What is the purpose of Egungun ceremonies?

The most widespread masquerade is the egungun of the Yoruba. Like all masquerades, the egungun is a multimedia performance designed to honor the dead, and a wide variety of masks and costumes are used to communicate with ancestral spirits. Ceremonies do not have a standardized format.

When did the Egungun festival start?

On September 2, 1853, the death of Oba Akitoye of Lagos ushered in the very first performance of the famous “Eyo Festival”, at the time, it was called the “Adamu Orisha Play” a theatrical performance as funeral rites for every Oba of Lagos and any important person in the State.

Where is Egungun festival located?

In Iragbiji, a town near Osogbo, the Egungun festival is celebrated as the period of interaction between the living and the dead. Many colourful masquerades parade the streets and offer prayers for the living. The festival takes place in May every year and lasts for seven days.

Is Egungun an Orisha?

In Yoruba tradition, Egungun-oya is a deity of divination. “Egungun” refers to the collective spirits of the ancestral dead; the Orisha Oya is seen as the mother of the Egungun.

What is an Egungun festival?

The Egungun is a secret society among the Yoruba people of Ede, Oyo State, Nigeria. The major Egungun festival takes place in June, when members of the society come to the market place and perform masked dances. The masks they wear represent ancestral spirits and may cover the whole body or just the face.

Why are people scared Egungun?

Egungun is a Yoruba masquerade known for its elaborate nature and how people fear the masquerade. Egungun festivals are celebrated in honour of the dead. Annual rites honouring the deceased are held in the Yoruba faith to ensure that their ancestors have a place among the living.

Is Egungun a religion?

Egungun is a part of the Yoruba pantheon of divinities. The Yoruba religious system is sometimes referred to as the ‘Yoruba Religion’ or simply ‘Orisa Veneration’. In the tradition of ancestor veneration, Egungun represents the “collective”.

Whats the meaning of Egungun?

Egungun, meaning “powers concealed” or “dry bones (of ancestors),” is a Yoruba (South Western Nigeria) masquerade that provides an important connection between the worlds of the living and the dead.

How does the Egungun ceremony honor the ancestors?

Elaborate performances serve to commemorate the dead through the remembrance of their past life while simultaneously reinforcing the relationship between the living and the recently deceased ancestor.