The Ebiras and the World - By Ebira Vonya International Organization, Inc.: April 2008

Authored by: Dr. Sunday Ododo

Posted by Dr. Joseph Ozigis Akomodi, New York, USA.

This essay theorizes the Ebira mask practices using the Ekuechi festival of Ebira
Tao of central Nigeria. The study is essentially a field work engagement involving
participatory observation in the Ekuechi festival performances, recording of these
events and oral interviews. The core of this theorization is located around the dual
transformation and doubling essence of maskless characters conceived and perceived
as masquerades. It is from this phenomenon that we evolved the Facekuerade
notion which is meant to capture the non-masked masquerade types, which abound
in Ebira masquerade repertory and some other Nigerian and African cultures. From
nomenclature to paradigm, the facekuerade notion is derived from the Ebira
concept of Eku (the domain of the dead and masquerade), the Ekuechi event and
the general understanding of the masquerade motif. Through this understanding,
the paper identifies the generic and conceptual distinction between masked and
unmasked characters otherwise bound together as masquerades. Consequently,
facequerade is, in this paper, recognized as a motif for the purpose of classifying
unmasked masquerade characters. The essay concludes by anticipating the
Facekuerade concept as theatre because of its performative essence with vibrant
ritual process.

Keywords Facekuerade; masquerade; Ebira-Ekuechi; transformation
duality; Eku’rahu; character doubling; ritual process; festival performance
The Facekuerade notion:

Mask is the iconic essence of masquerade art. Disguise and impersonation are
its key functions. In Africa, traditionally, masquerade art is an important
cultural event because of its ancestral manifestations. It is perceived as an
entity that embodies the spirit of the ancestors. The Yoruba, for instance,
considers the ancestors as ‘departed spirit of their forebears’ (Ogunyemi 1997,
p. 95). For the Igbo, according to Osadebe (1981, p. 23), ‘the ancestors were
the all-important link between the material and spiritual worlds, while serving
Cultural Studies Vol. 22, No. 2 March 2008, pp. 284308
ISSN 0950-2386 print/ISSN 1466-4348 online – 2008 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/09502380701789208
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as the source for obtaining other worldly knowledge by the Igbo’. Relying on
authorities like Horton (1963), Segy (1975), Willet (1971), Ojo and Oludare
(1977), Okoye concludes that:
All African traditions recommend that masquerades be perceived as
supernatural beings that are guests of the living from the extra-mundane
universe. They discourage the perception of them as representations by
actors wearing costumes and masks; rather, the costumed actors are
regulated as the spirits themselves, respected by the community
appropriately as befits their spiritual characters.
(1999, p. 74)

All these assertions combine to inform the African philosophy of life that
perceives the unborn, the living and the dead as one continuum or as Soyinka
(1976, p. 32) graphically captures it, a ‘dome of continuity’, a state of
transition. Sofola (1979 p. 127) refers to it as a ‘state of perpetual
transmutation’ which makes unbroken continuity possible. Thus, the annual
ancestral visit, in masquerade form, to the land of the living is revered and
respected with many functional values and socio-political controls. Within the
Igbo traditional context for instance, Masquerades are perceived as incarnated ancestors who have been reverently dispatched to the general conflation of the ancestral spirit world.

They manifest as guests to their living communities within which
they must be treated with regulated awe, respect and other reverent
attitudes. The general Igbo reverence for their ancestors as an essential
and supernatural extension of the living human community ensures that
this sanctified attitude carries over to the masquerades. Thus they are
credited with supernatural powers and supernal insights. They descend to
their erstwhile communities, at the ordinance of its members, to
celebrate or mourn with them, or dispatch some social actions of
consequence.(Okoye 1999, p. 74)

However, there are some performance characters without masks that are still
perceived as masquerades in Nigeria. Interrogating the Ebira-Ekuechi festival,
Husaini (1991, p. 148) has actually queried the application of the word
masquerade ‘since not all masqueraders use masks’. Unfortunately, this poser
is left unattended to. The answer to this nomenclatural problem forms a
pivotal plank of discourse in this essay. It is quite revealing that masquerade
can be conceived without a mask, which is a fundamental feature of the
masquerade art. First, let us examine some concrete examples of its
occurrence in some cultures in Nigeria. We shall however dwell more on
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the Ebira-Ekuechi festival in Nigeria to provide a theoretical framework for
this discourse.
In Yorubaland for instance, such performance characters without masks
can be found. Oloolu of Ibadan is a highly revered masquerade that carries
‘rituals to sacred spot to stop the spread of epidemic or to avert natural
disasters’ (Ogunyemi 1997, p. 99). The masquerade hangs his mask across
the shoulder to rest on his chest and appears once yearly. The intensity of the
potency of this masquerade can be judged by the fact that the performer of the
masquerade in a particular year does not live to do so the next season.
Jenju of Abeokuta is another mystifying masquerade that comes out at night
every three years for spiritual cleansing. He does not don a mask too. It is
generally forbidden to apprehend his sight. People are given sufficient warning
to go into hiding as the masquerade emerges. A human megaphone heralds his
arrival to the neighbourhood to get people off the street ‘aiwoo, aiwoo’ or
‘akii woo’, meaning, ‘it is forbidden to look at it’. Folklore has it that a woman
one day concealed herself inside a big pot in order to have a glimpse of the
masquerade. The masquerade character detected and poured some medicinal
substance on it. The pot and the woman transformed into a huge stone. A host of
other unmasked masquerades in Yoruba-speaking areas of Nigeria include
Okelekele masquerade of Ekinrin-Ade in Kogi State; Melemuku masquerade of Oyo
town, Atupa of Ilora, both of Oyo state; Olukotun masquerade of Ede, Komenle of
Agba and Akereburu of Owu all in Osun state.1
In Iboland, Ayaka, a night masquerade ‘does not wear regular costumes to
disguise’ the performer,
Speaking, chanting and singing in a disguised Ududo (spider) voice, under
the mask of the darkness is more than enough disguise since only the
initiated come out to watch and follow Ayaka.
(Okoye 1999, p. 99)
There is also Nmanwu-anyasi night masquerade in Anambra state that performs
without masking. In Akoko Edo area of Edo state, Ogbugburu masquerade of
Ososo is another unmasked example to cite just as Aboga exists in Idomaland.2
From all the foregoing, it can be conjectured that the concepts of mask in
masquerading art transcends the physical object of concealment. Night
(darkness), voice disguise, pseudonyms and fear have become potent masking
factors that sometimes de-emphasize the use of proper mask, the root word for
masquerades. The mysticism that surrounds the masquerading art reinforces
the image of a masquerade character without a mask. It is for these reasons, we
believe that the use of the term masquerade for a performer without a mask
has to be revisited. This is precisely what has informed our own term and
concept of ‘Facekuerade’.
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Facekuerade therefore refers to a performance masquerade character
without mask. Even though his audience encounters him face-to-face, the
spiritual essence of the masquerade character is not devalued. He is still
revered and held in high esteem. Facekuerade is an engaging metaphor in action
capable of transforming events, performance realities and even mediates
between structures of social systems. Face Eku rade is derived from the
following words: Face, Ekuechi and Masquerade. The organizing key of the
new word is Eku which accounts for why the word is not spelt as Facequerade.
