Making History The Modernity of Masquerade in Ekiti

Will Rea he penetration and persistence of cultural and artis- tic forms into a present defined as “the modern” or all photos by the author “modernity” is an apparent and growing theme of many African art historical studies and has been well represented in the pages of this journal for some time. Apart from the obvious and still deeply unresolved issues that surround attempts by an African art historical estab- Tlishment to institute a correct nomenclature for those artists from the continent working within the contemporary global art world, there is another stream of evidence and analysis. It is one that has found an opening in the continued persistence of what seem to be age-old traditions, a persistence, however, that has been rein- tegrated into the forms and structures of modernity, particularly that modernity associated with the postcolonial state. That many of these rich and detailed papers seem to evidence a surprise (and welcome joy) that these traditions have persisted in the face of a globalized modernity may offer an insight into the way in which the disciplinary foundations of African art his- tory constituted the study of African art. The contrast is between those papers that assumed and wrote the production and per- formance of African art forms as a form of the ethnographic present, and those that are at pains to demonstrate the present use and forms of cultures reified and produced for audiences and patrons in the present. Yet there remain a set of underly- ing assumptions associated with this form of work. That these events are staged suggests a sense of “the traditional” rather than of being one more attribute of (a) tradition’s ability to encom- pass change—a reading that itself encourages the spurious con- trast between that which is authentic and that which is not. The second element encouraged by these readings is the notion that somehow all this is new—an attitude that ultimately places a mis- reading upon Africa’s engagement with modernity. No doubt in part this has been encouraged by past readings of African art as an art located in the timeless ethnographic present. Yet there is still a feeling that what many papers ignore about the persistence of tradition is that this engagement with modernity has been present for a very long time. It is an engagement with moder- nity that has been worked out through local traditions that, far from being timeless reproductions of ancient mores, have con- sistently been adapting and changing as they have encountered local forms of modernity. In not understanding this, African art history has been negligent.

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10837 • 20808222 page:10 CMYK Clearly, I am overstating the case. Cole (2007), in his elegant recent First Word, makes clear the historical differences that characterized writing on African art in the 1960s–70s and cur- rent analysis. Any lingering doubts about the way in which Africa entered into forms of modernity, forms that themselves were structured by African society and culture, should have been dispelled by Enwezor’s (2001) magisterial “Short Century” exhi- bition and accompanying catalog. Yet even here, traditions that, in their twentieth and twenty-first century incarnations, need to be regarded as a part of the modern are ignored. In part, and despite the work of so many scholars, there per- sists an idea that changes within tradition may be marked against some form of historical baseline, a place or point in the past whereby tradition was stable, unremarked, and unchanging. What I wish to demonstrate here is that these models rely upon a seemingly narrow definition of modernity, one characterized by a notion of the contemporary, rather than by an investiga- tion of the place of tradition within the forms of modernity that have characterized Africa’s engagement with the emergence of the modern world more generally. The cultural form that I use to make this argument are the masked figures that in Ikole are referred to as Egigun.

Carnival and continuity in In 2005 Nigeria placed a heavy economic and political empha- sis on the organization and running of a carnival. Conceived as smaller than the Festival of African Culture (FESTAC) and with its sights firmly placed upon the national rather than interna- tional arena, the Abuja Carnival nonetheless consciously carried with it the legacy of FESTAC. The Nigerian ministry of culture and tourism is rumored to have spent over a billion naira on the running of the festival, billed as the “mother of carnivals.” Discussion of the Carnival amongst the intellectual elite in southwestern Nigeria was mixed, although comparisons to FES- TAC were seemingly obligatory, including comparisons to the (opposite) way in which money was distributed. Two strands of discussion 1 agbe masquerades performing in the center of Ikole during the festival. The particularly emerged. The first concerned the seemingly inau- masks are soliciting money from bystanders. thentic nature of the Abuja Carnival, the seemingly hapless orga- Ikole Ekiti, July 1991. nization that dragooned cultural creativity in what amounted to (this page) a parade in front of the seated Abuja elite. (Although as Apter 2 agbe masquerade colloquially known as [2005] shows, precedence for this form of carnival display comes “Danger” surrounded by his supporters, car- from the Durbar, in itself a form that was largely influenced by rying Atorin canes. Araromi village, Ikole Ekiti, 1990.

