Igala people, Nigeria

14.5 inches, painted wood

A large, well-used mask painted white, blue and yellow using store-bought enamel. It would be worn high on the head, possibly by performers such as poets and social critics who speak out against wrong doers. Other masks of this type were worn to honor women and their power. I was told it was Igala, an ethnic group located in southern Nigeria and closely related to the Yoruba.