About
Egungunis a Yoruba masquerade from southwest Nigeria, produced by Egungunsocieties for special dance ceremonies enacted at funerals and annual festivals. Egungun means “the powers concealed” and is a mask and masquerade that gives shape to spirits and ancestors that otherwise cannot be seen. As the performer begins to move, he is transformed, incarnating the spirit through dance. The ancestor, given form again on earth through the masquerade, can now act on behalf of the community by upholding justice and serving as a reminder of what it means to be Yoruba.
Egungun masks are composed of colorful panels of fabric, made of different types of material, ranging from coarsely woven burlap to fine velvet, corduroy, leather, knit, and batik, sewn to a wooden or cloth substrate. The mask is then further adorned with bells, mirrors, coins, icons, cowrie shells, and other items that provide auditory and textural functions. This Egungun is embellished with sequins that would sparkle in the sunlight and bring life to the animals and designs on the panels. A carved leopard sits on top of the headpiece, hidden by smaller panels. A thin band traces the outline of each panel and is accessorized by a serrated border, known as igbala, “something that saves a person,” a testament to Egungun’s apotropaic capabilities. The construction of the costume, together with the performance, imbues Egungunwith power.
This mask is in its full expression as a work of art when it is being performed. It is in the performance, when the panels are activated by the breeze and the drums tell stories as the dancer moves that the mask is seen as it is meant to be. As historian John Thabiti Willis explains, “When all of its aspects are taken together—spiritual, aesthetic, performative, and social—a masquerade becomes a complex, powerful event, one in which the masked figure and other participants honor and attempt to harness the power of ancestral spirits in order to direct the nature and force of their impact.” Before the late nineteenth century in Nigeria, Egungun would lead soldiers into battle; later, under British colonial rule, Egungun critiqued leadership and regulations. These masquerades are understood to be vital participants in the political culture and discourse of Yoruba communities and the masquerade acts as both a spiritual and a political manifestation of power.