Images(10)

Ofu-eku or Okpurukpa (masquerade cloth)

Maker Unknown, Igala

DateLate 20th C

MediumCotton cloth

Dimensionsc. 53 1/2” W x 98 1/2” L (w/ o sticks)

Credit LineFunded by Mortimer C. Howe Fund at Colgate University.

Object numberAF1991.05.HOW

DescriptionMasquerade cloth handwoven on a man’s horizontal loom in nine strips stitched together edge to edge. Handspun cotton is resist-dyed in indigo, leaving undyed white triangles and lines of dashes. Border is applied strips of red and yellow machine-woven cloth upon which braided twists of white and blue yarn have been stitched. Each corner has a wooden stick covered by indigo-dyed cloth, around which strips of red and yellow cloth is wound. This type of cloth is called ofu-eku or okpurukpa by the Nsukka Igbo people, who use it to make mask costumes for the ojiornu, omabe, and akatakpa masquerades.

ClassificationsTextiles

Collections

Longyear Museum of Anthropology Collections

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