a decade earlier (16) or having been lost in village house fires. The bird called obiakana in the Ekperi language symbolizes supernatural power rather than physical force, unlike the masks that come out on the following day, for it fearlessly approaches the dead to remove their eyes. (17)

[FIGURE 8 OMITTED]

More aggressive and individualized masqueraders wearing grotesque carved wooden masks or cloth hoods come out early on the second day. Many of these masks are in the style of the Ibibio carving center Ikot Ekpene, although they may actually be locally made. They bear names like Ojieka (Fig. 9a) or Akpatanudo, suggesting power (Fig. 9b), or Ichioba (Figs. 10a, b), a term said to be of Igbo derivation. (18) Groups of young men accompany these masked figures from house to house, gathering small gifts of money and foodstuffs for the masquerade society. Such preliminary performances serve to generate excitement in the community for the more formal and choreographed displays held in the later afternoon.

Formal Masquerade Performances

During these displays, a range of masked characters perform. Some dance on behalf of particular segments of the community: Idu or Agabidu (Figs. 11a-c), a mythical bush monster wearing a composite horned mask, "plays" for hunters and warriors (19); Anumee, a female character wearing a costume of appliqued cloth, dances on behalf of girls reaching puberty. (20) Indeed, masquerades representing feminine interests tend to take a feminine form (Fig. 12). They feature a cloth or wooden mask with an elaborate coiffure and (ideally) an appliqued and embroidered body suit embellished with various overcloths or wrappers, most notably the handwoven title cloth worn by men and women at pivotal points during their lives (Borgatti 1983: figs. 25-27). Anumee takes this form, although in one version its coiffure is made up of multiple Ikot Ekpene face masks, including a Mammy Watah variant, attached to a cloth superstructure. (21) Other such masquerades include the Pregnant or Waddling Woman called Oyepete (which incorporates medicine for helping barren women) as well as other female characters like Adza and Aiyegu (which dance for old women and small children respectively). Ugbekpe's Aiycgu, which I documented in 1972, featured appropriately a complex headdress with many children's dolls. (22) They included both locally made plastic dolls in primary colors and, attached to the central carving, a Caucasian "Barbie" type representing Mammy Watah, carved in the Ikot Ekpene style. (23)

[FIGURES 11-12, 25-27 OMITTED]

Some performances honor individuals or groups. Chief Who Rides a Horse (Egu Akachi), a construction in cloth, is an elders' masquerade that blesses the congregation as a whole (Fig. 13). (24) Egu Ogakpogu, an anthropomorphic cloth masquerade, honors the dance society leader, the Keeper of the Great Gong (gong=kpogu.) (25) Others, like the Insufferable Wife, Amugbeme (Fig. 12; another version illustrated in Borgatti 1983: fig. 27), or Morning Sunrise, Ekuede (Fig. 14a), provide a vehicle for social and aesthetic comment. The fat belly of the selfish wife rebukes those women who want to monopolize their husbands' resources and prevent them from taking additional wives. (26)

[FIGURES 13-14 OMITTED]

Morning Sunrise (Fig. 14b), a sobriquet for newlyweds, appears to be a praise name referring to the elegance of the pair of crest masks so designated, which feature elaborately curled extensions from the heads that suggest both horns and coiffures. The masks themselves do not represent newlyweds literally, since they depict two light-skinned males wearing neckties. Rather, the name comments on their "fineness" and elaboration. (27) The same masks were called Egu Asaba, or Dance from Asaba, when they appeared during the Otsa festival in Azukhala-Ekperi in November of 1972. (28) Spectacular and beautiful masquerades like Morning Sunrise, are linked to the status of the sponsoring groups. Such masquerades include variations on the cloth applique type called Okakagbe that was introduced from Ibaji, the Igbo-Igala borderland on the east bank of the Niger, in the 1930s (see Borgatti 1979b); Mammy Watah variants with carved wooden headdresses in the style of Ikot Ekpene (Figs. 15, 16a, b); the Igala-derived "wonder" masquerade (Ogumogu)--a collapsible cloth tube stretched over circular cane ribs (Fig. 1); or the Ishan-derived high-wire acrobatic act Tide Na Wa (Fig. 3) that astounded audiences in the early 1970s.

