Mask for Egungun (Ere Egungun)

Yoruba (Iseyin, Nigeria; Coastal West Africa)

Late 19th century

Medium: Wood and pigment
Classification: Mask
Dimensions: 38.1 × 24.8 × 31.8 cm (15 × 9 3/4 × 12 1/2 in.)
Culture: Nigeria
Museum: Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
Credit line: Tillie C. Cohn Endowment Fund
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

This mask would have been worn during the annual or biannual Egungun festival, performances and celebrations to honor lineage ancestors. In addition to their deployment during the annual festivals, Egungun masks can also be brought out at funerals for important lineage members or in times of crisis, when the guidance of the ancestors is sought. This mask depicts a figure wearing a pith helmet, a potent symbol of colonialism in Nigeria, even when worn by a non-European. The helmet is surmounted by several birds—one on the crest and five smaller ones encircling the rim—that symbolize the supernatural powers of women, sometimes understood as witchcraft. The lines incised across the cheeks, forehead, and outer corner of the eyelids represent scarification or identification marks, linking the mask to a specific lineage—perhaps that of the mask’s owner. The series of holes around the edge of the mask, through which a thin cord is interlaced, would have allowed the mask to be connected to the fabric costume worn during the ceremonies.

An Egungun festival includes a great many masks, each with a unique form and style. While there are many identifiable types of Egungun masks and…