The peoples of Ekiti and Igbomina in northeastern Yorubaland employ Epa masks in public rituals that celebrate and enhance the growth, power and general well-being of their communities. These festivals validate cultural values and political hierarchies, and honor eminent people, such as the king, farmers, warriors and diviners. A variety of Epa masks are known, each of which bears a different figural type atop its helmet. The motifs include warriors, leopards, and Ogun, the Yoruba deity of iron and war. A figure of a woman with infants is frequently referred to as olomoyeye, "owner of many children," and is associated with fertility. She represents human achievement, while the helmet mask symbolizes the world of the dead.