Gẹlẹdẹ
The Gẹlẹdẹ spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship.
Ketu, one of the oldest and most elaborate of the Gelede performances has an origin story of a king dying and his two twin sons both vying for the throne.
An ese Ifa explains the origins of Gelede as beginning with Yemoja, "The Mother of all the orisa and all living things."
Yemoja could not have children and consulted an Ifa oracle, who advised her to offer sacrifices and to dance with wooden images on her head and metal anklets on her feet.
No sooner than Efe and Gelede performed these rituals - dancing with wooden images on their heads and metal anklets on their feet - they started having children.
With its connection to Iya Nla, or the Great Mother, the Gelede society has a large number of female members.
This is in part because of its connection to motherhood and mothers, but also due to the belief that participation within this society helps in the fertility of the women.
Iyalase's main function, outside of a point of communication, is being in charge of the Gelede shrine, Ase, where she is the only one allowed to enter.
The Babalase is, in the most general terms, the assistant to Iyalase where he will only be appointed with the approval of Iya Nla and the powerful mothers.
In some communities this position is hereditary and requires a vast amount of knowledge about rituals and worship in the Yoruba society.
Usually played by a middle aged man or older, it is essential that he is knowledgeable in the oral literature of the community, Arugi, or the masker, means "wood carrier".
Agberin, or the Chorus, is composed of men and women wearing either similar or the same clothing to project the appearance of being a group.
[1] Although the Gelede ceremony may be staged at any time of the year (to better the lot of an individual, to cleanse the society of pestilence, to induce rain, to enrich human fertility, to enlist the support of supernatural forces and the "powerful mothers" in wartime, and to honor the dead), the most elaborate performance occurs during the annual festival.
Given the concern of the Gelede society with peace and social stability, it is not surprising that didactic themes recur in efe songs.
The performances are given by men, wearing masks that feature sculpted images of scenes including animals and people or sewing machines and drums.
The Gelede "mask" is more accurately a headdress, since it rests on top of the head and the wearer's face is covered by a cloth veil.
The headdress takes the form of a human head, on top of which are motifs that are intended to entertain onlookers but, in addition, usually address social concerns that may also be expressed in songs that are part of the masquerade.
Consisting of a baby sash, breasts, buttocks, metal anklets, colored panels, a horsetail whisk, and a fan, the materials of the Gelede costumes have various connotations.