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10837 • 20808222 page:11 CMYK British Imperial desire, importing a display form from India.). The second critique, articulated by a broader community of Pen- tecostal or born-again Christians, was that as Christians they could not understand why the Abuja Carnival was promoting this form of culture at all. The articulation of these two standpoints has some paradoxi- cal effects. While the inauthentic nature of the Abuja perfor- mances galvanized an interest in the idea of “proper cultural form,” it also allowed an opening wherein, in the name of cul- tural awareness, Pentecostal Christians, especially those of a middle-class elite, were able to embrace an idea of cultural tra- dition as the performance of authentic cultural identity. Those attributes of tradition that have previously disturbed the com- munity of Christian believers could be safely ignored. Cultural form is no longer synonymous with systems of belief but rather with an idea of authentic cultural identity. The discussions of middle-class elites in and mirror those that have been taking place in other towns in Nige- ria. The renegotiation of tradition and how tradition continues to develop within postcolonial and modernist contexts has been a site of serious and continuing contestation in many places. The town of Ikole Ekiti in is no exception. Ikole is a medium-sized Yoruba town with a population of around 50,000 people. It is a historically important town in the Ekiti region, tracing its history back to foundation by Akinsale, a legendary figure who, in the idiom of Yoruba ethnogenesis, reputedly arrived in Ikole from Ile , carrying with him “400 idols.” The town of Ikole was the center of an important small empire known as the Egbe Oba and has continually vied with over the ranking status of its king in the order of pre- cedence of Ekiti titles. The region that constitutes Ekiti is dis- tinctive from other Yoruba regions, especially those that were brought under the control of the Oyo hegemony. In Ikole, while large parts of the town’s ritual cycle have either declined or have retreated, two traditions remain healthily vibrant but also heavily contested. These are the Ogun festival and the performance of masquerades that are known locally as Egigun. Debates about the performance of either have been a major cause of antagonism and schism in the town. While the current Oba, Elekole Adeleye II, has promoted the Ogun festival as an Ikole Day fête, encompassing and celebrating the town as contemporary and modern, inviting all possible social groups to join the festival as it is celebrated at the Palace, he has been vigorously resisted by the various Pentecostal factions within the town. For the Elekole, Ogun is a tradition that, as well as serving as a recognition of the town’s founding, its history and past, is also a moment when the town, as a unified entity (especially in relation to other towns in Ekiti), can celebrate the year past and the year to come. It is a celebration that calls upon Ikole citizens to join him in the promotion of the town. The performance of masquerade within the town has also been subject to Pentecostal ire. Yet the position of masquerade has not altered only due to Christian opprobrium. There has been a reimagining of masquerade in Ikole, led largely by groups 3 agbe masquerades and their supporters of young men, some of whom are not involved in performance moving from the lower part of Ikole toward the themselves but who act as cultural brokers bringing the festival central road of the town. Ogun festival, Ikole Ekiti, 1991. forward as an entertainment, one that also needs finance from

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10837 • 20808222 page:12 CMYK elite Ikole citizens, whether resident or living outside the town. 4 agbe Ajanbula. As the Elekole began his Ogun speech, Ajanbula climbed to the roof In this repositioning, the younger members of the masquerade of a house overlooking the palace and began society have built upon those areas of masquerade that suit their hurling insults at the Oba. In doing so, he purpose, ignoring certain aspects and downgrading the influ- maintained and enhanced his strong reputation amongst his followers. Ikole Ekiti, 1991. ence of the masquerade cult, much to the annoyance of some of the senior members of the more ritually sanctioned cult group (Rea 1998, 2007). Nevertheless, for many youth in Ikole, mas- querade is their tradition, but one that is entirely compatible with, and in its performances enhances, the articulation of their lives with a contemporary modernity.

