| Goemai mask Nigeria |
| Photos and information from: African Arts - Spring 2002 in an article “Eastern Nigerian art from the Toby and Barry Hecht Collection”. |
| Mask. Goemai, Nigeria. Wood, abrus seeds; 63.5cm (25"). Several authors have noted a likeness between Jukun Aku maga masks (Tribal Arts 1998:29; Arts d'Afrique Noire 1999a: front cover, 1999b:52) and certain Goemai examples (Rubin 1969:105-10). In the latter sculptures the oval top plane is continuous with the upper jaw. Goemai masks are said to be worn horizontally, as shown below in the field drawing by Roy Sieber, whereas the Jukun examples are tipped down in front. Both mask types are felt to represent a highly stylized human head. This mask, called Mongop (Sieber 1961:10), appears to be the authority symbol for chiefship and is associated with agriculture as well. It officiates at the installations and burials of chiefs and otherwise appears once a year, during the dry season. The only examples in the literature are field photographs (Sieber 1961: figs. 6, 25, 26). |
| Goemai figure From the book: Africa the Art of a Continent |
| Standing figure Goemai - Nigeria wood 62 x 13 x 43 cm Fritz Koenig Collection |
| The Goeniai live to the north of the Benue Biver, opposite the Jukun. Their land is bisected by the Sheman-ker, a tributary of the Benue. Of the masks found among the Goemai one type is of particular interest because it relates to this figure and may be of an older, indigenous form that is shared by the Montol, northern neighbours of the Goemai. Called gugwom by both the Goemai and Montol, it is a horizontal mask with elongated crocodile-like jaws. It officiates at the installation and burial of chiefs and has a strong ancestral association; it is also used during the dry season and is associated with the success of agriculture. Gugwom masks resemble the head of this figure and of several others photographed in 1957 by Robin Jagoe, a British colonial officer (published by Sieber). The latter are quite unlike other Goeniai examples, which lack the zoomorphic head and are used by diviners in healing ceremonies. They had appeared at a harvest ceremony near Shendam, the capital of the Goemai. It was probably also an ancestral rite, for the ceremony took place near the graves of deceased Long Goemais (paramount chiefs of the Goemai). This may be the only figure of its type outside Nigeria that resembles the figures in Jagoe's photographs. In the absence of other data it may be considered to have ancestral and agricultural significance to the Goemai and be related to the celebration of deceased chiefs. BH, RS Bibliography: Sieber, 1961, figs 7, 29, 31; Klever, 1975, p. 225, fig. 101; Schaedler, 1992, p. 157, fig. 124 |
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| African Arts is a quarterly journal devoted to the plastic and graphic arts of Africa, broadly defined to encompass sculpture in wood, metal, ceramic, ivory, and stone, and less familiar work in fiber, hide, mud, and other materials. Included in this mandate are architecture, arts of personal adornment, contemporary fine and popular arts, and the arts of the Africa diaspora. In addition, the journal encourages dialogue on other forms of African expressive culture: film, theater, dance, and music. African Arts is published quarterly by the James S. Coleman African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles. It is distributed by MIT Press |