It is pertinent to also state that women masking traditions exist in some
cultures in Africa. In Angola for instance, there are the Ganguela female
masquerades (facekuerades) that do not don masks. Their faces are sometimes
painted but their identity is unconcealed. Some specie of female masquerades
also exist in Kabompo district of Zambia (Guimiot 1998). The Sande
association masks offer a unique illustration of women as masked performers
in Liberia and Sierra Leone by the Mende, Vai, Sherbro and Gola communities
(d’Azevedo 1973, Jedrej 1976, 1986, Phillips 1978). In Nigeria, apart from
some conventional female masquerades like the popular Gelede, the Bereke of
Ijumu in Kogi state, Sagore and Ilebi female masquerades of Oyo town in Oyo
state, a somewhat masking ambivalence occurs in some cultures where female
gender denies men access to their masquerade performances. Even among the
Ejagham of Cross River state, masquerade is not all about masking but
unmasked mystic powers that is equally potent as masked essence. The women
of the Ekpa-Atu association in the area ‘use their nakedness’ to ‘affect male
potency in the same way that men’s masquerade can affect women fertility’.
This rear phenomenon occurs in the threatening naked dance in the night in
which anonymity does not depend on the wearing of mask. Relying on oral
account by Atabo Oko, Amali (1992, p. 59) writes that
From the Yoruba Iludun-Ekiti of Ondo State comes the strange report of
an existing women’s sacred society which is not seen by men. When they
appear at night for performance, men run into hiding . . . behind their
doors throughout the night.
From the different submissions cited earlier it is observed that most women
masquerades lack serious spiritual depth. The import is more social than
spiritual, while they perform mostly without a mask, the key essence of
masquerade art. They are therefore more facekueradic in features than being
masquerades.
In Ebiraland, women’s overt participation in Ekuechi performance is
forbidden. It is a men-dominated event. The star masquerade performer at this
festival, Eku’rahu, does not wear a mask as well as Akatapa (jesting facekuerade)
and Eku’ahete (feet-stamping facekuerade). The Eku’echichi (rubbish heap
masquerade) and Eku’Okise (prophesying masquerade) that perform during
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the day fully masked in Echane festival also participate in Ekuechi maskless.
The absence of masks notwithstanding, they are all still referred to as
masquerades. Towing the line of Okoye, Adinoyi-Ojo (1996, p. 89) submits
that ‘the night has masked them from women and children to whom eku is
supposed to be a mystery’.
Within the framework of Ekuechi ‘masquerade’ ensemble, the facekuerade
essence is essentially projected by all the participating ‘masquerade’ characters
without masks. The awe and mysticism that surrounds these unmasked beings
as masquerades are the disguising elements of the piercing sound of izeyin
(jingling bells) and ireha (waist gongs), guttural voices, tongue-twisted
renditions, esoteric chants and weird sounds verbally produced by Agadagidi
(maskless Eku’echichi) and some participant-audience. All these elements help
to heighten the masking reality of the facekuerade characters. Eku’rahu, being the
star actor of the Ekuechi event, forms the epicentre of the facekuerade concept.
Eku’rahu is a composite actor who wears ancestral face; speaks, sings, dances
and acts in that spirit. The respect that the custodian of Eku’rahu attracts also
signifies that his character as Eku’rahu is taken far beyond his real self. Because
of the ancestral connotations, his utterances during the Ekuechi event are taken
seriously.
It is therefore useful that masquerade characters can transform into
facekuerade characters because of the general caution people now take in
approaching whatever they do, knowing that the ancestors have human
agencies that can chastise them for their iniquities during Ekuechi performance.
It is in this sense that the Ekuechi festival has been perceived as
facekuerade performance, which forms the nucleus of the theorization in this
essay. We thus shall further pursue the dialectics of masklessness in which an
unmasked performance emerges from the process of conventional masking.
This connotes playing the opposite role of a masquerade, which basically masks
to remove illusion, whereas there is something anti-illusion still in the face one
confronts. The physical man therefore represents the God essence but
perceived more in the area of meaning generated in his performance. God is an
omnipresent and omniscient phenomenon. The intersection between the two
is what makes masquerading an art linked to the God essence; a potent tool for
unmasking the hidden truth, revealing the concealed fact and making visible
the invisible reality of human existence, while projecting clairvoyantly into the
future. All these happening through a human agency further underscores
the anti-illusionism in the facekuerade concept. Masquerades, for instance, have
the capacity to expose and ridicule deviant characters, which may not hitherto
be apparent.
To gain useful insight into the facekuerade notion, it is important to position
the Ebira worldview and their Ekuechi festival which should give us safe
landing into the heart of the theory.
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The Ebira and worldview
Ebiraland lies approximately between 68 and 88 north of latitude and between
68 and 108 east longitude in the south-west zone of the Niger-Benue
confluence area with a very pleasant climate (Mohammed 1986, p. 1). It
occupies a hilly sketch of guinea savannah grassland approximating 2,977
square kilometres.3 To the west and north-west, it shares common boundaries
with the Yoruba speaking people of Owe, Akoko, Ijumu and Oworo; to the
south and south-west, it is bounded by Ogori, Ososo and other Akoko-Edo
settlements; the Hausa, Nupe and Ebira groups at Lokoja are bounded to the
north and the River Niger to the east. To be found across the River are the
Igala and Bassa Nge. The word Ebira refers to the people themselves (or could
be called Anebira), their language, their character and their geo-political
location (et’Ebira or et’Anebira), when considered etymologically.4 Beyond
these,
The land is, however, more than a matter of territory: it is also a
metaphysical or mystical entity capable of having an effect on people’s
lives and receiving sacrifice. The land is, one might say, a force to be
reckoned with.
(Picton 1992, p. 68)
The worldview of a people is a reflection of their belief system as historically
and culturally determined by varied experiences that the people have gone
through together. Lessons learnt from such experiences, either edifying and
enduring or humiliating and injurious, help to focus their perception of life
human conduct and relationship with selves and God, human desires for selfactualization,
individual and corporate health of a people, ethos and mores,
ethics and morality, pride, honour and integrity, etc. All these cohere to
project an identity for a people. Inter-cultural encounters can also impact on
shaping a people’s identity. In other words, worldview presents a total picture
of the way of life of a people, which is the essence of culture. In all these, there
is usually a rallying point that coordinates all the aspects that constitute their
belief system. It could be a phenomenon or an institution with a primal force
that stands extant irrespective of other socio-cultural influences. For the Ebira,
that primal force is located in ancestral celebration, which is rooted in Eku
phenomenon, a masking performance art. According to Adinoyi-Ojo (1996,
p. xxxii),
The Ebira regard their ancestors as the medium between them and the life
forces. These ancestors are constantly appeased, summoned or invoked
through a complex system of symbols to meet the exigencies of life and to
ensure a balanced and harmonious universe. To concretise the ancestors
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and bring the realm of the dead nearer, the Ebira anthropomorphized or
objectified their spirits in masks. It is through the medium of the mask
that the ancestral personae is manifested at a celebratory event aimed at
blessing, healing, ridding Ebira of impurities, and renewing its sources of
energy.
