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Okoroshi Oma mask The red side pieces are nailed on. The protrusion on top could be used as a base for a painted wood superstructure, possibly with attachments. Each year during the peak of the rainy season Ibo village groups in the southwestern region stop everyday activities for a full month. This season is dedicated to Owu, the time when water spirits descend to earth from their homes in the clouds in order to dwell and cavort among human beings. These legendary spirits materialize in villages as masqueraders. Two main opponent groups of dramatic spirit characters dance and strut and flog people in the villages most days of the month — hence the cessation of ordinary life. Masks of this type are called Okoroshi, best translated as "water spirit." The benign and friendly ones are Okoroshi Oma — ‘beautiful spirits.’ The Ibo word Oma means good, pretty and light. Fewer of these white-faced, white-dressed female characters come out than their aggressive male counterparts.
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