[FIGURES 1, 15-16 OMITTED]

Other Masks

A number of masks are variations of form, while some play with thematic concepts. There are tall masks like Afulele and Ulogobia that recall the tall ghost Umese (Fig. 6) and the past but, in the case of Afulele (Taller than Tall; Figs. 17a, b), draw on contemporary imagery and materials by incorporating silk scarves and numerous objects from the marketplace into elaborate constructions. (29) Other masquerades play upon the theme of male force and aggression. Ugwono (Fig. 18), Tiger, (30) wears a knit striped body costume like that worn by Ngbe, the "leopard" society masqueraders from the Ejagham people of the Cross River area of southeastern Nigeria (Thompson 1974: color pl. VIII); it has a hood to which horns and feathers are attached. (31) Ugbokolo or Ukpokolo, Boxer, is described as wearing a knit body suit, too, along with a simple wooden face mask bearing horns, at least in an Azukhala-Ekperi example (Fig. 19) said to have been carved by Idaiwo-Ulogho circa 1952. (32) Udaba-Ekperi's Egu Akana (Fig. 2), also referred to as Idu, features a well-carved mask with a pair of wrestlers grappling between the horns. (33) Still others provide the means for including groups of children in the performance. They carry names like Ilitsu, Locusts, (34) or Ikpule, a sack that carries corn, beans, or groundnuts, its multiple uses referring to the many children who play this masquerade during the festival. (35)

[FIGURES 2, 6, 17-19 OMITTED]

Regional Parallels

The origins of the masquerade association, Igbokobia, present an interesting historical problem. Among the Ekperi, masking is clearly linked with age-set formation and group socialization. This is also the case among the northern and Onitsha Igbo, where "costumes are differentiated in form according to the age of the ghost represented, and the physical and behavioral characteristics displayed correlate closely with characteristics attributed to persons of these ages" (Henderson 1972:349). The Ekperi name Igbokobia suggests an Igbo derivation and recalls the Onitsha term okolobia that refers to the young adult status acquired by the age set fully inducted into the collective incarnate dead (Henderson 1972:357; Osadebe 1981:69). Igbo, Igala, Ekperi, and other northern Edo groups refer to the forest sanctuaries associated with these masquerades by cognate terms--okula in Ekperi, okula in Igala (Boston 1968:130), okwule in Igbo (Henderson 1972:348; Osadebe 1981:11)--in contrast with the Edo cognate ogwa or egwa used in Bini contexts and in association with some northern Edo shrines (Bradbury 1973:190, 203; Borgatti 1976c:26; 1979c:576-77).

A consideration of Ekperi masking traditions further shows that numerous forms, key images as well as recent introductions, parallel shared Igbo and Igala ones. (36) Umese is part of a widespread complex of tall ghosts, elderly and venerated forms of incarnate dead, found among the Igala, Igbira, Idoma, Igbo, and northern Edo (Borgatti 1979c:576-77, pl. 5; Boston 1968: pl. 8; Henderson 1972:349; Bassing 1973: pls. 2, 3; Kasfir 1979; Picton n.d. and personal communication, circa 1971). In the Ekperi area, the master flute player (ufele) directs the personified spirits or masquerades with his music (Fig. 20). The tones of the arrow flute (ote ufele) represent the incarnate dead among the Onitsha Igbo as well (Henderson 1972:357). Ekperi's Agaba Idu or Idu, the mythical bush monster (Figs. 11a-c), is a type likewise associated with warrior age sets among the northern Igbo. Other transitional forms comparable to the Ojieka (Fig. 9) and Ichioba (Figs. 10a, b), described earlier, symbolize male aggression for younger men. Akpele and Ekpenike (Fig. 8) parallel northern Igbo whipping masquerades with their billowing fiber costumes and bird symbolism (Boston 1960a; Henderson 1972:351). Ekperi masquerades depicting women follow forms best known in the literature as Igbo or Ibibio "maiden" masks. To be sure, the headdresses of many of these masquerades have been purchased from Igbo or Ibibio markets and bear names like Egu Asaba or Egu Onitsha as a result. (37) Other references to the Igbo derivation of particular masquerades occur in their praise songs. The female chorus sings for the Dance from Asaba: "Egu Asaba lo usago" ("Asaba Dance, come out so we can see you") and "Onacho Igbo (The spirit has come from Igbo for a visit"). (38) "Egu," meaning "spirit" or "dance," relates to the Igala Egwu. Other Ekperi terms referencing "spirit" or "masquerade," Aihmi and Alimi, are cognate with the Edo Erinbhin (spiritual realm).

