What is the meaning of Egungun?
Egungun, meaning “powers concealed” or “dry bones (of ancestors),” is a Yoruba (South Western Nigeria) masquerade that provides an important connection between the worlds of the living and the dead.
What was the purpose of the Egungun?
Egungun Masquerade Dance Costume: Ekuu Egungun. Egungun is a visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings.
Is Egungun a religion?
Egungun is a part of the Yoruba pantheon of divinities. The Yoruba religious system is sometimes referred to as the ‘Yoruba Religion’ or simply ‘Orisa Veneration’. In the tradition of ancestor veneration, Egungun represents the “collective”.
Is Egungun an Orisha?
In Yoruba tradition, Egungun-oya is a deity of divination. “Egungun” refers to the collective spirits of the ancestral dead; the Orisha Oya is seen as the mother of the Egungun.
What is Oro in Yoruba culture?
Oro Festival is an event celebrated by towns and settlements of Yoruba origin. It is an annual traditional festival that is of patriarchal nature, as it is only celebrated by male descendants who are paternal natives to the specific locations where the particular event is taking place.
Is Egun part of Nigeria?
The Ogu people, sometimes called Egun people, are an ethnic group located majorly in Lagos and Ogun State in the South-Western part of Nigeria. The Ogu people have varieties of dialects including Thevi, Xwela, Seto and Toli and they also account for about 15% of the indigenous population of Lagos State.
Why is the Egungun festival celebrated?
Egungun such as the “Gelede”, which is a flamboyant and fashionable masquerade, celebrates the very core of African womanhood, advocates for female gender equality and protects the rights of the women, although men commonly wear the headdress.
How many Orisha are there?
Yoruba tradition often says that there are 400 + 1 orishas, which is associated with a sacred number. Other sources suggest that the number is “as many as you can think of, plus one more – an innumerable number”. Different oral traditions refer to 400, 700, or 1,440 orishas.
What is an Egungun mask?
The word egungun means masquerade, and these masks are used in Odun Egungun festivals, which are performed for ancestors throughout the Yoruba region. This mask’s elaborately grooved horns and central conical coiffure, which is painted blue, rise dramatically from the mask’s two faces.
What is the meaning of Egungun be careful?
That saying warns people to be cautious as their actions (and words) have consequences. Excerpt #2. From https://businessday.ng/opinion/article/egungun-be-careful-na-express-you-dey-go/ “Egungun Be Careful Na Express You Dey Go” by RILWAN BALOGUN On Mar 25, 2020.
Why is Oro celebrated?
Where is Oro in Nigeria?
Efik, Obolo, Ogoni, Ijaw, Ejagham, Igbo, Ibibio, Balondo. The Oron people or Örö people are a multi-ethnic tribal grouping that make up the Akpakip Oro or Oron Nation. The Örö are located primarily in southern Nigeria in the riverine area of Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States and in Cameroon.