Egigun in Ikole The name that is used in Ikole to describe what I convention- ally translate as “masquerade” is “Egigun.” The word “Egungun” is not used to describe these performances. This marks a distinc- tion not just of dialect but of form, although there are clear affini- ties between the two types. The most comprehensive comparative study of Egungun still remains the 1978 issue of African Arts ded- icated to the subject. Bringing together authors whose research covered much of the wide area described as Yoruba (although with a focus on the “central” Oyo region), the documentation and analysis of the range of masquerade types described under the rubric Egungun (and, to follow Drewal, egungun) is impres- sive. Clearly the word “Egigun” has an affinity with other words used for masquerade in southwestern Nigeria. Indeed one of the central points of the issue was to demon- strate the variety exhibited in Yoruba egungun masquerade types. As Drewal (1978:19) says of the articles in the issue, “they offer a variety of approaches to the study of indigenous classifications, suggesting that no single system applies to all Yoruba groups, and that more than one system may operate in a single area.”1 The words “Egigun”, “Egungun” (or, indeed, “Egun”) may not necessarily refer only to masked figures, but have a greater reso- nance that incorporates a concept rather than, or as well as, a material entity. The name “Egun” is used in Ikole to refer to the metaphysical properties of the masquerades and the material actuality of the “things” that are contained in a pot that is buried in the ground at the Igbo Egun (bush shrine) and does not sim- ply refer to the mask. Within the broad terms of definition it is also clear that local categories of masquerade are defined. In part this is a taken for granted assumption, both with analysts and from the evidence of local exegesis. Shiltz (1978:55) makes the case succinctly: Yoruba classifications of Egungun … are ad hoc classifications based on very specific criteria. The result is that one Egungun corresponds to two or more folk types, or the same type may have very diverse manifestations from one place to another.

Or again: The extent to which the choice of an Egungun name is definitely related to the style of its mask or to some other attribute like status or office is not always easy to establish.

However, formal style does not necessarily enter into the way in which masks are classified. More important are names, per- formances, and patrons, all of which are to an extent developed through or upon cosmology and some notion of metaphysical

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10837 • 20808222 page:13 CMYK hierarchy. One could argue that this is simply style as “a way of doing,” the stylistics of social practice, and clearly there is some truth in this. Calling these factors determinants of style, how- ever, does damage to how “ways of doing” or social practice operates, because to invoke style is to invoke a notion of constant form, and that clearly cannot deal with the varieties of forms and names that cut across any sense of the constant, as either a way of doing or, indeed, of formal analysis. Within Ikole the promo- tion of different forms, especially by the youth, has become pro- nounced. A simple list of the types of Egigun found in Ikole might read something like this: Aborogi, Agbe, Agbo, Ajalamo, Ajebowe- yin Pomoje, Ede, Ele/, Egun’re, Ede, Eye, Mowo, Obo, Olu, Osenyin, and Owi. Certain of these names correspond to a par- ticular category within which there are still more types. Thus, subsumed under the categorical name Agbe are a whole range of differently named masquerades, although they all conform to an overall pattern that is called Agbe. On the other hand, Ede, Aborogi, and Egun’re are identified as belonging to a category of masquerade known as Eku, but each is an entirely separate type. There are several ways of wearing a mask (i.e.: that thing that, at the most basic level, is the covering worn over the head) and on the whole any descriptive vocabulary relates to specific mas- querades and their costumes. Some involve donning a simple weave of raffia palm over the head, material indistinguishable from the rest of the costume (Owi). Other masks are formed from a weave of string that forms a net covering (awon) pulled down over the face (Agbe, Osenyin, Ede), or are formed by large pieces of cloth that cover the entire upper torso of the performer (Egun’re). The wooden masks are of several types, ranging from the helmet mask worn over the entire head (Agbo, Aborogi, Mowo, Ajeboweyin Pomoje, and perhaps Ajalamo), to the hori- zontal animal masks (Efon and Efon types); there are even a set of masks that make use of calabashes placed over the head (Olu). However, the one material that defines the costume of all Egi- gun, except the Egun’re, is the use of eio (mariwo) palm leaves. Despite the large number of different mask forms in Ikole, the categorical distinction that was most clearly articulated in the town, by both senior members of the cult and performers of masks, is that between masks falling into a category known as Eku and those masquerades that were simply performed for entertainment, usually, but not exclusively identified as Agbe.

