EGUNGUN: The Seen Spirits?

What have you believed about Egungun? That
they are masquerades or mere symbolic
manifestations of the ancestors or spirits? Or
men and boys dressed up in elaborate cloth and
raffia costumes and dance, jeer, or joke
depending on who they are manifesting?
Up to now, you must have believed
masquerades to be nothing more than myth,
folklore and tradition. It will shock you to know
that true masquerades are always dangerous.
They can kill, steal your soul, take your mind,
take your past, rewrite your future, and bring
the end of the world even. But, the most
interesting thing is that they are an important
and crucial part of the Yoruba history and a
spectacle to behold in our lifetime.
In Nigeria, there is a story for everything.
Among oral traditions in the Yoruba tribe, there
are lots of stories about Egungun cult and how
it sprouted up among the Yoruba race.
Whether it is true or not, it is an interesting
tale.
Egungun is a deity with a colourful view; it is
one of the greatest divinities in the land of
Yoruba. According to the myth, Egungun
became a known deity in two different ways.
One of it will be discussed today. In the
beginning, Egungun was among the great
divinities (Irunmoles) that came directly from
the heaven beyond .
The history made us aware that there once
lived a great man whose name was called
Lapanpa , he was the one that started the cult
of EGUNGUN. According to an ‘Ifa’ verse, God
gave Lapanpa, Egungun to bring to the physical
world but it looked like a Shea-butter. The
sun’s heat began melting the Shea -butter
brought by Lapanpa. He thought of what he
could do to protect the Shea-butter from
melting away, he later hid the remaining ORI
(Shea- butter) in his mouth to prevent it from
total melting and wasting away.
On getting to the physical plain of existence, he
wanted to utter some words saying “MO TI DE”
translating  “I have come”, before he could
utter such powerful words, his voice changed
because the Shea-butter had melted and
slipped into his throat . His voice changed and
resembled not the voice of his contemporaries.
He was ashamed of his voice, his character and
his life. He was planning what to do to prevent
the shame. He decided to cover his own head
with cloth. Whenever he wanted to speak out,
he noticed a strange voice, completely different
from the normal voice of his generation of his
days, thus, people became exceedingly gripped
with fear. People started to revere him that
consequently resulted into “EGUNGUN CULT”
which means oracle from heaven or deity from
unknown that represent spiritual past of the
people.
In the broadest sense of the word, Egungun
refers to all types of Yoruba masquerades or
masked, costumed figure. This same word,
however, when used in its more specific,
common sense, refers to the Yoruba
masquerades connected with ancestor worship.
EGUNGUN really means "bone," hence
"skeleton," and Egungun himself is supposed to
be a man raised from the dead. The part is
acted by a man disguised in a long robe, usually
made of grass, and a mask of wood, which
generally represents a hideous human face,
with a long pointed nose and thin lips, but
sometimes the head of an animal.
Egungun appears in the streets by day or night
indifferently, leaping, dancing, or walking
grotesquely, and uttering loud cries. He is
supposed to have returned from the land of the
dead in order to ascertain what is going on in
the land of the living, and his function is to
carry away those persons who are troublesome
to their neighbours. He may thus be considered
a kind of supernatural inquisitor who appears
from time to time to inquire into the general
domestic conduct of people, particularly of
women, and to punish misdeeds. Although it is
very well known that Egungun is only a
disguised man, yet it is popularly believed that
to touch him, even by accident, causes death.
In community settings, Egungun priests and
initiates that are trained in ancestral
communication, ancestral elevation work and
funeral rites are placed in charge of invoking
and bringing out the ancestors. Elaborate
costumes adorn the Egungun masqueraders
(dancers), and through drumming and dance,
these dancers become possessed with the
spirits of the ancestors. The Egungun then
spiritually clean the community and through
exaggerated acting/miming, demonstrate both
ethical and moral behaviour that occurred since
their last visit, exposing the strengths and
weaknesses of a community with hopes of
encouraging behaviour more befitting of their
descendants. Once this occurs, messages,
warnings and blessings are doled out to
spectators.
