all photographs by the author unless otherwise noted
Tracing the history of masking traditions in the broader region of southeastern Nigeria and adjacent areas of southwestern Cameroon may seem like an exercise in futility. Formal properties of masks, masking genres, names of individual and types of masks, and various combinations of elements such as carved masks or headdresses, costumes, and hand-held objects may seem to appear in a bewildering mix that changes from place to place and even coexists within the same community. Similar complexity can be observed when we examine the music and dance that accompany masquerade performances and the institutions that govern them. The picture that emerges can easily give the impression of intractable chaos. In an earlier article, I suggested a big-picture view of this complexity by tracing masking genres from the Cross to the Niger Rivers (Bentor 2002). A major conclusion of that study...