//KAKEMPHATON//

Katsina, Hopi, early 20th century, Saint Louis Art Museum: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Nepcetaq Mask, Yup'ik, c.1900, Saint Louis Art Museum: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Male Figure (Ofika), late 1800s or early 1900s, Cleveland Museum of Art: African Art

Figures such as this, known as ofika, were central to the initiation practices and the enforcement of laws among the all-male Lilwa association, a hierarchical organization that served educational, judicial, political, economic, and ritual functions among the Mbole. Meant to instill a moral code and to act as a cautionary symbol during initiation for Lilwa novices, ofika figures are believed to represent criminals who were ritually hanged for transgressions against Lilwa laws. The figure’s encrusted surface imitates how members covered their bodies with a substance made of ashes and palm oil during burial rites. Medium: Wood

Hell scene

Feast Ladle, possibly late 1800s or early 1900s, Cleveland Museum of Art: African Art

Size: Overall: 57.3 cm (22 9/16 in.) Medium: wood, cord

The Devil Attacking the Window (detail from St. Anthony the Hermit from the Isenheim Altarpiece), 1516, Matthias Grunewald

Dzunukwa Mask, Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), c.1870, Saint Louis Art Museum: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Mask, Yup'ik, c.1875, Saint Louis Art Museum: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Figurine, probably 1800s, Cleveland Museum of Art: African Art

The life of Lega men and women is structured around their advancement through the different grades of the Bwami association. Fulfilling political, social, religious, and other roles, the members’ ultimate purpose is the pursuit of wisdom and excellence. Ivory figurines were reserved for members of the two highest Bwami grades, in which the core of the Lega’s moral philosophy is revealed. Size: Overall: 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.) Medium: ivory

Crest Mask, Unidentified Ibibio artist, early 20th century, Saint Louis Art Museum: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas