It is Gustav Mahler the great writer that said that “Tradition is not worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire”. Also, a great man called Jiddu Krishnamurti noted in one of his quotes that “Tradition becomes our security that when the mind is secured, it is in decay.
In various circumstances, the Igbo traditions cum cultures have been pictured to be devilish and disastrous. Yes! People have lost it, and this has become the worst of all tragedies. One amongst these cultures we shall be looking into today is the festivals of masquerades.
As a child born and bred in the religious class of Christianity, you grew up to hate your culture\tradition. Masquerade was one of the things mentioned to be evil.
Igboland holds many festivities and cultural performances, most notably the masquerades and the new Yam festivals.
Masquerades (Mmanwu) are held by the community native calendars during festivals, annual festivities, burial rites, and other social gatherings. The masquerades are geared in colorful robes and masks made of wood or fabric. Some masks appear only at one festival, but the majority appears at many or all.
Masquerades are associated with spiritual elements, as according to Igbo belief, they represent images of deities or sometimes even dead relatives. The identity of the masquerade is a well-kept secret and performed exclusively by men.
We live to transmit from generation to generation of our traditions and not the traditions of others. Unfortunately, we have preferred to use Santa Claus than our own originated Masquerade. The church abhors masquerades but embraced Santa Claus (A white-man Owned Masquerade). The two are in no way different except the color.
In the past, masquerades were regarded as the means for maintaining peace and order and were primarily used as law enforcement agents. The whole village would come out for the ceremony of the colorful masquerades.
While entertaining through dances and exhibiting extra-human feats, the masquerades would walk up to certain individuals and loudly expose any bad habits, crimes or misbehavior of that person. As people would always take corrections from these exposures, the masquerades were effective in keeping up with traditional norms and values in the communities.
With colonization in the 20th century, masquerades became more relevant as an institution for cultural entertainment. Nowadays, they are used more for tourist attractions when they come out in colorful robes accompanied by traditional dancers and musicians.
The masks are determined by local traditions and beliefs. Best-known are those that represent the spirit of deceased maidens and their mothers symbolizing beauty and peacefulness.
After the colonization, (Importation of Christianity), Ndi Igbo began to despise the masquerade festival. It is now evil, malicious and diabolic. However, the masquerades of the colonists are making waves and becoming popular in our region while ours is going down.
That reminds me of what our great writer, Chinua Achebe wrote in his book “THINGS FALL APART” he said and I quote “The white man is very clever.
He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that had held us together and we have fallen apart”.
One of the things that kept us together is our culture\tradition. The mistakes of yesterday should not be allowed to repeat. The truth they say is the only tool that can set a generation like ours free. Together, we can restore the past glory.
Written By Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere Obinwannem News