Adinoyi-Ojo’s profound explanation projects the central position Eku occupies
in Ebira worldview, as a rich store-house of socio-cultural values and icons
with which Ebira people understand themselves, their history and interaction
with other people of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Generally, the worldview of the Ebira people is positively inclined. It sees
life as essentially well and worth living. The order of the universe is seen as
benevolent and predictable. There is justice and constancy in its rules and
regulations. This is why an average Ebira person would not hesitate to
vehemently question any form of injustice with every resource at his disposal.
This could be between him and his people or foreigners. The quest for justice,
if resisted, can sometimes degenerate to a very distasteful physical approach,
which are often construed as ‘vicious, wicked, and hostile’ attributes of the
Ebira. But Adinoyi-Ojo (1996, p. 81), obviously reconstructing Picton (1990a,
p. 198; 1990b, pp. 40 & 44, 1997, pp. 339 & 353), puts this in a lucid
perspective to approximate Ebira ethos that embraces ‘toughness, bravery,
physical strength, unpredictability and stubbornness’. During the colonial
period for instance, Ebira loudly resisted the low pricing of their cotton by the
British Cotton Growers Association (BCGA) in 1922 and 1923 effectively
backed up by Atta Ibrahim, the paramount ruler of the land at the time.5 They
also resisted the imposition of taxation with violent protests and outrightly
refused to obey. In 1908 for example, the Okehi clan group was forced to pay
tax only after an ‘escort’ of soldiers under Mr Lang destroyed their
settlements.6 On a greater political dimension, the people of Ohizenyi and
Eganyi declared themselves independent of the British rule in 1916, about 13
years after British occupation of Ebiraland. It took only brutal intervention of
Major Ellias, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, to suppress the insurgence
(Willis 1972, p. 48).7
It is on account of the positive bearing of their worldview that the cause of
justice is vigorously pursued. As a result, the Ebira is conscious of his conduct,
careful not to bring his name into disrepute and consequently denies himself
access to a good life. It is therefore not a matter of coincidence that the people
are known as Ebira which means character, conduct, behaviour and deed or
action.
The word (Ebira) ‘refers to the outward manifestation of a beneficent
destiny’ (Picton 1991, 37). It occupies a primary position in the description of
positive or negative conduct, deed or action e.g. ebira ohimi or ebira odivi or
ebira kenekene means bad character or conduct; ebira ozoza or ebira oyiza means
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good behaviour or character. Despite these dualities in meaning, when used to
refer to the people it has a positive bearing. In fact, Abdullah (1993, p. 3)
concludes that:
One is not mistaken or wrong to assume that either the Ebira people, or
the other people among whom they had settled took them to be a people
with a noble character and therefore called them Ebira, and since then
they adapted it as a collective name.
The Ebira philosophy of life is further interwoven with their belief in the world
of the unborn, the living and the dead, which is similar to Soyinka’s (1976,
p. 154) ‘dome of continuity’. The belief finds more visible expression in
Ekuechi festival, which celebrates ancestral transmigration. In other words, the
festival is ancestor reunion. The dead elderly ones are believed to have only
moved from the land of the living to a higher realm, from where they
constantly watch over their people in the world of the living. They take note of
their wrong doings, travails and progress. All these they address with positive
intent when they transmigrate to the land of the living through the Ekufacekuerades
that feature in Ekuechi festival. There are several of them. They
move individually from homestead to homestead, felicitating with the people.
They admonish them for the wrong doings of the past and warn against future
wrongs, pray for a blissful New Year, prophesise good tidings and receive all
manners of requests from the people with a promise to see them fulfilled.
These requests are usually centred on the desire to have children, build houses,
and generally to live a fulfilling life. In many cases, people find their requests
answered before the next Ekuechi festival. This explains why every homestead
goes into elaborate preparation (clean their environment, buy new dresses,
cook special delicacies such as pounded yam, bean bread and viand, and
provide drinks such as palm-wine and beer) to welcome home their ancestors
during the festival. Further requests are made for fortification against the
coming festival.
Ebira acknowledges the existence of God with utmost reverence. The
innate belief of the people places Him, Ohomorihi, first before any other thing.
These claims clearly manifest in the various attributes accorded the Supreme
God by the people. His very name is the first attribute to be considered.
Ohomorihi means the creator of rain. In most cultures and even in the sciences,
the essence of life and living is tied to water. Earthly fertility is predicated on
water; human conception and delivery is also located in watery substances. All
sources of life can therefore be traced to water. In Ebira religious belief
Ohomorihi is the source and controller of this water from which all other beings
are sourced because Orihi is rain and produced from a divine centre (Ohomo).
This belief establishes the absolute supremacy of God Almighty over all living
and non-living beings, material and spiritual matters.
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Other names and attributes of Ohomorihi include Adayi ebeba anayin abayi
(our father above who owns us all); Ikoko koi koi (the powerful, the
omnipotent); Ovaraka dosi (of limitless size, the magnificent with unimaginable
magnitude, the omnipresent); Ovaraka hiduma (whose stair roars like thunder);
Ochiji mokareyi (the silent Arbiter, unpredictable dispenser of justice); Oku’za
ohuru, oku’za atito (adorns one with gunpowder and soils with ashes); Ogodo
godo onuvo’za eme tu (so far removed from physical touch); Odu ajini osi uhuo teyi
(inflicts pains today and injects gains tomorrow; creates sorrow today and
restores joy tomorrow); Oda yoza ri odoza here (feeds you and drains you).
All these names and attributes position the unpredictability and
ambivalence, strength and compassion of God. From these names, one can
therefore also understand why He is the first point of reference in all matters
secular, ritual or spiritual. The conception of these names also signify the close
range at which Ebira apprehend and comprehend Ohomorihi, which ultimately
underscores cordial spiritual affinity. This was however cut short because of
man’s limitations and sinful ways; very much in tune with the original sin of
Adam and Eve, hence the need for intermediaries such as Ete (mother earth),
deities or lesser gods known as Ori, and Ohiku (ancestors).
Ete occupies a vital position in Ebira cosmology. It is a force of balance
considered next to God because whatever goes up must come down to earth.
It is on earth that human life is both sustained and buried, ‘a spiritual entity
from which all life derives’ (Aniako 1980, pp. 3536). Thus, when a child at
play eats sand, as is often the case in African traditional setting, it is seen as the
ritual process of reconnection back to earth, first initiated through the burial of
the placenta of the child at birth. Man lives mainly through the cultivation of
food crops and the exploitation of the crust of ornamental riches buried within
the earth. It also serves as man’s final resting place at death. Ete thus has dual
essence of fortune and misfortune, compassion and reversion. Ete is also a force
of equipoise between man and Ebira cosmology which is concretized by the
balance between mother earth and patriarchal dominance of man even in
the ancestral world. Women (mother earth) are therefore the alternative force
that checks the excesses of man and evil tendencies. The overriding importance
of Ete as the centre of Ebira universe is physically expressed at the centre of
every traditional Ebira home as Eteohuje (centre of the compound). It is at this
point that ancestral sacrifices and ritual observances are held.
