Oloju Foforo Mask - Yoruba
Seen here is the Oloju Foforo, Mask created by the Yoruba people. On top of the mask are two kneeling women. The larger central figure is the priestess of Oshun, a river goddess of love, beauty, and wealth, and an attendant, who holds a lidded bowl. Oshun is shown holding strings of cowrie shells in her left hand, according to some scholars. Cowrie shells, exchanged as currency, symbolized wealth, and devotees of Oshun used them in divination. The primary use for this mask is at the Ijeshu festival in the district around Osi on the borders of northern Ekiti and Ilorin Province in northeast Yorubaland. This festival is held in honor of Baba Osi or “Father of Osi.” This mask is very similar to the Epa type of mask but a more two-dimensional version. There is less obvious emphasis on the generation of life force for the community seen in the Ijeshu festival than in the Epa Ceremonies. [1]
[1] William Buller Fagg, Nigerian Images (New York: Praeger, 1963), 78.
[1] William Buller Fagg, Nigerian Images (New York: Praeger, 1963), 78.