Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-27
RARE MASKS ADDED
TO MUSEUM HERE
Gift Shows Craft and Reveals
SuperStitionS of Ibo Tribes
of Africa.
BY JESSIE G. BEACH.

Among the rare objects recently to
find their way to the treasure house OF
chronological wealth in the National Mu-
scum is a collection of imaginary ami
NAL masks from the Ibo tribes of West
Africa, which has just been received as
a gift from c. c. Roberts. a Nigerian
business man, who has spent many
years among these primitive people.
In commenting on these strange
masks. DR.. Walter Hough, head curator
of the department. said: These OBJ
jacts are masterpieces of grotesque
primitive art-unique in subject, I'M
usual in design and above ali rare in
execution. for the highly developed
craftsmanship displayed in the interpre-
tation of these monstroSitieS is rarely
round among tribes Of such primitive
nature.
In the second place these masks are
of unusual interest since they come from
a region about which, until recently,
white man has known but little a land
where human sacrifice is duty, where
cannibaliSm is the favorite sport of the
day, where men are buried alive, and
where execution in the course OF fu-
neral rites is an everyday occurrence.
Must Have Attendants.
According to Ibo philosophy no per-
son of prominence should enter the
spirit world unattended. He must have
his messengers, personal servants and
slaves to accompany him-the presence
of whom will demonstrate his rank and
dignity in the spirit world. The number
Of slaves who accompany a person
through the gates of death is deter
mined by the resources of the deceaSeds
estate. The initial stage of the pro-
ceedings is as follows: A strong lad OF
Is or Is years is selected to act as the
messenger and personal servant. over
his shoulder is placed the private bag,
receptacle made from the complete
skin of a goat. Into this bag the per-
sonaI treasures of the deceased are
placed, such as his cup and snuff box.
together with kola nuts and certain
eatables. AS soon as the lad is thus pre-
pared two young men are seized, stunned
and laid in the grave. The lad with the
bag is forced to lie between them. The
corpse of the deceased is then lalo
lengthwise on the lad in such way
that it rests partly on all three victims,
and thus arranged the grave is imme-
diately filled in.
TT is the custome to have additional
attendants to accompany the departing
spirit of a king in which case others
are brutally killed by the public exc
cutioner. The corpses Of these victims
are not buried but thrown in the bush
where the remains of human sacrifice
are deposited.
lone should not, however, confuse
execution in the course of funeral rites
with the ordinary custom OF human
sacrifice. The latter appears to be
always of an atoning character while
the victims at burial are put to death
C1OiritS
accompany the deceased into the great
beyond.
Believe Spirit Returns.
"In the land of the Ibos, where
reignS supreme, the spirit
of every deceased person Is believed 10
return to earth bringing good or evil
upon the natives according to the re-
ception made by its friends. In order
to gain the good will of the spirits
these deliberately carved masks, often
requiring many years of labor, are kept
in readiness for the abode of the spirit
while on the earth.
THE good will of the spirits is fur
Their entreated by long-drawn out burial
which are begun lmmeol-
ately following death. A corpse is
buried within few hours after death,
and then begins what scientists de-
SCTlUE DIS IIIC lLOSu CAobOA0N AN%
ceremony yet known. A terrific din
from the beating of tom-toms and the
shouts of friends and relatives is en-
tered into, the whole proceedings grow
ing into a noisy drinking carousal which
lasts for four days At the end of the
fourth day the crowd visits the grave
when the spirit is believed to come forth
and inhabit an appropriate mask. If
a King or person of prominence, most
carving is selected, but if a
person low in the scale of life. a rela-
lively simple mask is used. The spirit
as it appears on the fourth day is very
weak and needs many attendants. 1t
reappears, however, on the fifth day
with its full strength, and if we'll
pleased with the reception made to it,
departs peacefully on its way to the
happy hunting ground of the tribe,
but if unpleased may cause plague and
famine to envelope the land, the worst
of all evils being a drought that causes
a failure of the yam which is the
Ibo's staff of life.
ResOrted TO Kidnapping.
Until recently few white men have
dared to enter this region for fear of
being deyoured by the cannibals or