Alago "Ikashi" masquerade. Photograph by Arnold Rubin.

Masquerade characters were common among groups in the northern Benue Lowlands such as the Alago and Goemai. They were rare among the hill Kofyar, but appeared occasionally among those living on the lowland fringes of Kofyarland, near Njak and Namu. The "taskmaster" masquerade was probably copied from the Alago, but putting him to this use is quite characteristic of the Kofyar with their labor-intensive agriculture.