Two ancestor's figures, Nne Nkwo and Nnade Nkwo, in the ancestral shrine house, Mma obu (ancestor-rest house), for Agbogo ward, Mgbom village, Afikpo Village-Group, Nigeria

Object Details

Local Numbers: O-100/1951-1953 EEPA 2000-070089
General: Title source: Dr. Simon Ottenberg, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

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

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: This photograph was taken by Dr. Simon Ottenberg while conducting field research at Afikpo village-group, southeastern Nigeria, from December 1951 to March 1953.; Original title reads, "Nne Nkwo (mother of Nkwo) and Nnade Nkwo (father of Nkwo), in the rest house (obiogo) of Agbogo Ward, Mgbom Village. These figures represent ancestors of the ward and village. The dress and paint are renewed from time to time, but it does not appear ever to be sacrificed to. The rest house, called obiogo (obu ogo), is found for each ward in Mgbom and other villages as a rule. It is where, at the date of this research, masks of the men's society and other paraphernalia were stored." [Ottenberg field research notes, O Series,December 1951-March 1953].

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

Other Archival Materials: Simon Ottenberg Papers are located at the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.