Egungun

[3] Egungun is a visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings.

[4] The classification of Egun or Egungun types, might appear to be a fairly straightforward task, but in fact it is extremely complex deciphering the comprehension of indigenous taxonomies.

[6] However, from cultural affinities, especially in the Yoruba land, Southwest, Nigeria, the following egungun names can be identified: Danafojura and Awodagbese in Ogbomoso, Alapansanpa in Ibadan, and Feleru in Ibobu, Osun State.

In the Yoruba religion, the annual ceremonies in honor of the dead serve as a means of assuring their ancestors a place among the living.

They believe the ancestors have the responsibility to compel the living to uphold the ethical standards of the past generations of their clan, town or family.

Through drumming and dance, the Egungun robed performers are believed to become possessed by the spirits of the ancestors, as manifested as a single entity.

The Egungun spiritually cleans the community; through the dramatic acting and miming of the robed priests, they demonstrate both ethical and amoral behavior that have occurred since their last visit.

An Egungun costume is composed of multiple layers of cloth lappets made from expensive and prestigious textiles, expressing the wealth and status of a family as well as the power of the ancestor.

The layer worn closest to the masker's skin, the under sack, must be made of Aso-Oke, the indigo and white strip-cloth (Fig.

Henry Drewal hypothesizes that the breeze of blessing created by the Egungun may also relate to Oya, the wife of Shango, the deified fourth king of Oyo and the god of thunder.

To make the costume beautiful, and thus powerful, the lappets are decorated with patchwork patterns, braids, sequins, tassels, and amulets.

The amulets hold medicinal preparations which have performative power (ase), providing protection against enemies at a time when the transformed person is vulnerable.

The owner and the patron, the priest of divination, the tailor, the herbalist who prepares the packets of medicines, and the entire lineage collaborate in creating the ensemble.

Depending upon its wealth, a family may own several types of Egungun costumes, which may represent specific or collective ancestors of the lineage.