This ancient Yoruba mask is hand carved from local rustic wood and can be dated back to the early 19th century. The mask depicts a rounded face  with broad luscious lips, stretched almond eyes and tribal marks, representative of the Yoruba Oyo Empire. Yoruba tribal marks  are scarifications of the face and/or body and serve a range of different purposes in different tribes including identification, healing, spiritual protection and beautification. However as times and cultures have become more westernised, most tribes have stopped this process as it is now deemed unhealthy. As mentioned, there are a huge variety of tribal mark styles, each with their own unique purposes and meanings and of course relative to specific tribes. The one pictured on this mask is called ‘Abaja’; the ‘Abaja’ style of tribal marks can be both basic and complex and can range from three to six horizontal lines per cheek.