Central Nigeria Unmasked

Vertical masks from the Benue River people in Nigeria

I remember when I was 8 or so going Christmas shopping with my Mother in Philly. Every time we would enter a toy section of a department store, I would stand transfixed in front of the displays of Marx toy figure play sets, wanting each and every one.

Well, today, 5 decades later, I recaptured some of that wanting wonder as we visited the Smithsonian Museum of African Art to take in the Central Nigeria Unmasked:  Arts of the Benue River Valley exhibit.

As the name of the exhibit implies, masks are a central focus. There are vertical masks representing human figures. There are horizontal masks representing creatures from the animal world. There are relatively recent hand-carved masks from the mid-20th Century. There are simpler, weathered masks that carbon dating indicate are more than 500 years old. And there are huge special ceremonial masks for storytelling, with woven strands of hibiscus fiber streaming downward like Rapunzel's hair.

But masks aren't the only artifacts on display.  There are male-female pairs of Kundul figures used in healing rituals. There are sculptural vessels with wide mouths used to capture spirits of disease and then discard them. There are ornate power staffs. And there are serpentine Mumuye rainmaker wands.

One of the most captivating sections deals with ancestral incarnation masquerade ceremonies. As you stare at costumes used in such productions, video documentary footage plays on both small and giant screens. You see examples of the "tall ghosts," faces masked, bodies covered in textiles that resemble a funeral shroud, leaping and twisting through a village to the sound of rhythmic drums and eerie voice chants. 

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If you have any interest in African art or masks, you have until March 4th to come to the museum  and see the exhibit. However, if you can't make it, you can get a flavor of what is looks like by clicking here to view a CNN International report on Central Nigeria Unmasked.