Ohaffia Masquerader Performing in Okwanku Masquerade, Akanu Village

Black-and-white photograph by G.I. Jones showing a masked Ohaffia performer in the Okwanku masquerade at Akanu village. The figure wears a wooden face mask with white pigment, high forehead, slit eyes, long nose and mouth, surmounted by a hat, with long raffia hair hanging down. The performer plays a horned instrument while spectators watch in the background. Jones recorded that Okwanku masquerade characters performed comic dramas, including one in which the Dibia (Doctor) character poisoned and revived the Rain Driver. The photograph formed part of Jones's documentation of Cross River masquerade styles, noting that carvers made both skin-covered and plain wooden heads and looked to Ibibio ideas for inspiration.