Ibo Warrior

I found this image of a masked warrior on the cave path on my first visit to the village of Umuofia. When I saw it I was reminded of the night Okonkwo went after his wife and his daughter after the daughter had been taken by the priestess. The headdress on the individual did look quite sadistic and intimidating to me, as did what appears to be a machete in his right hand. I am amazed at the intricacy of the artwork and attention to detail on the mask. The mask appears to be molded to the individuals face, which I would assume is advantageous for vision and movement if this is some type of war attire.

The hair or grass that adorns the outside of the mask almost seems to work as some sort of camouflage to hide in the bushes if he was hunting prey. I would guess that the artwork and the design of the mask is meant to honor or look similar to a god in their culture. This way they are able to bring their god with them to watch over them in battle or on the hunt, as well as intimidate others.

The masked individual also seems to be wielding a cane or stick of some kind. This is probably what the Ibo people used to beat their wives and children when they spoke of a cane, and they may have also used it to block attacks from other individuals.

I found a video of an alleged war dance in Nigeria because the picture reminded me of a warrior I might expect to see in Umuofia. I thought while the dance was simple it seemed very interesting to see how the people of Africa would prepare for war.