A crowd always stands round watching, at a
respectful distance, the gambols of an Egungun,
and one of the chief amusements of the
performer is to rush suddenly towards the
spectators, who fly before him in every
direction in great disorder, to avoid the fatal
touch. To raise the hand against Egungun is
punished with death, and women are
forbidden, on pain of death, to laugh at him,
speak disparagingly of him, or say he is not one
who has risen from the dead. "May Egungun
cut you in pieces," is an imprecation often
heard.
Egungun is thus at the present day a sort of
"bogey," or make-believe demon, whose chief
business is to frighten termagants, busybodies,
scandalmongers, and others, but it seems
probable that originally he was regarded as the
incarnation of the dead, and that the whole
custom is connected with manes-worship. In
June there is an annual feast for Egungun
lasting seven days, during which lamentations
are made for those who have died within the
last few years. It is a kind of All-Souls festival,
and resembles the Affirah-bi festival of the Tshi
tribes. Moreover, Egungun also appears in
connection with funeral ceremonies. A few days
after the funeral an Egungun, accompanied by
masked and disguised men, parades the streets
of the town at night, and, as in the Roman
conclainatio, calls upon the deceased loudly by
name.
A superstitious and half -frightened crowd
follows, listening for any response that may be
given to the weird cries of the Egungun. A few
days later the Egungun, again accompanied by
several followers, proceeds to the house in
which the death took place, and brings to the
relatives news of the deceased, usually that he
has arrived in Deadland safely, and is quite
well. In return for the good news the family
set food, rum, and palm-wine in a room of the
house, and inviting the Egungun to partake of
it, themselves retire, for to see Egungun eating
is death.
When Egungun and his followers have
consumed everything loud groans are heard to
issue from the room, and, this being a sign that
be is about to depart, the family re-enter and
entrust him with messages for the deceased.
Some Important Egungun includes the Oloolu
and Alapansanpa, both of Ibadan land. Elewe of
the Ìgbómìnà Yoruba clan, which is common in
the towns of Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún, Ìlá Òràngún, and
Arandun, is also of particular prominence. In
Brazil, the main cult of the Egungun is found
on the island of Itaparica, in the State of Bahia.
Cloth plays an important role in the world of
the Yoruba. Their myths equate nakedness
with infancy, insanity, or the lack of social
responsibility. More elaborate dress reflects
social power and prestige. In performances
honouring ancestors, exquisite cloth is the
major medium for the masker's transformation.
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 composition of an Egungun ensemble has
several distinctive features. The layer worn
closest to the masker's skin, the under sack,
must be made of aso oke, the indigo and white
strip-cloth. It closely resembles the shroud in
which the dead are wrapped. This sack, along
with the netting for the face and hands, must
completely seal the masker's body. The netting
effectively disguises facial and hand features
that might disclose his identity.
On top of this base are placed the layers of
lappets. As the masker whirls, the lappets are
sent flying, creating a "breeze of blessing." 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 main
protective amulets, however, are on the inside
of the costume, not the outside.
An ensemble is repaired and refurbished for
use year after year, with layers of new lappets
and amulets added to express remembrance
and honour. Through divination, however, an
ancestor might request a new costume
altogether. 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.
The Egungun ensemble acts as the medium for
the masker's transformation into his ancestors.
An Egungun society is composed of men and
women whose lineages have the right to
present the masquerade. Men do the masking.
Women never wear the costume, although they
participate in the chorus that sings the oriki
(praise poems) and histories of the families.
Elder women of high title also perform
invocations, prayers, and offerings. At annual
festivals, each of the numerous lineages is
given a separate day to perform. The masker is
kept at a distance from the surrounding crowd
with the help of attendants dressed in
masquerade costumes of different types. After
all the Egungun have danced, the ensembles
are stored until the next performance.
Egungun represent in reality ancestral divinities
that shows the belief of ‘Ifa’ devotee in the life
after death and the resurrection of every soul
in the universe. The remembrance signifies
that every soul in the universe must ensure
that he works towards making a universe ,
most especially the physical world a place of
learning , and for the redemption of soul to
attract the wisdom and light of ‘Oduduwa’- the
vibration from ‘Olodumare’; God.
When next the Egungun makes a rush towards
you, flee from him to escape his touch. Do not
doubt the power of culture, for they are spirits
that we can see.