Ngi Mask

This Fang mask is connected with the society known as Ngi (also Ngil) yielding political and judicial powers. Its activity was recognized in all southern parts of Fang territory, among Ntumu, Okak and Betsi. The masters of the Ngi would travel from village to village. The masks themselves, seen without their fiber ruff and without the dancers' costumes made of raffia strips, gave a false impression of serenity. The deliberate anatomical distortion is consistent with the need to personify a terrifying, semi-human being. The mask's job was to confound the sorcerer, hunt down the social deviant, and punish the criminal. The face has traces of white kaolin.