[FIGURES 8-10 AND 20 OMITTED]

The Entertainment Factor

The masks of Ekperi's Otsa feast manifest a quest for novelty or variety that appears at odds with the stereotype of conservatism in much African art as we know it from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Similarly, a strong component of pure entertainment that runs through Ekperi's masquerade displays runs counter to an emphasis on ritual focus found in much of the research on African art, even though distinct masquerades are said to perform on behalf of specific segments of the community. Thus the focus of the masquerades appears to be more aesthetic than ritual, as, according to John Boston, masking among the Nri-Awka focused on drama rather than religion. Boston wrote in 1960 that this seemed to be a phenomenon of long standing and not a recent development (Boston 1960a:56). In Ekperi, considerable energy is directed toward making medicine to ensure correct performance and to mitigate conditions that might harm the illusions presented for the delight of the audience. (39) Both an interest in change as a cultural attitude and a focus on drama are more associated with Igbo than Edo in the literature.

Initiation into the dance society does not appear to be rigorous, a matter only of a small fee. To enter the okula, the society's forest sanctuary, an individual who has joined an age company pays a membership fee of 50 kobo (about 75 cents in 1972). Members of the Igbokobia range in age from those who have joined an age company (at 12 or 13 years of age) to those who are older, the upper age limit being defined by interest and agility. Each dance society has a village shrine in the house of the society head and a forest sanctuary where matters pertaining to the masquerades are discussed. (40)

The protocol of performance further emphasizes the aesthetic component. Most of the larger villages divide into two sectors, usually based on quarters, to present masquerades. The performance areas are contiguous and the two sectors stagger their performances so that spectators must run back and forth between the playing grounds to view the spectacle. Such competition makes for a more exciting performance: each sector tries to present more numerous and more elaborate masquerades, and dancers try to outdo one another. (41) For example, in Azukhala-Ekperi, Ivionima Quarter's masquerade called Agulese (Fig. 21), a name that means simply "Our Own Power," features a superstructure of plastic dolls and toys. It was introduced in 1972 as the competitor of Iviakpera Quarter's new masquerade, also called Agulese (Fig. 5), based on the Okakagbe ensemble introduced with such success back in the 1930s (Borgatti 1979b). Processions of women and girls cheer on performers between appearances, singing praise songs, dancing, and clapping. (42)

[FIGURES 5, 21 OMITTED]

An interesting sidelight on the Ekperi attitude toward competition was found in the answer to questions that I repeatedly asked--"Who's winning?" and "Who judges?" The answer: "You judge, I judge, everybody judges--and no one wins, because neither side agrees to lose!" (Barnabas Alonkua, personal communication, circa 1972).

The data I collected between 1971 and 1974 give clear evidence of historical interaction among Igala, Igbo, and northern Edo over time, although it is not sufficient to demonstrate the nature of that interaction. Neither the history of the Otsa festival nor the history of Ekperi itself has been investigated satisfactorily to determine patterns of local migration and resettlement, including the incorporation of other ethnic groups into the one today that identifies itself with the Edo part of its heritage. The Otsa festival, with its link to age grades, key images, and terms that are cognate with Igbo and Igala examples, suggests some such interaction overlaid by a pattern of more straightforward borrowing in recent times. Until further research is carried out among the Igala, in Ibaji (the Igbo-Igala borderland), and among the northern Edo, we will be unable to do more than suggest that the northern Edo of Ekperi have drawn heavily upon the cultures of neighboring Igbo and Igala to augment a heritage from the Benin kingdom.

Postscript

In 2002 and 2003 I was able to revisit northern Edo, (43) where I observed parts of the Otsa festival in Azukhala-Ekperi, one of the communities where I had followed the festival closely in 1972. Despite a vibrant visual culture, the area has seen little active research since my own work of the early 1970s. In no way should the following comments be construed as the results of serious research, however, since my time and efforts were constrained by obligations elsewhere, fuel shortages, and local circumstances, notably the death of the wife of the senior official ("Father") of the festival.

