What is the purpose of Egungun ceremonies?

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.

What happens in the Yoruban 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.

What is an Egungun festival?

Egungun festival is part of the Yoruba religious system, sometimes referred to as Orisa. It is celebrated as festivals and rituals through the masquerade. An elder from the Egungun family called Alagbaa sometimes presides over the ancestral rites.

What are Egungun masks traditionally used for in Nigeria?

This mask would have been worn during the annual or biannual Egungun festival, performances and celebrations to honor lineage ancestors.

How long is Egungun celebrated?

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.

What is the meaning of Egungun?

powers concealed
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.

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”.