God created Ori (spirit being or nature spirit) as an intercessor between
man and Himself. Ori is actually worshipped and celebrated in two towns of
Ihima and Eganyi in Ebiraland probably because of its intervention to avert
serious calamities in these two towns according to Ebira mythology. It came to
cleanse the towns of serious epidemics. As such, it assumes prominence with
shrines created for it with attendant devotees and echeori annual festival
instituted in memory of this ritual cleansing. Echeori is therefore celebrated as
New Yam festival for seasonal renewal. Okino (2004, p. 9) even claims that
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the ‘pioneer religion of the ancestors of the Ebira people is ‘‘Ori’’’ probably
because of its intercessory nature between the people and a higher order.
Ebira cosmology is also adumbrated by benevolent and malevolent spirits
which are also God’s creation and answerable to Him. They are also known as
Ori. Therefore a distinction has to be made between Ori the god and Ori the
spirit. The former has communal essence and is to be understood within the
explanation offered earlier, while the latter has individual essence conceived as
multiple spirits that dwell in ponds, streams, rivers, trees (big trees like the
silk cotton tree, Ucheba, and mahogany tree, Opapanchi), rocks, crossroads,
markets, sharp bends and village outskirts. Their particular places of habitation
are discovered through divination or mysterious occurrences around the spot,
for example, frequent accidents, hens laying, incubating and hatching eggs
without a recognizable ownership.
The individual essence of Ori spirit is underscored by the fact that
individuals can invite any of the spirits into his homestead as its devotee. Ori
spirit functions primarily to protect its devotees against known or imagined
enemies. They return to the source in double measure all evil machinations
hatched against a devotee. Blissful existence for all those committed to the Ori
is thus assured. If you commit yourself to an Ori spirit, you are insured against
human evil, and also forbidden from doing evil unto others. If you do, the
hatched plan shall become your lot. There are prescribed sacrifices to be
consistently observed. This must not be missed or else Ori spirit will react
violently against the devotee in the form of absurd and devastating experiences
including business wreckage, flood overrunning his farm, or whirlwind
removing his rooftop. It can even consume him and his homestead. Other
calamities attributed to Ori spirit include epidemics, drought, earthquake,
famine, childlessness, poverty, ill luck and premature death. Ori is usually
impervious to appeasement when angry, until it has sufficiently demonstrated
its anger through wanton human and property destruction. Their level of
comportment and anger varies. People take this into consideration before
committing themselves to any particular Ori. Ibrahim (1976, p. 57) records the
benevolent side of Ori to entail engendering peace, ensuring good luck, rain,
good harvest and prosperity. These also establish the dual essence of Ori.8
The other spirit Ebira relate to is Ancestral spirit which is Eku, an
embodiment of dead ancestors, Ohiku. Relationship can be established in three
ways, first through Ovavo (a diviner) who can through invocation set the stage
for intimate discussion with him serving as the go between; by self through ozu
ohihi (deep and fervent faithful declarations, that is, calling an ancestral spirit
to witness or charging him to intervene in one’s situation); and lastly during
Ekuechi festival when all the ancestors actually come visiting. This is the most
important channel of relationship to the people and they all eagerly look
forward to it because the ancestor are believed to be descending from their
heavenly abode, a superhuman realm, where they maintain close affinity with
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the Supreme God. By this, they have better insights than lesser spirits. This
makes them a better intermediary between man and God.
For the Ebira, and indeed for most Africans, even though invisible, the
spirit realm is as concrete as the human world. Writing on African religion,
Parrinder (1974, p. 10) claims that the ‘spiritual world is so real and near, its
forces intertwining and inspiring the visible world that . . . man has to reckon
with things invisible to mortal sight’. In other words, it is also a realm full of
forces, energies and dynamites that could be tapped to either positively affect
our situation on earth and to correct negative tendencies. It is this insight that
correctly informs Adinoyi-Ojo’s (1996, pp. 6061) submission that:
It was the impulse to initiate a dialogue with the spirit world, to channel
the forces that dwell there to better ends that led to the creation of eku in
Ebira. As the embodiment of ancestral spirit, the eku serves as a vessel for
the nether energies that sustain, revitalize, and rejuvenate the world in
which the Ebira live. Through the eku the essence of the superhuman
realm is transmitted and absorbed by the human world as nourishment.
The Ebira believe that when a person puts on an eku mask and costume
the ancestral spirit transmigrates or takes possession of his body and it is
this spirit which directs his actions and utterances. Believe in reincarnation
and the immortality of the soul is central to the concept and practice
of eku.
Eku is therefore not idolatry. It is not idol worshipping as Husaini (1991, p. 59)
claims. Also, the ancestors, (Ohiku) are not worshipped as such, they are
‘venerated and invoked in order to attract their constant cooperation and
favour’ (Okene 1995, p. 56). It cannot also be equated to Ori because the
totality of Ebira essence that connects his past to the present with positive
projection to the future is enshrined in the Eku phenomenon. And if the
worldview of a people ‘determines their artistic inclination’ as Ogunba (1978,
p. 11) proposes, then the Eku phenomenon cannot be isolated as idol but a part
of a dynamic cultural matrix that expresses the positive worldview of the
Ebira. This explains why in Eku pre-eminence is given to Ohomorihi (Supreme
God), Ete (Mother earth), Ori (gods and spirits), and Ohiku (Ancestral Spirit).
This is best demonstrated in the Ekuechi festival as shall be seen later in this
study. By this, Eku permeates all Ebira’s socio-aesthetic, cultural and political
interactions in which art, religion and ritual, especially, are closely
interdependent, meaning that it is in it that the people apprehend themselves.
It is also instructive to note that the Ebira society, like most African
societies, does not distinguish between culture and religion. What they have is
a culture that is all encompassing. It includes, religion, belief system, concept
of beauty and social relations, ethos, ancestral linkages, and taboos to guide
human conduct. This translates to mean that, culture informs their outlook to
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life and the way their social systems are organized. Everyone knows that the
punishment for breaking a taboo is swift. It could be in form of visitation of an
unusual ailment, trade or occupational misfortune and social stigmatization.
Therefore, no one will wilfully want to incur the wrath of the ancestors. For
the simple reason that people are born into culture and nourished by it, fewer
questions are asked in order to understand one’s cultural milieu. Unlike Islam
and Christianity, there is no need to preach to the people about themselves and
their own culture because they themselves are the valves that make that culture
breath and live. More importantly, the Eku phenomenon is the epicentre of
those cultural values. All over the world, Ebira is hardly mentioned without
being linked to Eku, but albeit in a pejorative sense, which accounts for why
Picton (1997), p. 341) acknowledges it as ‘a powerful medium of Ebira
identity’. Until the Eku essence is fully understood as a cultural coordinate with
social ethos that bear direct relevance to the people’s worldview, the
significance and the multifaceted nature of this all-encompassing phenomenon,
shall continue to suffer wild and wrong interpretations. The fundamental fact
about Eku is that it embodies Ebira culture and not a notion on its own.