In 2002 Ekperi celebrated Big Otsa, that is, the festival associated with the formation of the boy's age group, when the most elaborate masking displays are held. The following year saw the celebration of "small" Otsa, and certainly the displays in Azukhala-Ekperi seemed truncated in relation to those I documented thirty years ago during a Big Otsa, but they were no less enthusiastic. Indeed, the stilt dancers put on one of the most exciting displays that I have witnessed (and it seemed as though more than four were performing, as they hurled themselves one after another across the playing ground and lurched into the crowd).

Although fewer masquerades appeared in 2003 than in 1972, there is a natural ebb and flow to festival activities not captured by such "snapshots," even though separated by a considerable period of time. First, there is the contrast between Big Otsa and the smaller festivals that occur in the intervening years. Whether particular masks are performed at all depends as well on costumes being in good repair, sufficient resources for refurbishing, and the availability of a dancer. In 2003 the bereavement of the Father of the festival and the subsequent abrupt change of date may have had a dampening effect. Nonetheless, the local council representative and attendants made an appearance, much as our own politicians do at Fourth of July parades; the event was written up in the local newspaper because I had a reporter in tow; and I was treated to photographs of masks that would have come out, if only there had been more time.

Masquerade formats throughout northern Edo followed the same patterns I documented thirty years ago, although elements of royal Benin culture in prestige dress seemed more pronounced--giving rise to two different questions. One focuses on the shifting nature of identity. The other concerns the fate of the masquerades themselves. The masquerades used in Ekperi today and in the recent past are forms borrowed from the visual culture of non-Edo or other northern Edo peoples, possibly making them more celebratory than sacred. For this reason, they may seem less threatening to people's identification with fundamentalist Christianity or Islam, both of which are more prevalent today, even though Christianity has been an important feature of Ekperi's religious landscape for many generations and Islam has been in the area since the late nineteenth century. The manhood ceremony that is central to the boys' age group is considered "deep" Ekperi even if other aspects of Otsa may be imported. (44) That Otsa's masquerades are linked to age group formation and its public celebration may be their saving grace. Membership in the age group remains of great social importance to all Ekperi citizens, religious affiliation notwithstanding. A transfer of emphasis to cultural identity, the impetus behind age group itself, makes the masquerades less likely to fall into disuse, giving them a greater chance to continue their lively evolution, with the next Big Otsa scheduled to take place between August and November of 2005.

[This article was accepted for publication in August 2002.]

Research in Nigeria was carried out from 1971 to 1974 under the auspices of the Nigerian Federal Department of Antiquities and partially funded by the following agencies: Museum of Cultural History, UCLA--Ralph Airman Fund; Regents of the University of California--Patent Fund; and NDEA Title VI grants awarded through the African Studies Center, UCLA.

(1.) See Boston 1960b for an account of Igala-Igbo relationships from the Igala viewpoint.

(2.) The only other context where I observed a masquerade performing in Ekperi was at the serving of a shrine in Okpenada. At that time, the Umese masquerade came out and the chief priest and his associates sang songs of ritual license. In other Ekperi communities, Umese comes Out to make the New Year's festival (Ukpwe) (fieldnotes, Feb. 6, 1972). See Borgatti 1976b.

(3.) I gathered the field data used here in the context of a survey of material culture in Etsako local government area, Edo state, undertaken between 1971 and 1974; during this time I also carried out a more detailed study among the Okpella, another northern Edo group.

In this article I have created a narrative linked to research and observations. My story, though undoubtedly containing inaccuracies and misinterpretations, is fascinating, and I hope that others, particularly those who have lived in Ekperi, will bring their individual understanding of this festival to a public forum. With this possibility in mind, I submit my efforts to be complemented by a complete catalogue of Ekperi masks and associated field data found on a Web site to be constructed after the publication of this article.

(4.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972; October 5, 1972.

(5.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 23, 1972.

(6.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 22, 1972

(7.) Fieldnotes, Weppa-Iviukhwe October 9, 1972.

(8.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973. See also slides 72.27.1-11 (Agadogu). Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972.

(9.) Fieldnotes, Udaba-Ekperi, January 6, 1973. There is no independent confirmation of this origin, and the style of the mask and robes somewhat belies this specific attribution.

(10.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 22, 1972.

(11.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 20, 1972.

