African Tribal Art - Idoma Janiform Crest

Early collection of African American tribal art.

This mask features two faces on a long neck, topped with a double crest. Lozenge-shaped scarifications adorn the temples, while the heart-shaped face displays white eye sockets with almond-shaped eyelids. The base is eroded, with visible cracks. This mask was used in dry-season funeral ceremonies in the Cross River region. The Idoma, who live at the confluence of the Benue and Niger rivers, number about 500,000, primarily farmers and traders. Their culture is influenced by the Igbo and the Cross River and Igala ethnic groups, creating many stylistic similarities and borrowings. Members of the royal lineage of their Oglinye society, which celebrates courage, use a wide variety of masks and crests at funerals and festivities. Some masks were so sacred that they could not be seen on pain of death. They also make fertility statues, with whitened faces and incised teeth. Janiform crests are often presented at the funerals of important figures. In addition, members of the Kwompten male society use statues called goemai in healing rituals.

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