MASQUERADE AND MASQUERADING IN IGBO LAND: A RETROSPECTION ON OMABU-THE NIGHT MASQUERADES AMONG THE TRADITIONAL OGHE SOCIETIES OF THE IGBOS OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Masquerades are the spirits of the ancestors that manifest in masked forms to commune and interact with the living beings. Masquerade marks the return of the ancestors to the land of the living and the celebration of the lives of the deceased old men of the communities. Masquerading therefore involves all the activities that are associated with the preparation and presentation of the masquerades as well as the awakening and the re-awakening of the spirits of the departed young, matured, old men or the ancestors of a community and their transformations into masquerades. Masquerades are celebrated in many diverse cultural festivals, generally refers to as “masquerade feasts”. Masquerades are usually revered and feared by all in most culture particularly in Igbo Societies. Masquerade is an all-male affair that abhor female participations or involvement. It is a cultural thing that is not only seen all over Africa including Nigeria, but in many other places of the world like the South America, the Caribbean and some parts of Asia. In Africa and in Nigerian in particular, masquerades feature prominently among the Igbos of which Oghe people in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State is a major part of, and in which they are known for. This paper is therefore premised on the fact that so much have been written about masquerades by many Nigerian scholars in the disciplines of History, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Language and Igbo Studies, among which are those of Igbo descent of which again are those of Oghe’s extraction. In view of this, it is however, worthy of note that no single individual scholar of Oghe’s background has deemed it fit to write about Omabu- the night masquerade as a theme worthy of discussion. What we have seen so far were just the mere mentioning of it in papers and presentation passages that have to do with masquerades or other related topics on cultural issues. It is thus against this backdrop that this paper is borne to fill this intellectual lacuna by dedicating this detailed study on Omabu-the night masquerades among the traditional people of Oghe in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Using qualitative research method, this paper made an overview of masquerades in Igbo society –land and this include its meaning, definition, origin, classes as well as their functions. In addition to this, the concepts of society, culture and language as they relate to the topic of the study were defined and explained. It further examines the place of Omabu- the night masquerades in the traditional Oghe society in Ezeagu Local Government Area of the State Enugu. The factors that possibly led to its disappearances or non-existence in the contemporary time were also captured by the paper. The paper concluded by noting that Omabu-the night masquerades had impacted positively to the life of the traditional Oghe people. However, the authors are of the opinion that the cultural practice has as a matter of fact outlived its usefulness as it could no longer be sustained in the twenty first century of modern, globalized world. The study is therefore expository and descriptive. It equally employs oral interviews in addition to secondary data consulted. More so, reminisces and individual experiences and observations of the authors lend more credence to the study.