Water Deity Headdress
Etim Abassi Ekpenyong
Nigerian, Efut peoples, active early 20th century
Wood, goatskin and pigment

This headdress combines the spiral hairstyle of a newly initiated maiden with a crocodile's gaping jaws. It represents a distinctive masquerade form attributed to early-20th-century master carver Etim Abassi Ekpenyong.  Although skin-covered headdresses inspired by maidens with spiral coiffures were a well-established form, Ekpenyong's innovation was to combine it with a menacing crocodile, creating a new, visually arresting image of beauty allied to wilderness power. This headdress is associated with masquerades honoring water deities who were thought capable of transforming themselves into powerful water snakes or crocodiles.    🐊