down from the first clan ancestor. Celebration of
the ancestors with the powerful dances of the
awesome masks is therefore a celebration of the
people.
According to some authorities, the masks of the
Ekoi are considered some of the most naturalistic
in Africa. However, this statement has to be taken
with caution because the fact that the sculptured
masks of the Ekoi resemble human beings, how-
ever distorted, does not mean that they are natu-
ralistic. Indeed, the masks of the Ekoi may be among
the most abstract images in Africa precisely because
they look so naturalistic. They are profoundly
proverbial and philosophical. The Egbo society of
secrets makes statues looking like humans with
mobile parts. However, the masks of the Ekoi are
important as well for the subtle philosophical
messages they convey.
Ceremonial MasksThe appearance of the mask of the Sky-Father and
the Earth-Mother is a good example of the philo-
sophical nature of the Ekoi. This is a two-faced
mask, often erroneously called a Janus headed
mask, which goes back to the ancient Egyptian
statues of Rahotep and Noferet. The Ekoi are
representing two facets of the world, two ways of
looking at the universe, and two expressions of
life in their sculptured mask of two faces. They are
not making a statement about equality and
inequality, about good and evil. Rather, they are
expressing what is a fact in the African’s moral
conception of the universe: Humans are better
served in a world of balance.
It should be clearly understood, however, that
the Ekoi are not concerned so much with the stark
differences between the one and the other, but
rather the fact that one cannot exist without the
other. Good depends on evil just as night depends
on day, but they always flow into each other so
that human beings must always be in search of the
best, the most beautiful of occasions, situations,
and times, knowing that the possibility of more
good exists with sacrifice and the proper cere-
monies to the ancestors.
Some people have viewed the two-faced mask,
particularly when one side is dark and the other side
lighter in color, as making an aesthetic statement.
Others claim that the woman must have been white
because the face of the woman is always white and
the face of the man black. However, the fact that the
male face of the Rahotep and Neferet mask is
darker and the female face is white is not a state-
ment of beauty or interracial coupling, but rather
the traditional African way of representing in phys-
ical color the relative physical strength of the two
individuals. The idea in the sculptor’s mind was
always to present the masks in such a way that any-
one, including children, could understand the ideas
being reconfirmed. No one had to strain to see
“who was who” in the portrayal.
It is like the old practice in acting of elocution,
before the microphone, when one had to “throw”
his or her voice to make the words clear. If the cer-
emony called for a female, then the dancer could
turn the mask to the female side, which was
clearly seen by the children and others because of
the lighter color. If a male was called for in the
performance, the dancer would then bring that
side of the mask into play. This was all done to
teach and reconfirm the idea of Ekoi balance and
harmony.Molefi Kete AsanteSeealsoAncestors; RitualsFurther Readings
Leuzinger, E. (1976).The Art of Black Africa. New
York: Rizzoli.
Thompson, R. F. (1984).The Flash of the Spirit. New
York: Vintage.EKPO SECRET SOCIETY
Ekpo is the principal society for men in Ibibio towns
in southeastern Nigeria and in Iyekorhiomwo.
Iyekorhiomwo, which means literally “behind the
Orhiomwo (Ossiomo) River,” is located to the
south and east of Benin City in Benin. Although it
is not clear when the Ekpo society originated, it
did exist before the colonial era. Ibibio elders say
that there has beenEkpo as long as there have
been ancestors. Ekpo in Ibibio language means234 Ekpo Secret Society