egungun

Egungun refers to ancestral spirits in Yoruba belief made present through masquerade. The Egungun are honored ancestors who descend to the living world during ceremonies to bless, warn, or guide the community. The performance is carried out by masked dancers embodying lineage ancestors.

Costumes are elaborate, built from many strips of cloth, beads, and other regalia. The garments, sometimes called aso egungun, create a towering, shimmering silhouette that hides the dancer's face. Several dancers may form a single Egungun. Music—especially talking drums, percussion, and singing—accompanies the procession, helping invite the ancestral presence.

Egungun societies are typically organized within extended families or lineages, with regalia crafted by specialist artisans. In many communities, men lead the performances, though women contribute as makers or in related roles, and some areas permit female masqueraders.

These rites honor ancestors, reinforce moral norms, and bless communities, crops, marriages, and births. They act as a social and spiritual conduit between the living and the dead, and they can reveal transgressions or communal concerns during the festival or at life events.

Egungun masquerades have influenced diaspora masquerade arts; Yoruba-inspired garments and aesthetics appear in Caribbean and Latin American traditions and in contemporary art.