FREE SPIRITS II - MMUO

Agbogho Mmuo are annual performances held in the northern part of the Igbos' traditional territory. Performed only by men wearing masks, the masquerades imitate the character of adolescent girls, exaggerating the girls' beauty and movements, the smallness of a young girl’s features and the whiteness of her complexion, which is an indication that the mask is a spirit. Most maiden spirit masks are decorated with representations of hair combs, and other objects, modelled after late 19th-century ceremonial hairstyles.