(12.) As I have noted in an earlier publication (Borgatti 1976c;31): John Picton has documented the type among the Igbira and among the Igala of Dekina (personal communications, circa 1971; and Picton n.d.); O. Nzekwu (1964) has documented it in Keana in the Benue Valley; K.C. Murray in Ishan (NML [National Museum, Lagos] 9.9.41). Robert Armstrong (personal communication, circa 1973); Allen Bassing (1973), and Sidney Kasfir (1979) have documented the type among the Idoma; John Boston (1968) among the Igala and northern Igbo; and Richard Henderson (1972) among the Northern Igbo. I have documented it among other northern Edo groups on the west bank of the Niger from the easternmost Etsako groups, Uwepa-Uwano and Ekperi, to the northernmost Etsako group, the Okpella (Borgatti 1976c, 1979b).

(13.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, Ugenokhwa Quarter, September 11, 1972.

(14.) Slide reference 72.25.1.

(15.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973. Good black-and-white detail of head (reference 72.13.28).

(16.) For example, the register of the National Museum in Lagos lists a carved wooden cap mask Igboagun (lit. "finest thing") worn at OISA festival, purchased from Akperhua of Azukhale-Ekperi (62.17.27); a small face mask called Ekpineke, made long ago at Azukhale-Ekperi (62.17.28); a wooden cap mask with a bush-cow head called Igba'gun Yemu, worn at OISA and made by the vendor's father, Ikpaikpa of Somegbe-Ekperi (62.17.33); a wooden cap mask with tortoise called Aadoifo, worn on the top of the head at OISA festival and made by Poga of Azukhale-Ekperi (62.17.34); and an all wooden face mask called Ekpineke, made by the late Ogiato of Azukhale-Ekperi (62.17.35).

(17.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973.

(18.) For Ojieka, slide reference 72.25.14. For Akpatanudo, fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, May 30, 1972, and September 11, 1972. For Ichioba, fieldnotes, Udaba-Ekperi, January 6, 1973.

(19.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972. However, Azukhala-Ekperl sources maintain that their Idu masks are for entertainment only (January 10, 1973).

(20.) Slide reference 72.26.11.

(21.) Slide reference 72.26.16.

(22.) Slide references 72.27.33 (Oyepete), 72.28.15 (Adza), 72.26.29 (Ugbekpe's Aiyegu).

(23.) References to these masks found in fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972; October 5, 1972; Azukhala-Ekperi, November 23, 1972; Ogonochi-Ekperi, February 1, 1972.

(24.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972; Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973.

(25.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, October 5, 1972; Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973. Slide references 72.26.27 and 72.36.28.

(26.) Fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, October 5, 1972. A mask of the same name and used in the same way, to insult a woman who allows her husband only one wife, is also found in neighboring Uwepa-Uwano. Fieldnotes, Uwepa-Iviukhwe, October 9, 1972.

(27.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, February 9, 1972.

(28.) Slide reference 72.37.18.

(29.) Documented masks called Afulele were made in 1922, 1954, and 1962 in Ugbekpe-Ekperi and Azukhala-Ekperi. Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973; Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972. Ulogobia masquerade (Ivionima Quarter), "The Tallest of All," was made by Kadiri Akaya this year, 1972, because he felt that the other quarter, Iviakpera, was going to beat them at the presentation of masquerades (fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973).

(30.) "Tiger" is the accepted pidgin translation for large feline animals, even though there are no tigers in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ogonochi-Ekperi on February 1, 1972, I was shown a costume dyed blue and orange along with a headdress for Ugwono. According to the group of elders consulted, the costume cost about 8 [pounds sterling] to buy. The performer mimics the movement of a "tiger."

(31.) I documented comparable masks among neighboring Uwepa-Uwano, another northern Edo group. There, the Ugwono performer, possessed by the spirit, is said to be able to do anything, climb houses and wreak havoc in the community. Medicine is made for it prior to its coming out, and the mask may also be consulted as an oracle when not in play (Iviukhwe-Uwepa, October 9, 1972), In Edegbe-Uwepa, the Ugwono masquerade was described as showing strength and power (fieldnotes, March 23, 1972).

