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Ikogbo Masquerade Festival November 4th, 2007
This weekend we went from a quiet, peaceful river lush with green foliage to a loud, exciting, drum-filled masquerade party! It was all part of another amazing trip organized by the dedicated group of adventurers at the NFS. We started off at Isasi (pronounced as Ishashi) which is situated close to the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. There, small canoes took us (59 members in all) up the river on a magical, relaxing one-hour boat trip that made one forget the go-slows and noise of Lagos. We arrived in the village of Ikogbo and were greeted by their Chief Bashorum of Ikogbo, the village’s future king. They quickly set up chairs for us to relax and enjoy our picnic lunches while we watched (and in some cases participated) in their traditional Ikogbo Masquerade Festival.
This festival, held once a year, honors the Egun, the physical representations of the spirit world. Men dress up in elaborate costumes and dance around the main square of the village. A handful of drummers work up a sweat while they pound beautiful rhythms that vary according to which spirit is being represented. The atmosphere is joyful and the “characters” play with the audience and invite them to join in the celebration. The children especially enjoyed the animal characters, complete with horns and a tail. The rest of the villagers joined in, singing and dancing. A special treat was to see a village elder, dressed beautifully in all white, dance while the rest of the village clapped and sang to him. The children (both from the village and our own!) imitated his foot stopping and twirling with great amusement.
Matthias Wolandt, who was also this trip’s organizer, knew exactly what to do and showed the NFS’s appreciation in the traditional manner. He approached the dancers and placed 20 Naira notes on their foreheads while they where dancing. Many other members joined in and did the same. The villagers were honored to have us there and grateful for our shows of appreciation. We made it back to the canoes just in time for a light rain shower to cool us off on our way back downstream. It was another wonderful adventure that leaves you tired and dirty, but also glad to have taken part in something so magically Nigerian. Report by Cristiana Jurgensen (USA) Cristiana Jurgensen also has a website about her family’s travel adventures. www.thelifemoretraveled.blogspot.com
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Lagos Branch
