“The 250,000 Ijo people settled in the Niger River Delta where fish are in abundance, providing them with their principal means of subsistence. Ijo carvers produced altar panels and horizontal headdresses, called Otojo, which represent water spirits. They believe that these spirits are like humans in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and that before their birth, human beings live among the Otojo. Once born, the Ijo maintain contact with them through prayers in order to gain their favours.”

Source:
Baquart, Jean-Baptiste. The Tribal Arts of Africa. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. 1998. Print.