(32.) Ukbokolo means "fighter." When he comes out, everyone flees. Carved by Idaiwo Ulogho about twenty years ago, by the time of my 1972 research it had been under the charge of Charles Adolphus for four years (fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, February 9, 1972). This mask, like the Ekpenike from Azukhala-Ekperi, seems to be in the style of carving that predates the adoption of the Ikot Ekpene style. I photographed another version of Ukbokolo, in the style of Ikot Ekpene, in Ikpalkpa's compound in Osomegbe-Ekpeti. Carved by Audu of Udaba, it was said to wear a net-woven costume or body suit and to be about seven years old. It beats people (fieldnotes, Osomegbe-Ekperi, Ikpaikpa's compound, March 25, 1972). I did not see either of these in performance in 1972.

(33.) Egu Akana, the mask, was purchased from East Central State circa 1969 to replace an "Idu" mask that had deteriorated (fieldnotes, Udaba-Ekperi, January 6, 1973).

(34.) This masquerade originated when the locusts came in 1929 or 1930. Barnabas Alonokua, my guide in Ekperi, last saw it in 1942. It accommodated many small young children (fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 23, 1972) it was invented by Idawo (fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973). Slide reference 72.37.11.

(35.) Fieldnotes, Udaba-Ekperi, January 6, 1973; Azukhala-Ekperi, January 10, 1973.

(36.) See Cole & Aniakor (1984:111-215) for an overview of Igbo masking with excellent illustrations. Pages 117-43 cover the most relevant area, north central Igboland.

(37.) I observed and photographed numerous masks in the style of Ikot Ekpene throughout Ekperi, although many were said to be carved locally--and I do not dispute this. I believe that local carvers had adopted this popular style. There was some disagreement over a masquerade referred to as "One Nigeria." Initially it was said to have been purchased at Aba around 1966 by the whole town at a cost of 17 [pounds sterling] (fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, May 31, 1972). Later it was said that only certain unspecified things were purchased in Abe and added along with new clothes (fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972.) I listed a masquerade referenced as Egu Asaba as an Ugbekpe-Ekperi masquerade (fieldnotes, May 31, 1972) and photographed another masquerade called Egu Asaba in Azukhala-Ekperi's Otsa festival in November 1972 (black and-white 72.15.13). A masquerade called Egu Onitsha is referenced as appearing in Udaba-Ekperi during Otsa festival, November 15, 1972.

(38.) Song transcripts in fieldnotes (Ugbekpe-Ekperi, August 26, 1972).

(39.) Conversation with regard to the Egbemamu, or children's masquerades, revealed that medicine (ixhumi or ikhumi) is to prevent the children from being injured or disgraced while dancing. The medicine for Eguaosa and Agadogu, still dances that involve a high-wire performance, is against the wind blowing. Medicine is made for Afulele, a towering masquerade assembled of many items, to keep its head from toppling over (fieldnotes, Ugbekpe-Ekperi, September 11, 1972).

(40.) Fieldnotes, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 21, 1972.

(41.) For example, Azukhala-Ekperi's festival is based oil the competition between Ivionima and Iviakpera Quarters, which divided about twenty-two years ago to make the festival celebration more competitive and to boost interest. Ivieakaizi, the third quarter, joins Iviakpera for the festival (fieldnotes, January 1, 1973; November 21, 1972). Similarly, Ugionokhwa and Apokha Quarters of Ugbekpe-Ekperi compete to make their festival more interesting (fieldnotes, August 26, 1972). I photographed forty seven different named masquerades between the survey of material culture and the days of Otsa festival dancing that I observed in 1972 in Ugbekpe-Ekperi. More than thirty three different masquerades were photographed or discussed between the survey of material culture and the days of Otsa Festival dancing that I observed in 1972 in Azukhala-Ekperi.

(42.) This competitive spirit is articulated by support groups, which march through the playing grounds singing or chanting. For example, men's and women's support groups recorded in Ugbekpe-Ekperi's Apokha Quarter chanted, "Mamute--we are the winners!" (tape 16:52-108). Other praise songs exhorted the audience to watch: "The words I want to say. Everyone should be present to watch. Don't come complain at the end that you haven't seen it ..." (Alu je ni ye iyere (itseku) no ze ara me) (tape 16:110-34).

(43.) This return to Nigeria was made possible through the Fulbright Scholar Program sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

(44.) Godwin Alonokua, Azukhala-Ekperi, November 3, 2003.

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