Egungun Mask
Egungun, Fabrics and shells, 162.6 cm. Jerry Thomas Arts-Africana (Photo provided by Facing the Mask)
Different than masks, the Egungun masks are full body length masks made of cloth and shells. [1] The Yoruba once in a while would include a wooden mask to represent a face of an ancestor. [1] The Egungun mask has many layers of brightly colored fabric with it being somewhere between 160 cm to 185cm in height. [1] This mask literally
looks like a blanket draped over a dancers body. The accumulation of stuff on this mask is to represent the riches of their ancestors. [1] Fly-whisk and the layers of fabric, they all represent the leaving of this world into another world. [1]
The Egungun is important to the Yoruba because it serves to honor and remember their departed ancestors in the other world. [1] This mask also functions to maintain relations with past ancestors and to make sure that they have longevity for life here on Earth through giving offerings and putting up displays to the people in the other world of the deceased. [1] Everyone in the community participates in this masquerade to honor their ancestors of the past. [1]
To see a better example of how this mask looks and how it is performed, check out the video below. It will give you a better understanding on how everyone participates in the masquerade and what looks like in the performing context.
1. Frank Herreman, Facing the Mask, (Munich: THe Museum of African Art and Prestel , 1996), 24-32,36.