Indeed, it is a melody of existence that strikes a perfect cadence of
philosophical systems ever known to man.
Ekuechi festival
Ekuechi festival is a celebration of myth, legend and traditional social events
meant to mark the end of the year and usher in a new one, which the Ebira Tao
of Kogi state in Nigeria celebrate annually. It begins from late November, runs
through December and ends in early January (about two months). The long
duration is due to the fact that its period of celebration differs from
one community to another in Ebiraland. Essentially, the practice is the same.
The priest of Ireba Eku (masquerade cult) shrine, the Ozumi especially, sets the
actual day of the festival after consulting with eva (divine oracle) for a special
sign that guides the timing of the festival. According to Ozumi Haruna Onotu,
one of the priest chiefs of Ireba shrine, towards the end of every year, a dead
mouse (Itapesu) is always found at the entrance of the shrine. This vividly
indicates that the current year is dead in order to give way to a new one. The
day this sign is confirmed puts the date of the festival at 28 days thenceforth.
The star event of this festival is a night affair from which women are generally
excluded. Only witches and Onokus9 may participate. Onoku is similar to nngmmanwo
in the Igbo society (Onitsha and some Awka towns especially). The
nng-mmanwo are women inducted into masquerade participation.10 The
presence of the witches is normally invisible to all present except men that
also have special powers to discern spiritual presence.
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Ekuechi is located within the Eku performance art of the Ebira which is
coordinated by the Eku cult. Eku is ancestral masquerade. Eku, which
represents the ancestors, is believed to ‘descend’ (Chi) from the world
beyond during Ekuechi festival. Eku and Chi thus respectively form the prefix
and suffix in Eku e Chi. Literally translated, it means, ‘the ancestors are
descending’. This partly explains how the name of the festival was derived.
As a popular festival, Ekuechi is celebrated with pomp and pageantry, with
a dynamic integration of poetry, chants, mimicry, mime, dance, ‘mask’ and
significant cultural symbols. It is very colourful, vibrant, vigorous, invigorating,
and has great capacity to induce audience participation. Songs, music,
dance, interpretative drumming and colourful and weird costumes with makeup
are its mainstay. It is an arena for assessing the creative ingenuity of the
Ebira because of the rich presence of cultural artefacts used to enhance the
artistry of the performance. The ritual essence of Ekuechi is firmly rooted in
the fact that it is not an enactment but a celebration of a living experience with
virtual existence foregrounded in the chthonic. As a coordination of the
temporal and spiritual essences, Ekuechi breathes a life of its own and
maintains organic structure.
A typical Ekuechi performance runs for one night and ends in the early
hours of the succeeding morning. It starts with consultation with Ovavo
(diviners) who project into the future of the festival and the people, procession
to ancestral temple/shrine (inori), singing and dance performance, intermission
and procession leading to the grand finale of assemblage of all participating
masquerades and participant-audience at the market square. A recession
leading to dispersal into various homesteads ends the festival.
Music is an integral part of Ekuechi festival as found in most other African
festivals. In fact, it is the pivot around which other activities in the festival
revolve. Songs rendered during this festival are always very rich in
entertainment, instructional and philosophical values. These songs touch
numerous subject matters but they mainly explore social and political themes,
while using historical hindsight and philosophical insights to navigate the
traditional and moral sensibilities of Ebira people. Some songs are satirical with
the capacity to enforce social control. They chide and chastise known wrong
doers in the society. The latitude of commentaries in these songs is not limited
to local issues alone but also preoccupied with national and international
matters. The satirical, pedagogical and philosophical nature of these songs
projects the core essence of the festival, which focuses on moral uprightness,
equity and social justice, aimed at social transformation.
Eku’rahu (singing night facekuerade) is the star performer of Ekuechi event
that engages in meta-critical narration of philosophies as well as interpretation
of cosmologies to humanize the society mainly in songs with choric essences.
The choric force in Ekuechi has both ritual and aesthetic imports. The ritual
essence is to invest the performance arena with necessary spiritual aura in
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readiness for the descending ancestors. Expectedly, this ritual process takes
place in Inori (ori shrine or spot). Rites of breaking Irevu (Kolanut) pouring of
Ohinae (Libation of palm oil mixed with salt), spraying of Aku (guinea corn),
etc. are observed before Eku’rahu proceeds into incantatory invocation that
eulogizes Ohomorihi (Supreme God), Ete (Mother Earth), Ori (Deity and Lesser
Spirits), Eyenne (women of wondrous means), Ijama (decent men), Ezueye ati
Ozoku (young and old), etc.
It is true that dance is not the main focus of Eku’rahu performance, but it is
significant to the total aesthetic package of the performance. How well an
Eku’rahu does in dance, as with other performative arts, depends largely on the
artistic ingenuity and dexterity of the custodian.
Eku is the pride of Ebira lineages, which Picton (1990a, p. 197) describes
as ‘a specialist business’. This is an apt description, but its aesthetic
conventions have communal input and they are collectively determined. All
these cohere vibrantly to attest to Ehusani’s (1991, p. 181) claim that ‘it is in
Eku that the vitality and vivacity, and also the artistic genius of Ebiras find the
highest expression’.
Eku performance art enjoys so much importance amongst Ebira people
because of its linkage to ancestral celebration. For the Ebira, Eku is an ancestral
spirit; the ‘masked’ performer is not perceived to represent the ancestor but
seen as the ancestor himself because the human agency in the ‘masked’
performance is wilfully denied. Eku is part of Ebira cultural cosmos; it is not a
religion but a significant part of a way of life because it is an organizing force of
the social system of the people. Every Ebira person, irrespective of
contemporary religious persuasion, is inextricably woven into the Eku concept,
because its ritual and performative essence are directed at improving the entire
society. Whether one is actively involved in the ritual process or not, the
derivative blessings are collectively enjoyed.
Facekuerade theory
Having hinted at the facekuerade notion, this section formally proposes the
Facekuerade Concept. Facekuerade is conceptualized as a performance theory.
This theory is advanced using the transformational process of ‘Self’ in Ebira
‘masking’/faceking tradition, the Eku and Eku’rahu performance in the Ekuechi
festival of the Ebira.
Transformation duality: the ‘self’ essence in Eku
Eku projects three central concepts in Ebira: heaven,11 the domain of the dead
and masquerade (masked performer). Isu (death) is the only route through
which one can reach Eku (heaven or the domain of the dead). However, Ebira
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culture provides a continuum plank between the dead (an’eku) and the living
(an’ehe) via Eku (masquerade) on a general term. The link between in’eku (in
the world of the dead) and in’ehe (in the world of the living) is determined by
the ‘self’ in temporal existence and dissolution of the being as Oku (corpse;
same word of the Yoruba for the dead), but moved to Eku (the domain of the
dead). This presupposes that the ‘self’ enjoys two levels of existence one in
in’eku (the world of the dead) and another in in’ehe (the world of the living).
