Egungun, Sango festivals and uniqueness of Oyo tradition

“Egungun” denotes the specific masking tradition among the Oyo Yoruba where it is believed that the practice originated.
Egungun refers to the concept of the “powers concealed” and can relate to practices which work to both honor ancestors and gods, both of which are considered “beings from beyond.
“Egungun” has been more explicitly associated with the honoring of
the ancestors in particular, the Egungun society and “a descendant’s
commitment to continuing the traditions of his predecessors and
maintaining the reputation of his lineage.”
In this way, the egungun tradition can be understood as masking
tradition which works to both honor ancestors and gods, whereas the
Egungun among the Oyo has been specifically linked to ancestor
honoring in particular.
Agba Egungun, not unlike paaka Egungun, are characterized by their
multi-layered, brightly colored lappets or strips of cloth with
saw-toothed edging attached to a sculptural headdress made of wood and
cloth but lacking the horizontal superstructure which characterizes
the paaka Egungun.
 The headpiece can vary greatly even within the Oyo region and can
include figural carvings, such as human or animal forms as well as
more abstract carved forms. Attached to the headpiece is a body suit
which completely covers the performer and is most often made of aso
oke or strip woven indigo cloth locally produced and usually hand
woven.
The cloth comprising the lappets is commonly a mix of imported cloths
from Europe, America and sometimes even Southeast Asia imported to and
sometimes produced for the African textile market.
 Common fabrics include velvet thought in Yorubaland to be “the
epitome of good taste” (aran tii pari aso) and damask considered “the
royal, gold-threaded cloth that has a strong metallic sheen in
sunlight” (mosaaji aso oba tii tanna yanranyanran).
Other physical characteristics include a white and black knotted mesh
face panel through which the performer can see, the use of medals,
cowry shells and buttons to adorn particularly the area surrounding
the knotted mesh, and the use of medicinal packets or amulets attached
to the costume.
The masquerades’ construction, like the worshipping of the ancestor
itself, is made possible through a wide network of family and
community involvement.
While the ensemble is meant to honor the ancestor, it also speaks
about the patron and family who finance the construction of the
masquerade:
For the Yoruba the ancestral ensembles are designed to disclose the
presence and power of the living dead and also the status and filial
piety of the ‘owner’ of an egungun.
 In this way, the ensemble reflects the wealth, status and alliances
of a particular family telling us as much about the living as the dead it is meant to honor.
Odun Egungun festivals are held annually or biennially throughout the Oyo Yoruba area or as needed on important family occasions including a death, familial conflict or sickness. The festival involves not only
the costume itself but dancing, drumming and singing or chanting of particular verses.
Just as many members of the community are involved in its initial
production, the community participates in the Egungun festival where
one or more Egungun will perform.
Masqueraders and drummers are exclusively men although women actively
participate in the singing or chanting of verses.
The Egungun is a secret society among the Yoruba people of Nigeria.
 A hereditary chief called the Alagba heads the society, which
celebrates its most important festival in June every year for
seventeen days.
However, this year’s egungun festival in Oyo town was peaceful and colourful.
 On the last day of the festival, cross section of the people in large
numbers from the ancient town, including the Oyo-Mesi, Baales as well
foreign nationals from about ten countries, gathered at the palace of
the Alaafin of Oyo for the grand finale of the festival.
About 30 masqueraders in long, colorful robes gather in a grove
not far from town and then arrive as a group to perform their dance in
the palace.
Addressing the large gathering of the people who witnessed the grand finale of the egungun festival in his palace, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, said the Egungun Festival is part
of the religious practices of the Yoruba people of Oyo.
 ‘’The Yoruba religion is based on oral traditions. Beliefs and practices are preserved by passing history, customs, and traditions from one generation to the next. Authority for interpreting events and establishing proper conduct of ethics and morals rests with a bureaucratic structure of rulers who function in both religious and
political realms’’.
‘’According to traditional Yoruba belief, all power in the universe
emanates from a supreme being, Olodumare. Olodumare, known as the owner of everlasting abundance, among many other praise names, holds all
power and isthe giver of all life. Olodumare is the mystical remote
source of all things and is not identified by gender. All that
exists,including supernatural divine realities and natural earth
realities, are part of Olodumare’’.
As the supreme almighty source,  Oba Adeyemi stated that ‘’Olodumare is directly involved in the affairs of the earth through a complex core of sub-divinities called orisa. The orisa are authoritative divine
emissaries and serve as intermediaries between the people of earth and Olodumare. They are the major objects of veneration and ritual
obligation. The names and numberof orisa vary according to national and local custom, but they number in the hundreds. Some are more
nationally known while others may be only venerated according to localized custom”.
