Mask 7 at The British Museum, London

Among the Kalabari Ijo peoples, who live in the delta area of the lower Niger River in Nigeria, important rituals honor and appease water spirits, who were believed responsible for ensuring the Ijo's food supply and their fertility. This wooden mask represents one of these water spirits, otobo (hippopotamus). When worn the mask was positioned on the top of the head and decorated with feathers and cloth. African masks were used not only for enternainment and ceremony but also to bring the powers of the wild bush and swamps into the civilized area of town and village so that humans can interact with them and use their dangerous forces and social ends. Characters commonly inbolbed in such powerful masquerades are wild beasts, spirits, foreigners, witches or the dead. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.居住于尼日利亚尼日尔河下游三角洲地区的卡拉巴里伊乔（Kalabari Ijo）族群中，有着诸多重要仪式，用以敬奉并安抚水神——伊乔族认为，水神掌管着族群的食物供给与繁衍福祉。 这款木面具即代表其中一位水神otobo（河马）。佩戴时，该面具会被固定于头顶，并用羽毛与织物进行装饰。 非洲面具不仅用于娱乐与仪式场合，更旨在将荒野丛林与沼泽的神力引入城镇村落的文明空间，使人类得以与之互动，并将其磅礴之力运用于社会事务之中。 这类盛大假面舞会中常见的角色，多为野兽、神灵、外来者、女巫或是逝者。 本展品隶属于Scan The World项目。该项目由MyMiniFactory发起，为非营利性公益计划，旨在打造覆盖全球的可3D打印雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑数字档案库，供公众免费获取使用。Scan The World为开源社区共建项目，若您身边有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解具体参与方式。