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Players with mma ji mask at the okonkwo dance, Oha Nwego Village, Okpoha Village-Group, Nigeria

African Art Museum

Players with mma ji mask at the okonkwo dance, Oha Nwego Village, Okpoha Village-Group, Nigeria
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
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Object Details

sova.eepa.2000-007_ref1048
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo714617497-8859-429e-bf1a-e36e311721a9
Local Numbers
324/1959-1960 EEPA 2000-070540
General
Title source: Dr. Simon Ottenberg, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Collection Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Place
Africa
Nigeria
Topic
Rites and ceremonies -- Africa
Cultural landscapes
Masquerades
Clothing and dress -- Africa
Masks
Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Culture
Igbo (African people)
See more items in
Simon Ottenberg photographs
Extent
1 Slide (col.)
Date
1959-1960
Custodial History
Donated by Simon Ottenberg, 2000.
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.2000-007, Item EEPA 2000-007-0540
Type
Archival materials
Slides
Color slides
Collection Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Bibliography
Masked rituals of Afikpo, the context of an African art; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1975. [published in connection with an exhibition shown at the Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, May 24-June 21, 1975].
Genre/Form
Color slides
Scope and Contents
This photograph was taken by Dr. Simon Ottenberg at the Okonkwo dance presented on the the market day, aho, 9 January 1960 in the Eastern Igbo community of Oha Nwego Village, in neighboring Okpoha Village-Group. Dr. Ottenberg was conducting field research at Afikpo village-group, southeastern Nigeria, from September 1959 to December 1960.
Original caption reads, "Okpoha Ngodo performance at Okpoha Village-Group, an Igbo village-group northwest of Afikpo, related to it historically. Dancing counterclockwise as usual for Igbo and other Africans. The mask is similar to the Afikpo mma ji (knife-ham) or mma ubi (knife-farm) except at Afikpo the top knife part is straight, here it is curved back toward the dancer's head. Note the plastic waist beads, normally worn by girls before initiation and marriage at their waists." [Ottenberg field research notes, September 1959-December 1960, Part I].
"Okonkwo, also called okpoha ngodo, is a dance of young adult men wearing wooden masks and costumes something like those of the akparakpa dancers in the okumkpa, who perform to the music of a xylophone, basket rattles, and in some cases a wooden gong. The xylophone (igeri or akware) is in the center of the common. Composed of nine boards, without calabashes underneath, it is colored orange, black and white, with red, black, and white spots on it. There was a human figure at the end. The xylophone was played by two musicians wearing white-faced masks looking something like the nne mgbo mask. When the musicians commenced to play, the dancers formed a line and moved about counterclockwise." [ Ottenberg, 1975: Masked rituals of Afikpo, the context of an African art; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1975].
Collection Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Other Archival Materials
Simon Ottenberg Papers are located at the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
EEPA.2000-007_ref1048
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo714617497-8859-429e-bf1a-e36e311721a9
EEPA.2000-007
EEPA
Record ID
ebl-1536864686513-1536864686801-0

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