Mmanwu

They are performed only by males in exclusive secret societies and involve the use of elaborate, colorful costumes that are meant to invoke ancestral spirits.

[1] Masquerade traditions have a varied range of purposes that span from performing elements of epic drama derived from community cosmology and lore, ushering in new months and seasons, honoring totems and ancestral spirits, enactments of parables or myths, with entertainment and community building serving as a consistent commonality.

In the past masquerades also bore judicial, social regulatory, and even policing powers, however though these functions have decreased in modern times.

These dramatic performances often depict stories of daily life with a moralistic bent that highlights the social norms that the Mmanwu so closely enforce.

The local instruments used in these depictions are integral to the spiritual intention of the stories and the actual masks themselves include a great deal of artistic drama.

This is performed not only to protect the village, but also when there is going to be a punishment or execution of a criminal[4] Mmanwu is a way for Igbo people to regulate and discipline members of their society.

The Mmanwu practice is limited to male participants and there are strict rules governing how each gender interacts with the masquerade.

Both genders work to maintain the secrecy surrounding the ceremony, as it is forbidden to share the process outside of the mask making societies.