Kantana and Mama
Bush Cow Crest for Mangam Society
Kantana, 1900-1932
Scroll
Physical Qualities
Wood, camwood encrustation, 20 11/16 × 8 15/16 × 4 15/16 in. (52.5 × 22.7 × 12.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Barry and Toby T. Hecht, Bethesda, Maryland
Object Number
1993.219
The Kantana live in a world of walled, oval villages with houses composed of two concentric circular walls. Their similarly shaped oval wooden headdresses, representing bush-cow heads, are worn with massive grass costumes. The masks, which are similar to those used by better-known neighboring groups, such as the Goemai (see photo), provide protection for crops and humankind by fighting malevolent spiritual forces. The masks appear at installations and funerals of chiefs, initiations of young men, and rituals of fertility.
Field photo:
Roy Sieber, Sculpture of Northern Nigeria, 1961.
William and Robert Arnett, Atlanta, Georgia
"Three Rivers of Nigeria," High Museum, Atlanta, 1978
Wittmer, Marcilene A., and William Arnett. "Three Rivers of Nigeria: Art of the Lower Niger," Cross and Benue from the Collection of William and Robert Arnett. Atlanta: The High Museum of Art, 1978, pp. 93, ill. 218.
McNaughton, Patrick R., "Is There History in Horizontal Masks? A Preliminary Response to the Dilemma of Form," African Arts 24, no.2 (1991): 45.
