epa mask, unrecorded Ekiti or Igbomina artist

Exhibition Label:
"For Life's Sake: Arts from Africa," Oct-1983, Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen
Among Northeastern Yoruba people the "Epa/Elefon" ceremonies celebrate with complex masquerades culture heroes, kings and warriors, mothers and offspring. This Epa cult helmet mask features on its top tier in commanding position the patron of herbalism and divination. He is the doctor on horseback, recognized by the tuft which falls from the side of his scalp. He holds the insignia of his leadership: a whisk in his right, a staff in his left. He is surrounded by his followers who are smaller in size because they are less significant: a man seated on the ground holds up the horseman's staff, a woman seated on a stool holds her breasts in the gesture of blessing, facing a kneeling woman who carries an offering or gift. This group is supported by a circle of five men who carry drums, a gong, a gun. This whole configuration is in turn balanced by an awesome two-faced or Janus helmet, made to fit over the masquerader's head so as to rest on his sholders. Epa masks can weigh as much as one hundred pounds and are danced by athletic young men. "The cult stresses the transformation of young men into stalwart specimens able to bear pain and shoulder heavy burdens." (R.F. Thompson)