Mask (Okoroshi Oma)

In southwestern Igboland, an annual six-week Owu, or “water spirit,” masquerade is held at the height of the rainy season to prepare for the coming yam harvest. The masks worn by the participants generally take two forms: the female Okoroshi Oma, or “beautiful spirits,” are light in color, small, symmetrical, and delicate, whereas the male Okoroshi Ojo, or “negative spirits,” are usually dark in color and intentionally ugly, with imaginative distortions and grotesque features. The menacing Okoroshi Ojo are more numerous, out-numbering the Okoroshi Oma by as many as thirty to one, although it is not known why. This is an example of a rarer female Okoroshi Oma, as indicated by the delicate features and pleasant expression, and the traces of the original white paint that remain on both the upper and lower face.