Art Institute of Chicago

Headdress (Ago Egungun)

Ojerinde (died about 1914)

Date

Mid–late 19th century

Medium

Wood and pigment

Culture

Nigeria

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Egungun , a widespread Yoruba masquerade, is staged to honor the ancestors and the newly deceased, who continue to influence the lives of their kin. Organized at funerals, on family occasions, and during annual or biennial festivals, the different types of egungun are each associated with a distinctive cloth costume, some of which include a wooden mask or headdress. The tufted hairstyle of this example mimics the flap of a hunter’s cap that hides protective medicines.

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