Elu Mask with Hinged Jaw

One can witness a wide variety of masquerades addressing issues of social well-being, protection, and health, as well as personal and spiritual concerns, in the Ogoni communities of southeastern Nigeria in which Zina Saro-Wiwa works.

Elu masks, such as this one, are danced by young members of secret men’s societies that have social, religious, or governmental functions. The small masks are attached to cone-shaped caps of fiber and cloth that cover the heads of the dancers. They are usually danced at annual festivals or at funerals of members of the societies. As Saro-Wiwa notes, Elu is an older, and more delicate, form of Ogoni masquerade than the newer genre in which she has worked.