Ikem Masquerade Play in Umuahia
A black-and-white photograph depicting an Ikem masquerade play. The central figure is a masquerader wearing an Anang carved female face mask featuring naturalistic human features, dark eyebrows, a fine nose, and marks on the cheeks, topped with an elaborate black coiffure in large plaits. The mask is mounted over a square frame covered in printed cloth, and the masquerader wears a striped wrapper. The figure holds an umbrella in one hand and a handkerchief in the other. To the side stands a male attendant in a white top and plaid wrapper, holding a musical instrument. A group of spectators is visible in the mid-ground, with thatched houses and trees in the background.
Community Notes
Onyeka Nwokike
Sep 13, 2026
Ikem masquerade societies were established in the 1890s by Efik and Efut residents of Calabar. According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the ranks of the Ikem were open to the descendants of enslaved people, which contrasted with the exclusivity of the elite Ekpe society.
Onyeka Nwokike
Sep 13, 2026
The Ikem masquerade and its modified Cross River style diffused from Old Calabar into Ibibio country and the Umuahia area, reaching as far north as Ozu Item. As documented by the Jones Archive, Anang carvers produced skin-covered heads in this style by the early 1930s, which were distinguished from other regional styles by their drooping upper eyelids.
Onyeka Nwokike
Sep 13, 2026
Within the Ibibio group, Anang masks were frequently used to portray beautiful young women. These masks were dedicated to the entertainment parties of the Ekpo company, an ancestor-masquerade society whose masks represent spirits of the dead returning to bless or punish the village, as noted by the African Art Gallery.
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