https://doi.org/10.65770/FSKT8309
ABSTRACT
The Yoruba people believe in the existence of a supreme being called Olodumare, whom they cannot see but whose presence they acknowledge. Because of this, they feel the necessity of an intermediary between themselves and the Supreme Being. Egungun (masquerade) is believed to be the spirit of the ancestors, and whenever it is celebrated, it is held that the spirits of the departed visit the living. Egungun is therefore referred to as ara-orun, meaning the one from heaven, reflecting the Yoruba belief in the afterlife. The egungun cults serve as custodians of the ancestral spirit, reassuring people of immortality and reducing the fear of death through the dramatic appearance of the ancestral spirit in the terrestrial world. The present study focuses on the stylistic analysis of selected egungun masks in Kishi, a Yoruba town in Oyo State, Nigeria, for which no prior written documentation existed. The study was conducted during the annual egungun festival in Kishi, Irepo Local Government Area, between May and June 2021. Data were gathered through interviews with Chief Adebayo Adewuyi (Baloosa of Kishi), selected egungun custodians, and elders of the town, supplemented by personal observations and field visits to the families of selected masquerades. The study found that egungun festivals in Kishi receive special veneration, with some egungun representing incarnated ancestors, others serving secular entertainment purposes, and some created to avert evil or in response to divine demands. Egungun in Kishi is not worshipped but appeased as an intermediary between devotees and Olodumare. Where present, the headpiece functions as the seat of supernatural power. The festival fosters communal unity across religious lines and has positive social and economic impacts on the Kishi community.
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