Meanwhile, this year’s World Sango Festival will commence from August 17 to 26.
Venue is the ancient palace of the Alaafin of Oyo.
The International festival, which will attract foreign nationals from several countries, and eminent personalities across the country, is a particular and probably the most distinctive expression of the larger
intangible heritage of Oyo town uniting all the forms of knowledge.
It is also one of the most ancient, traditional and major festivals of the Yoruba race.
As such, it encompasses all the range of techniques, skills, and
crafts through which cultural values, customs, and traditions of Oyo
people are manifested.
The aboriginal place of this traditional and cultural event is in the
city of Oyo located in Oyo State in the southwest region of Nigeria,
but it also takes place in others towns in Yoruba land.
Due to the expansion of Oyo territory, Oyo was once the capital of the
Oyo Empire, one of the most remarkable and vast Empires of West Africa
that ruled for over 600 years, imprinting its culture, language and
traditions across the region, known today as Yoruba common culture.
 Still, Oyo is perceived as a place where tradition is strongly
preserved in its essence.
Since the eighteenth century, when the transatlantic slave trade
began, the traditions of Sango and Oyo were also widespread to the New
World, being preserved today in several countries in the Diaspora.
World Sango Festival is a social practice and festive events deeply
connected to the social, religious, cultural and political
institutions in Oyo.
 It is a key element for the maintenance of the city’s identity, unity
among the people since immemorial times and the survival of the heart
and the mind of the Yoruba culture.
It is the maintenance of coexistence with the ancestral world and nature.
The international cultural event will last for ten days and consists
of intensive traditional and beliefs practices  that accommodate many
cultural features.
 It is during the period of strong rains, which marks the beginning of
a productivity season cycle and a renewal bond between the Alaafin and
Sango, the ancestral spiritual world.
It is a festival that reflects the traditional diversity of its environment.
Several activities will take place, which include, traditional
prayers,  reciting oral poetry under the rhythms of traditional drums
followed by traditional dancing to evoke the ancestors and the
exchanging of traditional presents between the royal palace and the
Sango Koso main shrine.
Highlight of the festival will take place on the last day when the
city’s population assemble in Koso and waits eagerly for the arrival
of the Elegun-Koso representing the ancestral spirit of Sango, who
will lead the crowd towards the palace for the final spiritual
blessing of the city.
The Alaafin does not see eye for eye with the Elegun-Koso, as it is
strictly forbidden for him to see the manifested ancestral spirit of
Sango.
The archaic Yoruba language is still used to transmit the embedded
linguistic values of the ancestral identity of the traditional
community in general.
For instance by reciting the traditional oral “Oriki-Sango pipe” poems
(eulogies), as a form of encoding historical antecedence in an
interpretable and intelligible manner, is a clear example of the rich
oral heritage related to the ancestor Sango, and indispensable for the
conduction of the festival.
The learning of “Oriki -Sango Pipe” poems, chants, prayers, liturgical
rites, dancing, divination, drumming and even dancing starts from a
young age.
To ensure that parts of this rich and complex oral legacy, performing
arts and apprenticeship are not lost, traditional families transmit
their knowledge through the informal method by teaching their male and
female children and other members of the community.
This cross-compound learning system is the base of the successful
endurance of Oyo traditions, being a gender friendly tradition as
woman are involved in the activities.
 Also, depending largely on craftsmanship, the festival cannot hold
without traditional handmade attires, sculptures, liturgical objects
and other traditional instruments.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had expressed its
support for the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111 and
Paula Gomes Cultural Foundation in the pursuit of preserving and
safeguarding both the tangible and intangible heritage of ancient Oyo
town, with a view of preparing candidature dossiers for World Sango
heritage nominations.
This is contained in an official letter written by the then Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National
Orientation to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
Dr. Paula Gomes from Portugal is Alaafin’s Cultural Ambassador.
The letter stated that Oyo town, located in Oyo State, South-west of
Nigeria holds a remarkable and rich set of tangible resources such as
temple, palaces, markets and traditional compounds as well as natural
resources like rivers and forests.
This notable set of buildings and natural resources, Federal
Government pointed out, sustain the maintenance of a millenary culture
based on a unique and complex traditional, political and religious
system.
‘’The intangible heritage preserved in Oyo include music, traditional craftsmanship, poetry [Oriki], as well as complex and intense festivities calendar that culminates with  the important Sango
Festival, make Oyo town centre of cultural civilization’’, the letter stressed.