Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask, Agbogho Mmuo

Maiden spirit (agbogho mmuo) masquerades perform annually during the dry season in the Nri-Awka area of northern Igboland. At these performances men dance as adolescent girls, miming and exaggerating their beauty and comportment.

They also sing tributes to both real and spirit maidens:

Mmanwu si n'igwe Masked Spirit from the sky
Udemu na lenu My fame is potent

These masks exaggerate the smallness of a young girl's ideal features while the whiteness of her complexion is likened to "the purity of white chalk," a substance used for ritually marking the body in both West Africa and the African Diaspora. The white pigment also serves as a ground for the elaborate uli decorations painted on young Igbo women's skin. Some maiden spirit masks, such as this one, have elaborate coiffures, embellished with representations of hair combs modeled after late nineteenth century ceremonial hairstyles.