平板头饰：水精灵 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	平板头饰：水精灵
品名（英）	Plank Headdress: Water Spirit
入馆年号	1978年，1978.412.559
策展部门	迈克尔·洛克菲勒之翼（The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing）
创作者
创作年份	公元 1800 - 公元 1897
创作地区	尼日利亚（Nigeria）
分类	木雕（Wood-Sculpture）
尺寸	高 8 1/4 x 宽 6 1/8 x 深 35 3/16 英寸 (21 x 15.5 x 89.5 厘米)
介绍（中）	水神被认为是最终负责个人获得财富和权力的力量。在卡拉巴里（Kalabari），一个居住在三角洲东部的Ijo亚群中，最重要的乡村机构之一是Ekine协会，这是一个致力于代表水灵的化妆舞会的协会。据称，这些表演模仿了水灵本身的舞蹈，面具有时会从水中进出。通常，化妆舞会的头饰设计成主要特征面向天空，只有当舞者向前弯曲时，观众才能看到这种水精灵头饰用于Ekine男子协会（也称Sekiapu）的化妆舞会。这种表演中佩戴的头饰融合了人类和水生动物（如河马）或鱼类的特征。虽然他们穿着覆盖全身的布和棕榈服装，但头饰是被认为是化妆舞会"主人"座位的关键元素。Ekine表演是一种备受赞赏的娱乐形式，并援引当地的水精灵提供帮助和指导。技术娴熟的表演者在社会中获得地位，也是个人纠纷的仲裁员。
介绍（英）	Water deities are perceived to be the forces ultimately responsible for individual acquisition of wealth and power. Among the Kalabari, an Ijo subgroup that occupies the eastern part of the delta, one of the most important village institutions is the Ekine society, an association devoted to the dancing of masquerades representing water spirits. It is claimed that these performances imitate dances of the water spirits themselves, and the masks sometimes exit or enter from the water. Often the masquerade headpieces are designed so that the principal features face the sky and are visible to spectators only when the dancer bends forward. This water spirit headdress is used in the masquerades of the Ekine men's society (also Sekiapu). The headdresses worn in such performances blend the features of humans and aquatic animals (such as the hippopotamus) or fish. Although they are worn with a cloth and palm costume that covers the entire body, the headdress is the key element which is conceived of as the seat of the masquerade spirit's "owner." Ekine performances constitute a highly appreciated form of entertainment and invoke local water spirits for assistance and guidance. Skilled performers gain status in the community and are also the arbitrators of personal disputes.