Performance and practice Present-day performances of Egigun in Ikole are dominated by the presence of the Agbe masquerades. The performance of these masks is one of the key features of the Ogun festival, and Agbe is the main form of masquerade displayed at the Oro Egi- gun (masquerade festival; Fig. 1). During these festivals the Agbe masquerades assert a centrality of visibility within the town, occupying the main road of the town for their performances. Walking to the center of the town, the masquerade will make its presence known, running after and beating those who get in its way, saluting their supporters or the congregation of small chil- 5 agbe Olori Awo (‘king of secrets’). The dren that follows them (Fig. 2). The individual masquerader may small calabashes stitched to the awon (head join up with other masks who live in the same quarter of the covering) are said to contain powerful medi- town, and together they will run to the main street. Once on the cines. Ikole Ekiti, 1996.

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10837 • 20808222 page:14 CMYK main street, the performance of the masks consists essentially in running up and down the street: parading and dominating the center of the town. In the general mêlée of the festival, alliances are made and groups of masks will “run” together, often clashing with other groups of Agbe masqueraders. A mask may act independently, going off with its group of followers and performing some gym- nastic set piece, then tumbling, as if exhausted, to the ground, at which point its supporters gather and run (supposedly three times) in a circle around the fallen masquerade, encouraging the mask to get up, which it generally does, with a great display of shouting and shrieking. To “do” Agbe requires a great deal of stamina and strength. Those masquerades that can keep up the constant running and leaping are well respected, but more often masquerades will return home or seek refuge in the nearest beer parlor when tired, reappearing later in the day.2 A level of “violence” is not uncommon in the performances of the Agbe. These masks carry Atorin whips3 with which they beat each other and bystanders. The very performance of these masks has a threatening outlook. The combination of maybe five or six masks and their supporters running up and down the main road presents to onlookers a fierce wall of bodies, cloth, palm leaves, and whips. A group of Agbe running together is certainly enough to stop drivers on the road and extort a form of “festival tax” (Fig. 3). What is apparent about the Agbe masks is that they are inher- ently individualistic. Although the Agbe masks make up a coher- ent category, and within that category display a similarity of type and behavior, there are deliberate differences created between the masks, and each masquerade may be individually named. The essentially individual nature of the Agbe is demonstrated through their costumes types. As stated above, Agbe has a basic costume type, but the variation within the frame of the Agbe style is extremely diverse. The names and costumes of the Agbe relate to, and make material, the frame of behavioral action of the masquerades. A simple list of Agbe types and styles demon- strates this diversity within the “frame” of the Agbe style:4 There are names that illustrate the unpredictable and violent performances:

Ajija: A type of stinging insect. Esu Odara: “The “devil” is good” (Esu is good—there are any number of Esu-related names). Ajanbula: “Warrior don’t fight me” (Fig. 4). Abija: “One who is born to fight.” Ikugbebe: “Death has no mercy.” Olukoso: “ a man that won’t hang himself.”

Names that reflect the supposed “metaphysical” power of the masks:

Irere: “A mask that uses a broken calabash.” Olori Awo: “King of secrets.” Uses small calabashes around the woollen headpiece (Fig. 5).

Then there are a series of Agbe with contemporary names, such as: 6 agbe masquerade known as Egigun Rasta. Niger: “That has power, and is big, like the river.” The hair tresses deliberately resemble dread- locks. Ikole Ekiti, 1990.

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10837 • 20808222 page:15 CMYK 7 aborogi performing in the Ikole palace Ninja: “Like a ninja warrior.” compound during the 1990 Ogun festival. The mask represents a beautiful woman and is Danger: Uses a red costume and a chameleon headpiece. related to Aborogi’s position as the “mother of Naira: A mask begun at the change over to the new currency.5 Egun.” 1990. Rasta: A mask complete with dreadlocks (Fig. 6).

