Emat’eyeye (Itoci society hat)

The Dengese concentrated political power in an exclusive association of initiated nobles known as the Itoci (also written Totshi, Etotshi, or Ntochi). Membership required large fees and staged initiation rites, and it conferred the right to wear specific regalia, with a distinctive woven cap marked by a cylindrical projection serving as the society’s primary insignia. That format encoded shared values of the society: the vertical projection signified the elevated knowledge and insight that set an Itoci dignitary apart; the flared base referenced his breadth of mind as well as the encompassing unity of chiefs and their followers; and the painstaking workmanship marks distinction and respect. This example is further augmented by the addition of cowrie shells to cover the entire surface of the cap. Imported from the Indian Ocean, cowries were a symbol of wealth and prestige among the Dengese. Those combined symbols signaled his membership in society and established his political authority. The hat also served as a visual link between living members of Itoci and their forebearers who were commemorated in carved wooden figures bearing the same headgear.


Itoci society hats were worn at the completion of initiation, as well as during councils, judicial sessions, investiture rites, and funerary events. Outside formal occasions, the cap would have been stored with other regalia.