wood craft

The Igbo people of Nigeria are universally known for their traditional masks used for sacred rituals and ceremonies. Ghanaian artisan Emmanuel Austin Ankude pays tribute to these masks with a remarkable design hand-carved from sese wood featuring a distressed finish.

Robert Nortey carves a beautiful sese wood replica of the Suaga mask of the Mambila people. They live south of the Adamana Mountains on the border between Cameroon and Nigeria -- either can be considered as their country of origin. The Suaga mask is used during the festival of the same name, which marks the beginning and the end of the agricultural cycle. Nortey adorns the mask with embossed aluminum plates to resemble tribal scarifications.

Ghana'a Christopher Nyasafo pays homage to Nigeria's Yoruba people through his woodcaving expertise, replicating this impressive mask. Yourba masks can be found in shrines as well as worn during important festivals and celebrations. Nyasafo crafts and paints this impressive sese wood mask by hand.

Salihu Ibrahim crafts an impressive mask in the tradition of Nigeria’s Hausa people. Known as Zuchiya ("Heart"), the mask is believed to bring good fortune to those who live in the household where it hangs. Zuchiya is carved from sese wood and adorned by cotton fabric. Ibrahim fashions the hair and beard from jute and raffia and adorns it with cane adornments.

A beautiful mask welcomes chiefs to the Chikachiki festival in Kano, Nigeria. Meaning "Full stomach" in Hausa language, the festival is celebrated by the Tijaniyya people when Ramadan is finished and fasting is over. It means merriment is allowed and they can eat all that they like. Sefah Mohammed crafts this sese wood replica by hand and adorns it with colorful recycled glass beads. Embossed aluminum plates recreate tribal scarifications.

A mask to honor ancestors, this one is largely known as "Festac." It commemorates the Festival of Arts and Crafts. This yearly event that began in Nigeria is represented by a mask personifying Queen Idia, and it symbolizes the spiritual bond that unites all peoples of African descent in the world today. Frank Odei Amoani creates a stunning version as he carves this mask of sese wood and applies clay to achieve an ancient, weathered look.

Queen Idia extended the frontier of what is known as the Ancient Benin Empire to unbelievable heights and wide geographical reach. She was a devout patron of the arts who encouraged the creative impulses of her people as much as their valiant pursuit of conquest.

Wearing the colors of Africa, this mask symbolizes Maigaya or faithfulness, in the Hausa language. Abdul Aziz Mohamadu recreates the Nigerian mask with exceptional detail as he crafts the African rubberwood mask by hand. He decorates it with brass and painted details.