Each one of these named masks has a slightly different costume, although all are recognizably those of an Agbe. There is no one prescribed way of varying the costume, yet there are broadly rec- ognized ways of costuming that have a relationship to recognized themes (iconographies) in a wider cultural sphere. Thus red cloth is recognized as indicating some form of danger, calabashes are synonymous with the containment of juju, and the use of horns on the headpiece may relate to the Christian iconography of the devil. Other aspects of iconography are more spectacular, such as pots of burning kerosene, flags, and small wooden figures all used in the creation of individual masks, relating to the a general theme of unconfined powers (however those may be perceived). There is a strong incentive to innovate in the creation of Agbe costumes. The diversity of styles produced by the performers of the Agbe obviously contribute in part to the general “com- petitive” nature of Agbe masquerading. Costume design is an acknowledged factor in the perception of the individuality of the masquerade, but the general diversity of style is also linked to the nature of power, or how power is perceived running through the Agbe corpus. The incorporation of new elements is said to be used to effect shock and wonder, “to make miracles”. However, the innovation has to be done in the right way. To have a “beauti- ful” mask is in many ways synonymous with having a powerful mask, and certainly one that will attract a larger number of sup- porters to it. When a mask is first introduced, the nature of its impact will vary according to its perceived beauty.6 Agbe masquerades have a symbiotic relationship with their supporters. If a mask is regarded as being “powerful” or “stub- born” then it is more likely to accrue supporters. Yet a mask also relies upon the number of supporters that it can gain in order to improve its own reputation. By gathering around it a group of people, a mask can make a greater show of strength as it moves through the town. An Agbe’s supporters are both young men and women. As a mask begins to obtain a reputation, the num- ber of people following it will increase, and there may even be the invention of different oriki (praise poems) for the mask. It is clear that a particular mask can be passed from father to son, but this seems to happen only in circumstances where the father had built up a large reputation in the performance of the Agbe. Often these masks are resuscitated after years of neglect, but the name of the mask will be remembered, and if it was a partic- ularly reputable mask (perhaps disreputable would be a better description) then the son must literally “be able to carry it,” that is, to have the strength of character to fill the father’s role. What is absolutely clear is that the identity of the wearer is known, and that the performances of the mask have a direct relationship to the unmasked prestige of the individual performer. It could be argued that there is a competitive element to the display involved in the costumes and performances of Agbe. Yet costume design is but one part of a range of things that are used to generate a position of rank over others. Undoubtedly a really fine costume is regarded as such, and there is criticism

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10837 • 20808222 page:16 CMYK of someone who appears badly costumed and such a mask will not gather supporters. These critical criteria are not exclusive qualitative judgements, and support for the performance of a mask relies upon more than whether the costume conforms to or extends the range of expected variation.7 Amongst the Agbe it is performance that generates effect, which is translated into hierarchical standing. In some senses, wearing a costume that is regarded as “too big” for the carrier can be mortifying for the performer, as the supporters of other Agbe will point out and ridicule the badly performed or over-ambitious. As it was it was put to me, “a man’s actions must suit his place” or more simply, “E get as E be!” Eku masquerades. The three mask forms described within the category Eku are generally ascribed the highest status in terms of ancestral sanction and mythological legitimacy in the town. Within the category Eku are Aborogi (Figs. 7–9), Ede (Figs. 10– 12), and Egun’re (Figs. 13–15; individual masquerades in each of these categories have discrete names). These masquerades (par- ticularly the Aborogi and the Egun’re) are closely allied with each other, in mythological exegesis and in performance structure. The Eku masks are associated with the wearing of a particular inner cloth under their costumes. In Ikole this cloth is referred to in the mythic narratives as Amodu, which is a variant of a cloth type more commonly known as jepe.8 It is this inner cloth that is constitutive of the masquerade; without it, performance cannot take place. They never carry the atorin whips of the junior mas- querades and they sing chants known as Alele. Each one of the masks, as Eku, claims some form of seniority over the other masks in the town; in particular, it is clear that Aborogi and Egun’re should never perform at the same time. Two Aborogi may perform together, two Egun’re together, but never Aborogi and Egun’re. The Ede masquerade appears to have little association with the two major festivals when masquerades appear, whereas the other two masks Aborogi and Egun’re have an integral situation in the Egigun festival. If the main performance area of the Agbe masquerades is the main road of the town, then that of the Eku is generally the small alleyways and interconnecting roads between compounds. They are interstitial. The masquerades will move around the town, performing in every quarter, stopping at various compounds, particularly at those whose members have an interest in the mas- querade cult. At these compounds the masquerades sing the oriki of the compound members, especially if there has been a recent death. They are renowned for their ability to give blessings. As they move around, women will greet them and then kneel with their backs to the masquerade, which, raising its arms, will sing praises and blessings over their heads. Eku, unlike Agbe, are allowed free access to the Palace. The Eku masquerades do not gather the same type of support- ers around them as the Agbe. Older men walk around with them guiding and encouraging them, and children follow the mas- querades around the town. Both the Egun’re and the Ede mas- querades are accompanied by musicians beating iron gongs and rattles. The movement of these masks is sedate, restrained, and careful (see Poyner 1978:70). Partially this restrained behavior relates to the nature of their 8 aborogi moving from compound to com- pound, where it delivers blessings specific to costumes. The costume of the Eku masquerade is a site of many the household. Oro Egun, Ikole Ekiti, 1991.