The relationship between the two worlds is sustained by the capacity of
Eku, a metaphysical and heavenly phenomenon, to manifest in’ehe (in the world
of the living). This conceptualizes for the living a reality that thrives mostly on
imagination. There are three ways through which Eku can manifest in living
reality:
One as ohi’ku, when divination reveals that one’s ohi’ku should be the
recipient of sacrifice. Or as eku, i.e in the form we should translate as
‘‘masquerade’’ and the third as ozu.
(Picton 1992, p. 71)
Ohi’ku is ancestor, usually of minimal lineage segment.12 Through divination,
man from the living plane maintains constant relationship with his Ohi’ku in eku
(heaven) plane. Eku manifesting in living reality as eku is by ‘masquerade’
practice such as to be found in the Ekuechi event. Even though it is a temporal
encounter as an annual event, the experience is sustained throughout the year
by the expectation of the results of what that encounter would produce.
Besides, eku (masquerade) could be perceived as the physical manifestation of
Ohi’ku which affords one a direct interaction with one’s ancestor and not
strictly via divination, in this instance. After the masquerading event, one
returns to divination to continue his relationship with the Ohi’ku (ancestor).
One’s requests and Ohi’ku’s promises become the basis for continued dialogue
via divination on how to attain fulfilment. Ozu can be interpreted as
‘incarnated essence’ and ‘destiny’. Ebira would say ene vo’ihe? (who is
incarnated in him?), or yera’ne´ku ana vo’ihe? (whose resuscitation from the
domain of the dead brings about his re-incarnation?), in another vein one could
ask yera’ne´ku ana vi’resu ani? (which ancestor is being incarnated on his head?)
Just like in the Yoruba tradition, the human head (Ori Yoruba; Iresu Ebira)
is the repository and mediating centre of one’s destiny in the Ebira worldview.
One’s Ozu (male or female) is located through a ritual process of Divination
and Incantation, yielding Incarnation (an embodiment of ancestral essence
Ozu) (figure 1).
The Ozu ritual process is exclusively done by men, though not secretly
executed, to the exclusion of women who act as distant audience. Male and
female names of the lineage of the child/person whose Ozu is being sought are
called one after the other in oracular consultation (eva). It is when the oracle
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answers in the affirmative to a particular name that the Ozu is located. The
personage involved may be known to those involved in the ritual process.
Through divination, further steps are taken to know the personage’s heart-felt
desires and wishes for his/her next coming into the world. It is these desires
and wishes that ultimately form the core of the child/person’s destiny.
A relationship of Ozu (an’eku from the domain of the dead) and agama (the
child/person the receptor) from the world of the living thus commences.
This could be referred to as the commencement of Ozu/agama relationship. By
this submission, destiny cannot be ivehu as Picton (1992, p. 68) suggests. Ivehu
is conscience which is more attuned to character positioning than matters of
‘‘fate or destiny’’.13 A corollary of Ozu concept is expressed in the Yoruba Itefa
rituals which Drewal (1992, p. 63) calls ‘Establishing the self’ through
divination. Itefa is about rebirth and personal destiny of initiates through
divination. Amali (1999, p. 46) in a novel theorization on ‘Cultural Creativity
and Change’ considers this complex phenomenon of interwoven linkage
between two worlds (the living and the dead), to be a ‘creative and recreative
processes’ that ‘link the life here on earth to the life in the hereafter or
beyond’.
How the ‘self’ transforms to enjoy dual existence from opposite but
integrated domains (ehe and eku) can thus be understood from the various
manifesting experiences earlier discussed as ‘creative and recreative’ enterprises.
First and foremost, Oza (aza plural), living person/people is/are
involved as an’ehe who inhabit the world of the living (ehe). They move
through isu (death) to another realm of existence eku (domain of the dead) as
an’eku and ohi’ku. This process therefore signifies how one enters eku both as
the domain of the dead and as masquerade.
These clearly demonstrate that eku and ehe constitute two realms of human
existence, while eku and oza constitute two modes of individual beings. Eku
therefore can be understood as both a realm and a form/state of existence,
reached/attained via death. It is such understanding that makes the unifying
force of death a necessity for the cross-relational activities that exist between
both realms of existence. Death then becomes a liminal bridge that makes
transformation from one realm to another possible. It is from this space that
Eku’s masking essence (masquerade) derives its mediating, creative and
Incantation
(Choro)
Ancestor
(Ohiku)
Divination
(eva)
Incarnation
(Ozu)
FIGURE 1 Ozu incarnation process.
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destructive potentiality. This ritual bridge approximates Soyinka’s (1976, p. 2)
‘Chthonic realm, a storehouse for creative and destructive essences’. As a
circus of ritual activities and the intermingling of spiritual and mundane
currents, the Ebira externalizes the liminal bridge and locates it at the oze’aheva
(crossroads). Indeed, most masquerading activities are initiated and conditioned
here because it is believed that the living and spirit beings intermingle
here. Crossroads are therefore regarded as sacred spots that connect extraterrestrial
forces above. It is conceivable therefore that Eku as masked
performer, being the only physical manifestation of the domain of the dead
(eku), is apprehended as a metaphysical entity imbued with mystical powers
mediated via the masquerade.
Eku is both a realm and a state of existence, which represents an allembracing
configuration from which all issues of existence can be delineated
for the advancement of humanity. It is this understanding that precisely makes
Eku the epicentre and core essence of Ebira belief system. Eku is a way of life
and not a religion. This view explains why all Ebira, irrespective of emergent
religious leaning, are attracted to the Eku concept in one form or the other
because, it is the organizing element of their belief system from which ‘all
ancestral laws, orders and rules emanated’ (Ibrahim 2000, p. 12).
Facekuerade essence: masking absence and ancestral presence
The base of facekuerade theory is formidably rooted in the duality and doubling
essence of Ebira masking practice. The transformational duality of the ‘self’
essence in Eku, which makes it possible for a person to enjoy interactive
existence in the two realms earlier discussed, shapes the Ebira cosmic view that
God created things in pairs. Some of the riddles and sayings of Ebira confirm as
much:
Riddle
Q: aavi eeva bau-bau (two broad leaves?)
A: ohomorihi onir’ete (heaven and earth!).
(Picton 1989, p. 75)
Saying
Ohomorihi eeva oo mee ni
God, two he made it (i.e whatever it was he made)
(Picton 1992, p.73)
Irakawo v’anee, eku v’onoru
Witchcraft is (for) women, masquerade is (for) men
More examples of things created in pairs can even be drawn from our earlier
discussion on ‘self’ essence and Eku:
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Oza/Eku person/masquerade
Ehe/Eku world of the living/world of the dead
In’ehe/In’eku in the world of the living/in the world of the dead
An’ehe/An’eku people of the living world/people of the world of
the dead
Ehi/Aare home/farm
Onoru/Oone man/woman
Opochi/Eku witch/masquerade
The significance of these examples is to contextualize the fact that in Ebira
worldview, there is a doubling essence in human and spatial interaction, and of
necessity the living realm (ehe) must interact with the domain of the dead (eku).
