Eliot Elisofon and cameraman George Bracher filming renowned woodcarver Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, Ibadan, Nigeria

Object Details

Local Numbers: EENG-IX-12, 18.
General: Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note: Typed index card reads, "Z 2 Yrb. Yoruba. Nigeria, Ibadan. Elisofon, cameraman Georges Bracher filming carver Lamidi Fakeye with an Epa mask. (coll. Univ. of Ibadan). Westinghouse film. 1/1971. Maya Bracher. neg.no. IX-12, 18." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.

See more items in: Eliot Elisofon Field collection; Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Nigeria

Archival Repository: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Type: Archival materials; Negatives (photographic); Black-and-white negatives; Negatives

Collection Citation: Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Collection Rights: Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Scope and Contents: The photograph depicts Eliot Elisofon and cameraman George Bracher filming renowned woodcarver Lamidi Olonade Fakeye standing by Epa headdress he carved. The headdress images a celebration of Iyabeji ('Mother of Twins'). "Epa and Elefon festivals are held throughout northern and southern Ekiti towns. Both terms vary regionally but they always refer to the same festival phenomenon - the celebration of social roles upon which the life of a Yoruba town depends. While an Epa carving may be placed on a shrine throughout most of the year receiving annual offerings and prayers from the elders of the house in which he resides, only when it 'comes out' does it, from a Yoruba pont of view, become 'complete' as a work of art, achieving that for which it was created." [Drewal H. J., Pemberton J. III, Rowland Abiodun, 1989: Yoruba. Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought; The Carvers of the Northeast. Harry N. Abrams Inc.]. This photograph was taken by Maya Bracher when she traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971. She was on assignment for Eliot Elisofon when he wrote, produced, and directed a four-hour television series for Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company) titled Black African Heritage (1973). The series was divided into four segments, lasting 50 minutes each: The Congo, The Bend of the Niger, The Slave Coast, and Africa's Gift.

Collection Restrictions: Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.