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10837 • 20808222 page:17 CMYK powerful medicines. Elements of the costume are imbued with power simply because they are a part of the masquerade costume. Thus, if a palm leaf or feather falls from the costume, it will be immediately picked up by one of the masquerade’s followers. To let a part of the costume fall to the ground and stay there offers a potential danger to the masquerade, that it (the masquerade) may “enter to the earth like the leaf,” but more seriously, a loose part of the costume provides a powerful source of juju to those with a grudge against the masquerade or the performer. Ajalamo. There is one mask, however, above all the masks in Ikole that is the central focus of attention within the town’s mas- querading activity. It is regarded, especially by the younger men who perform Agbe, as being by far the most important of the masquerades performed in the town, and in the popular con- sciousness of younger town members it has a status as the single most important source of metaphysical power in the town. It is a mask known as Ajalamo. A generic category of Egun’la (‘big masquerade’) is found in various towns in Ekiti. In Ikole it is Ajalamo that is the Egun’la and as far as I can make out the mask (and specifically the mask) Ajalamo appears only in one other town—Isinbode, which lies to the southeast between Ikole Ado Ekiti. I have not seen this mask and was very definitely told not to attempt to see it (see Rea 2007). From informants’ descriptions I know that it is made of wood and that it represents a large head, but whether this is anthropomor- phic or not is unknown to me. The head is said to be covered in boils, pimples, or a large number of bumps. It is possible that this is a reference in the mask to the appearance of leprosy. The mask is said to be so powerful that it has an existence beyond its appearance in performance. It is said that it talks or grunts while sitting in the rafters of the house it is stored in. Its power is such that while in performance it can overwhelm the wearer, forcing the performer to fall to the ground and enter the earth. For this reason, the person doing the masquerade spends an intensive time before the biannual festival preparing himself with various medicines as protection from the mask. During the appearance of Ajalamo, at the biannual Oro Egigun, women and strangers are prohibited from leaving their houses. As the mask moves around the town men are said to throw eggs at the mask to “lighten its load.” The mask is also said to attract flies and bees as it moves around the town, which, if they sting onlookers, cause a sometimes fatal red rash to develop on the body. The importance of Ajalamo is particularly apparent in its rela- tionship with the Agbe masquerades. For the younger men of the town, those controlling the masquerade society and those performing the Agbe, it is the Ajalamo that represents the most important aspects of Ikole masquerade. During the Oro Egigun (the masquerade festival) it is the appearance of the Ajalamo that is the most eagerly anticipated part of the festival. The Ajalamo performs under the sanction of secrecy, women and strangers are confined, but the mask itself is accompanied by a great num- ber of Agbe masks, and during the night festival the procession of young men around the town may not even include the wear- ing of full costume. Increasingly, the performance of Eku masks has been marginalized. The entire emphasis of the festival is now orientated toward the appearances of Ajalamo. 9 aborogi Olumuto. Ikole Ekiti, 1991. And yet Ajalamo is not in the same category of mask as the

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10837 • 20808222 page:18 CMYK Eku, nor does it inscribe the same forms of metaphysical power 10 ede performing for the funerary ceremonies of the Olotin of Ilotin quarter, Ikole Ekiti 1991. as those held by the Eku mask. It is, however, regarded as the most powerful mask in Ikole. What makes it important is the amount of medicines that are attached to it or that have accrued to the mask over time. And, importantly, as with Agbe, the iden- tity of the wearer is known, whereas that of the Eku masquerades is secret. The way that, as an individual masquerade, this mask has accrued a reputation of power and its position within the town is importantly tied into the history of masquerade in Ikole.

