Headdress for Efe Gelede

The painted surface of this haunting mask suggests it was made for the nighttime performance (Efe) that precedes Gelede’s daytime spectacle. The light-colored paint would have made the mask easier to see in the dark. Efe lasts until dawn and includes a series of masked characters, culminating with the appearance of Efe, a grand figure who speaks with the authority of the Great Mother. The event uses songs, poetry, and satire to entertain Our Mothers—female elders, ancestors, and deities—and the community; underlying this, however, is the serious work of prayer and the invoking of spiritual forces, whose proximity is increased by the mystery of night.