Hello steemit fam, I hope you all are doing just fine? as an African lady living in Africa we have loads of traditions that has been passed down from one generation to another. Today I have chosen to take you a bit closer to my country by showing you highlights of the just concluded "Eyo festival" in Lagos Nigeria.
The Nigerian culture is shaped by Nigeria's multi ethnic groups, the country had 527 languages of which seven are extinct, Nigeria has several dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups include the Yoruba's who are predominantly in the south western part of country, Hausa/Fulani in the north and Igbo in the south eastern part of the country.
If you know Nigeria so well you will agree that lagos ( the former capital of Nigeria) is an indispensable part of the country. According to the New York times, The west African metropolis located in the south western part of Nigeria (Lagos) has surpassed Cairo, Egypt in size with the city's population at 21 million, it has been said to be Africa's Largest City.
The City clocked 50 this year and the grand finale of the event was graced with the presence of the masquerades known as "Eyo" the Eyo festival is unique to Lagos, the festival is organised under the auspices of the Yoruba tradition as well as social organisations or local clubs. It is an outlet for showcasing the Yoruba culture. It is also a distinctive symbolic festival and the heart of traditionalism in lagos.
The origin of this festival dates back to sometime around 1750, the first festival ever celebrated was to escort the soul of a departed King and to usher in a new one. The Masquerades are from different clans and as have different regalia and hats as seen in the picture below.
The festival is depicted by the image of masquerade in flowing white apparel, the masquerade is robed from head to toe as no part of the masquerade is expected to be seen in public, the staff as seen in the picture was invented as part of the regalia for the purpose of warding off undesirable element.
The masquerades are know for their glamorous dance steps, see for yourself below ( now, this is off the record but some of the masquerades are know for their ability to take vengeance on a previous offender when all clothed and the offender is oblivious of the masquerades original identity). Now, this should have been a video but i had difficulties uploading it.
Taboos of the festival.
1 The masquerades are expected to move around town the day before the festival to notify the residents of the emergence of the event but they must not wear the costume over night or cross a body of water. The three most popular masquerades are to come out to play before the main festival but they come out in the order upon which the three masquerades were brought to lagos, it is a taboo for one to come out to play on another's play date.
2 The spectators are expected to walk bare footed ( No shoes), if you can't, you have to stay away from the festival
3 Women should not cover their head ( No head gear)
4 No smoking
5 No riding of bicycles/ motorcycles
6 No selfie with the masquerade*Lol, (Not this time picture lovers)
7 Women should avoid making hairstyles ( corn row) that runs from the fore head to the nape of the neck or forms a rump on top of the head.
The festival has had a lot of impact on tourism, it's popularity stretches beyond the shores of the country. Today's Eyo festival wears a more corporate look and that is good for the tourism industry
I hope you enjoyed the article. kindly drop your comments below.
Till my next post xoxo