The capacity of the ‘self’ to effectively fit into this interactive doubling role
is best captured by Eku’rahu, which has the dual propensity to transmit
metaphysical reality into meta-critical reality without a mask in the presence of
seen/visible and unseen/invisible audiences.14 This masklessness helps his
transformation from a metaphysical character into a meta-critical character
the point at which he is able to make his seen-audience apprehend stage
happenings beyond the performance context. It is informative that, it is in
transformation that Schechner (1988, p. 170) locates ‘the essential drama in
conflict and conflict resolution’. He argues further that transformations are to
be found in drama, performers and the audience. All these eloquently validate
Eku’rahu’s transformative capacity as a vital performative ingredient beyond
mere ritualization. A performer must first transform himself/herself to
another ‘self’ before he can make any impression on his audience. This notion
indeed complicates the Ebira ‘masking’ tradition for Picton (1990a, p. 184)
when he concludes that ‘Ebira people have a theory of mask use, but it does
not exactly fit with the practice of mask use’. It is also an observation that is
obviously predicated on Ebira masking essence that is grounded in masking
absence which extols the full fiat of ancestral mystic presence. What Picton
(1990a, p. 184) considers as an ambiguity and ‘an apparent disjunction
between theory and practice’ is in fact the spine of the Ebira masking theory
which distinguishes it from the general masking norm. As Picton (1990b,
p. 38) rightly observes, ‘within Ebira culture, masquerade . . . embody a sense
of tradition that signifies difference from other people’. It is from this
discovery of ‘essence’, ‘absence’ and ‘presence’ of masking reality in Ebira
perception that our facekuerade theory conceptually emerges.
The Eku’rahu’s Face is apprehended in the absence of a mask; in the same
face, a split image of ancestral presence is acknowledged from eku (the domain of
the dead) because of the exceptional dexterity of the performer that is beyond
ordinary human capacity. In this captivating glitz, Eku’rahu raids the community
with warnings, sanctions, healing, renewal and prophetic utterances backed by
powers from in’eku that pivotal centre that equilibrates (ekuiliberates) and
balances up relationships between the Eku and Ehe realms of existence. Picton
(1990a, p. 188) perceives this reality of the Ebira masked performer ‘as still
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himself yet not himself’. Now, let us attempt to group the three key words
together: Face eku raid they transform into Facekuerade, eku being the linking
essence of unmasked face (absence) and a raiding ancestral presence.
Figure 2 is precisely how the ‘self’ hereby captured by Eku’rahu,
transforms into a facekuerade character in performance. When the mask is
absent we apprehend the ‘self’ presence of the performer but that same ‘self’ is
doubled by the ancestral mystic presence, which assumes prominence above the
‘self’ of the performer (as it recedes into absence). In this instance, the spiritual
performs the secular (a doubling effect), which then becomes the height of
ritual orgy. In facekuerade therefore, we have mask absence essence or face presence
essence, while in masquerade mask presence is the essence.
It is this reality of Ebira performance sensibility that variously finds
expressions as ‘The theatre and its Double’ by Artaud (1978), ‘role doubling,
role switching’ by Schechner (1988, p. 165) and ‘play-acting’ by Picton (1988,
p. 66, 1992, p. 81). Auslander (1997), p. 30) agrees that the ‘problematic of
self is, of course, central to performance theory’ and posits that
Theorists as diverse as Stanislavski, Brecht, and Grotowski all implicitly
designate the actor’s self as the logos of performance; all assume that the
actor’s self precedes and grounds her performance and that it is the
presence of this self in performance that provides the audience with access
to human truths.
This is exactly how the ‘self’ duality of Eku’rahu is to be understood because
every performance is directed at revealing some truths about human existence.
From figure 3, the masquerade essence doubles with facekuerade essence,
while eku is the mediator. In Ekuechi Eku’rahu is first apprehended as a
masquerade before his facekuerade essence gains prominence. It is in this state of
formation that the unmasked performance character attains a mystic face that
transforms into mystic mask, which then qualifies the personage as facekuerade
character retaining masquerade mysticism. The coupling, the doubling and the
[Face]
Eku
Eku – Masking (equ)ilibrium
Essence (the Epicentre
of Ebira Worldview)
Masking Absence
(Self-Presence)
Ancestral (Mystic) Presence
(Self-Absence) [Raid]
Transformational polarities
Direction of significance
Equilibrating (Ekuilibrating) grid
Facekuerade
FIGURE 2 Transformation into Facekuerade.
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shifting dualities of the self-presence and self-absence (masking absence and ancestral
presence, respectively) are the bases of the facekuerade theory.
Just as we have character doubling, so also spatial doubling exists in Ebira
cosmology. For instance, the physical space is doubled by the ritual space;
earth (ete) doubles with the heaven (Ihineba or Ohomorihi, which also means
God); both are equilibrated by the liminal space occupied by Ori (nature God
the go-between); the physical space and the ritual space are further
equilibrated by Eku’rahu who mediates betwixt and between both spaces via
the belief system of the people and Ori, respectively.
Taken together, it is the interaction that exists between human and spatial
realities that animates virtual worlds and virtual people (characters) in
theatrical creation and this transforms them into compelling verisimilitude in
reality. This verisimilitude and connecting notions give a facekuerade character a
virtual and concrete presence, a mundane and mystic appearance.
In his mystic essence, the facekuerade character effects changes in the
consciousness of his audience, but at the end of the performance, he returns to
his mundane essence. The ability for these transformational shifts gives the
facekuerader a continuous relevance in facekuerade performance, and not a
personage to be used once only, as is the case in some masquerading
practices.15
However, our conceptualization of the transformational capacity of
Eku’rahu as a facekuerade character and the vital presence of the unseenaudience,
adds a third dimension to the African performance concept that is,
the Divine Linkage. Whatever is performed on stage is divinely linked to the
epicentre of Ebira existence. This notion suggests an integrated concept of the
performing arts while giving further credence to the well-established ‘dome of
continuity’ that links the worlds of the living, the dead and the unborn. It is
therefore justifiable to assume that the African cosmic globe has the capacity to
connect the physical and the non-physical, the mundane and the spiritual.
The Mediating Character
Mask
Mystic Mask
Eku
Non Masquerade
Mask
Mystic face Facekuerade
FIGURE 3 Character doubling.
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Generically and theoretically, all we have discussed so far represents how
the transformation of ‘self’ in Eku translates into the facekuerade concept. It is in
this transformation that ‘godliness’ in masklessness is sustained in the Ebira
belief that ancestral masquerades/facekuerades are spirits and not human beings,
which further confers mystifying stature on such masquerades/facekuerades
thereby raising the people’s imagination to the point of ecstasy. Thus, like
‘Father Christmas’, the spirits, cloaked in ancestral mystic essence as
masquerades/facekuerades, usher a load of gifts, albeit spiritual, on the people.
