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Obugulu Mau Masqueraders in Performance

Image Masquerades
Obugulu Mau masqueraders in performance with elaborate headdresses and white masks.
Obugulu Mau masqueraders in performance at Amobia village. From the G.I. Jones Collection.

A photograph depicting Obugulu Mau masqueraders during a performance in Amobia village. The lead masquerader wears an elaborate headdress of colorful felt, string, and tassels, while three following masqueraders wear headdresses with painted wooden crests. A dancer accompanies them, wearing a waist cloth with tassels and bands below the knee. The performers wear white masks with black markings around the eyes, nose, and mouth, accentuating the eyebrows and cheeks, paired with harlequin-like costumes. Spectators and trees are visible in the background.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Nov 01, 2026

The term Obugulu Mau (also spelled Ogbugulu Mau) means "Ghost Masquerade." It refers to a traditional dance performed by men to escort the spirits of respected deceased elders to the spirit world, a practice that was widely observed among the Igbo during the 1930s, according to the Obugulu Mau Masqueraders at Amobia Village archive.

Onyeka Nwokike

Nov 01, 2026

The masqueraders are affiliated with the IsuOchi group in the Nri Awka region of the Onitsha province, as documented by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Additional records from the Jones Archive show that G.I. Jones documented other specific masks in Amobia, including one titled "Government."

Onyeka Nwokike

Nov 01, 2026

This image was originally housed in an Agfa transparency box, numbered C756/, which contained a sequence of photographs from T.169937.GIJ to T.170148.GIJ, according to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

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