Mba Mask

Origin: Igbo Tribe, Nigeria
Composition: mba wood, paint

This is a face mask that is commonly used in okumkpa performances in southeastern Nigeria. Okumkpa is a theater tradition staged after the Dry Season Festival. It often involves up to 100 masked performers—men and boys—who dance, sing, and act out a series of skits before an audience of men, women, and children. The performances are satirical and topical in nature and function as critical commentary on the lives and affairs of people living in the community.

Among the Igbo, putting on a mask transforms the performer into a spirit (mma). The mba mask is worn by older boys in the okumkpa performance and occasionally by musicians as well. The origins and specific meaning of the name of this mask, mba, is not clear, however it has been suggested that the name derives from the type of wood used to produce the mask, also called mba (Ref: Ottenberg, "The Masked Rituals of Afikpo Igbo," 1975; Segy, "Masks of Black Africa," 1976; University of Michigan Online)

Please contact us to inquire about this piece at (415) 362-6601 or info@sujaro.com.