In Ibibio communities of Nigeria, the Ekpo Society is an influential men’s association charged with initiation and ancestral veneration. Masked Ekpo dancers also direct funerals, assuring respect for the deceased. The society’s influence was maintained even during the colonial era, as British officials deferred to its power and Ekpo ceremonies continued. Ekpo masks can be serene and beautiful or fierce and menacing. Ibibio carvers are well respected throughout the Niger Delta for their skilled workmanship. Five faces peer from the upper register of this beaked mask, covered above and below with white paint.