African Collection Igbo Artist Face Mask (Agbogho Mmuo) Igbo artist With its elaborate and crested hairstyle, slender facial features painted with black pigment, and chalky white surface, this Agbogho Mmuo represents a maiden spirit. A male performer wore such a mask evoking a female over his face. He covered the rest of his body with a colorful, patterned bodysuit made of cloth appliqué that mirrored designs painted on the bodies of young Igbo women in Nigeria. When performed, the mask entertained the public as part of a group of masks during an annual Fame of Maidens festival celebrating women’s power and at funerals for deceased elders. The performance included theatrical impersonations of young women’s movements and behaviors, as well as tribute songs honoring women and maiden spirits that reinforced societal gender norms and local ideals of youthful femininity and beauty. —Talia Lieber |
  
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