Manifestations of these gifts are embedded in their message to the living that
takes the form of warnings against evil and witchcraft, threat to women who
defile their marital beds with the wrath of ancestral spirits. Such warnings are
usually very effective deterrents. Ekuechi festival provides leverage for social
control and the submission of the womenfolk to their male counterparts. On
their part, the people reward the spirits’ guidance and protection with gifts in
cash and kind, which their custodians, priests and acolytes collect. In all,
Ekuechi is a fulfilment of Ebira social obligation that is rooted within the belief
system of the people, which also reconciles them with their ancestral descent
while foregrounding their cultural heritage.
Conclusion
We have, in this essay, attempted to theorize the Ekuechi festival of the Ebira
Tao of Central Nigeria as a performance. The postulation is advanced by
considering the festival within the context of modern performance idiom in
Nigeria to position the Facekuerade theory. The mask essence in masquerading
art that transcends the physical state of concealment with its general mysticism
sufficiently prepared the ground for the consideration of Ekuechi as facekuerade
performance. More so, it is a festival that assembles and coordinates all
facekuerade characters in the Ebira masquerade repertory. The exploration and
utilization of this theory in practice should give a definitive expression to
masquerade aesthetic format in the contemporary Nigerian theatre.
The identification of the generic and conceptual distinction between
masked and unmasked characters otherwise bound together as masquerades,
opens up a fresh vista in performance discourse. Consequently, facequerade is,
in this essay, recognized as a motif for the purpose of classifying unmasked
masquerade characters.
The pursuance of the facekuerade concept as theatre shall therefore be a
worthwhile venture, as a follow-up to this discourse, because Ekuechi
facekuerade performance has profound artistic resources and potentialities as
theatre. Facekuerade as theatre can be explored as a performative mediation of
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the Eku’rahu’s performance within the aesthetic context of Ekuechi festival,
which can be quite engaging in theory and practice.
Notes
1 The information on these unmasked masquerade types are both a product of
our field research and discussions with the indigenes of these areas.
2 Still a product of our findings as a result of our interaction with some Igbos
and Idomas.
3 NAK Lokoprof: 301 Annual Kabba Province, 1952. This is in contradiction
with Adinoyi-Ojo’s (1996, p. 30) unreferenced claim that puts it at about 80
square kilometres north-east and south-west of the confluence of rivers
Niger and Benue. Picton’s (1974) map that he refers us to does not present
this detail. I therefore opted for the colonial record.
4 Over the years, the name of this people are variously spelt as ‘Igbira’,
‘Igbirra’, ‘Ibira’ or ‘Egbira’ until 1974 when it was formally corrected and
gazetted to read ‘Ebira’ by the then Kwara State Government. This
development was the fallout of the ‘comments at the general conference’ of
Ebira People Association (EPA) ‘held at Okene in December 1973’ which
also led to IPA (Igbirra People Association) ‘changing to EPA’ (Ibrahim
2000, p. 39). It is this new form that is adopted in this study. However, the
former varieties of spellings are retained in quoted passages. Wherever they
occur they refer to the same people.
5 NAK Lokoprof 64/1923 ‘Trading Communities at Ajaokuta Complaint
Against’. The British Cotton Growers Association (BCGA) seemed to enjoy
the Colonial Administration’s support to exercise monopoly over cotton
trade in northern provinces, but this monopoly was questioned and rejected
by Ebira Native Authority.
6 NAK Prof 14 Kabba Province Report, September 1909.
7 See also NAK Lokoprof 24 Kabba Reports, 1916.
8 For more information on Ori please see Picton (1989, pp. 7879).
9 Onokus are women born under very special circumstances. Whenever an
Onoku is born, whether at home or at the maternity, a multitude of small
hymenopterous insects such as soldier ants (ijija) or snakes appear
mysteriously around the mother and the child to welcome her arrival
They are predestined and super-human. Onoku gives spiritual support to
masquerades by prescribing some sacrifices and rites to be observed to avert
imminent danger. For more information on Onoku please see Picton (1997,
pp. 362364).
10 According to Osadebe (1981, p. 46), citing Henderson (1972, p. 351), nngmmanwu
(mother of the incarnate dead) are women so inducted because they
had raised successful sons. This is done only after they have passed
menopause. In spite of this, these ‘mothers’ were not permitted to embody
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or escort the ancestral figures, except to observe the preparation of the
figures in the okwulc mmuo (secret room of the dead).
11 Eku, when used without any further qualification means ‘heaven’. Qualified
as Eku’oyiza (good heaven) is to lay further emphasize on blissfulness of
heaven or to anticipate a comparative distinction with Eku’ira (hell fire).
12 Only death in venerable old age, as a grand parent with a streek of wondrous
achievements qualifies one to wear the toga of Ohi’ku (ancestor) in’eku (in
the world of the dead). Such deaths are usually celebrated with pride,
pump and pageantry including the staging of Ekuechi performance, if a
male. Any other form of death violates this concept in the understanding of
Ebira.
13 Please read Picton (1992) for detailed information on Ozu. Our understanding
of Ozu as ‘destiny’, a word Picton completely avoided in his
explanation of Ozu derive from the confidence expressed and positive steps
Ebira take once it is known that the desires and wishes of one’s Ozu is
positive. If for instance one’s Ozu wished to be very rich in his/her next
coming, (the parents of such a child would take practical steps to assist the
actualization of this wish by ensuring, for example, that one goes to school).
Not that this really matters in the final determination of the Ozu’s wishes,
but the anxiety to see the fulfilment of the good package propel parents to
take practical steps in positive direction within the understanding that
‘heaven helps those who help themselves’. Picton’s position that ‘A baby is
not born with Ozu’ (1992, p. 72) is also to be contended. If Ozu is destiny
and the deceased that comes on a person’s head, the African concept of
unbroken continuity among the Dead, the living and the unborn suggests
that these issues, regarding Ozu, must have been perfected and finished
before a child is born. The divination process of locating Ozu of a child/
person is not factored by the diviner during the ritual process, rather it is a
search for that which already exists but not visible to ordinary understanding.
Odewale’s destiny as dramatized in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods are not to
Blame is not manufactured by Baba Fakunle but foretold as the child’s destiny
at birth. By Ebira understanding, there is no strict regulation on when a
child’s Ozu must be located at birth or at adulthood, the choice is elastic. It
is an optional exercise too especially in modern times, as some parents may
not bother at all.
14 At Ekuechi performances, ‘‘‘strong women are there only you don’t see
them’’ . . . so likewise are the dead’ (Picton 1988, p. 75). Beyond these,
those behind locked doors in various homes are mostly awake monitoring
the performance from within. These people constitute a form of audience
too.
15 For instance, whoever performs the Lasere masquerade (in Ede, Osun State
of Nigeria) never lives to see the next year. This information was supplied by
Mr Tayo Arinde of the University of Ilorin.
3 0 6 CULTURAL STUDIES
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3 0 8 CULTURAL STUDIES

The Ebiras and the World - By Ebira Vonya International Organization, Inc.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Letter to the President of Nigeria - Mr. Umaru Yara'Dua

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Friday, April 11, 2008

FACEKUERADE: The Transformational duality in Ebira-Ekuechi festival performance

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