Egwu Mmonwu | Iri Ji Ofu Iji Nike

Egwu Mmonwu is the dance of the spirits that you will find in most Igbo celebrations such as iri ji ofu also known as the New Yam Festival. The clips showed here were taken at Iji Nike in Enugu, Nigeria.

Transcript:
Masquerades are a lot of things to different people and play very important roles in the traditional Igbo setting. They may dance and entertain but they mean something deeper. To the average Igbo, masquerades are spirits. Spirits of the ancestors, rejoined their children. Great spirits in communion with the living, to teach, to bless, to make merry with men and to bring balance to the community’s circle of life.

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.

People make offerings of money to the masquerades who praise and bless them in return. They ring bells to notify people of their presence. It is not wise to stumble into a masquerade. They are not all kind and benevolent. Since their handgear could include canes, they are never shy to use them.


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