EGUNGUN FESTIVAL    


  Masked  dances and festivals are common in many parts of Nigeria, but among the Yoruba  people  of the  southwest,  few occasions  are  more colorful than the annual  Egungun  festival,  when  ancestors,  forefathers  and  other  famous  figures  of  the ethnicity  are  celebrated  and  the  memory  of  those  already  deceased  is  commemorated by the people.  


  The  Egungun festival is usually  held  in  May  in  important  towns  in  Ogun  State,  Lagos  and other parts of  Yorubaland.  The  spirit of the  ancestors,  represented  by various colorfully  dressed  masquerades,  makes  them  visible to the  mortal  world.  Among the  locals,  the  Egungun  festival  provides  an  opportunity,  widely  cherished  in  most  African  societies,  for the dead  to influence the affairs of the living  and  to  unite  with their families and  friends.  Egungun may represent  the  specific  first  or  last  name of  a  deceased  person.   


 The festival  lasts  for  a week  of  events. And these  events,  like  any  important  occasion,  attract thousands of visitors and  tourists. The magnificent  Egungun  masquerade  has  different  designs  depending on the  ancestor  or god  represented, but all  use  wooden  ceremonial  masks as an  essential  part of their  regalia.  For  seven  days,  the  costume  festival  parades  through the  streets,  bestowing  blessings  on  the land and  the  people  it  encounters. On  the  seventh  day,  the  entire  performance  takes  place  in the  Royal  Palace  and  is  concluded by the  Oba  (King).  At the end of the  conclusion,  all  the  masquerades return to their  kingdom  and  are  not  seen again until  a year  later  at  another  festival. 

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