A history of the modern That there is a well-defined sense of tradition in Ikole mas- querade performance is apparent from the present. That it is a tradition that is in state of change, promoting Ikole as a town within the present, and is cognizant of the position of that tra- dition in relation to the forms of modernity as, and how, they impinge upon the lives of young men living in Ikole is also clear from the way in which Agbe masquerades have inserted that modernity into their performances and costumes. What is less apparent, however, is that the temporal status upon which these traditions rely is of a comparatively short duration. Egi- gun in Ikole is a tradition that is entirely inscribed and cotermi- nous with the histories of modernity within the town. There is a shared relationship, one that brings into focus a number of pro- cesses developing in the town, that might roughly be described as features of an incipient modernity, but which are also entirely appropriate to the arrival of Egigun in the town of Ikole. The precise date of introduction is unknown, but most peo- ple concerned seemed to think that it was either in the reign of Elekole Agunsoye also known as Fafure I (died 1918) or early in the reign of Adeleye I (reigned 1918–1936) that Egigun came into the town. The journal of a Church Mission Society catechist, E.T.S. Lalo- tan, provides good evidence to suggest that there was a move by young men from Ijesa Isu to introduce Egigun sometime in late 1904 or in 1905. His entry, made in Ikole between September 25 and December 25, 1904, is worth quoting at some length. During the month October an uproar burst out from the youngmen of this country, Egbe Oba (this is the name given to Ikole and the sub- urbs). They said that (they) will not worship again any idols because they were, by the worship, debted yearly. It is good to hear that they said they will not worship again any idols; but yet they erred in saying that they will introduce to their country as the other countries, the masquerade practice. This was an “irritation thing” to the Elekole and his subjects. The king flew into a rage, enough to send messengers to the District Commissioner at , but his anger was quenched when the messenger came back to him, that he may reject whatever he does not like to be introduced to his country for his people. Now the king and his subjects began to trace from where the matter burst out. And it was found that the Ijesa Isu youngmen were to be the ringleaders, they made them pay heavily though they made other youngmen pay, but not as much as the Ijesa youngmen. And the youngmen persisted on the same topic, that if the elders do not allow them in such a way, they will leave that way and become Christians … I ask your prayers for the people that it may please God to bring them into the way of the truth.9 Lalotan’s report is clearly a useful piece of information for the historian of Egigun. It supplies an at least approximate point

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10837 • 20808222 page:19 CMYK in time before which there were no Egigun in Ikole. Clearly, it also demonstrates that there were ongoing disputes between the young men of the Ikole district and the central authority of the Elekole. For the most part those disputes seem to have taken the form of a reevaluation of religious practice in the Ikole district and the ways in which that practice was being taxed. What this report does not give is the full story of Egigun’s intro- duction into the town. It is clear that in 1904 the then Elekole, Fafure I, would not tolerate Egigun in Ikole, that the agitation for the introduction of Egigun started in the outlying town of Ijesa-Isu, and that at the same time there was a complementary agitation for the introduction of Christianity. Something was happening in the Ikole district that would, within a few years of this report, lead to the introduction of Egigun in Ikole.

Contexts Ikole is not the only town in Ekiti to have introduced Egigun at the beginning of the twentieth century. There are reports that Egi- gun were introduced into Igede Ekiti in 1908, and although there is little formal evidence of its introduction in other towns in Ekiti, it is reasonable to speculate that Egigun were imported by other towns at around this time. Even if this were not the case, a wider background to the introduction in Ikole is required. Although there is no single (known) explanation for the introduction of Egi- gun, a wider set of contexts, all associated with changes and events in a wider (global) modernity may be offered. The wars of the nineteenth century in this region forced change in the structure of the wider state of inter-Yoruba rela- tions as well as in the structures of individual town organization. This change extended into the twentieth century, leading to an increased articulation between the various towns. In a sense, no Yoruba kingdom could any longer regard itself as autonomous from the wider sphere of a general Yoruba politics. Undoubtedly social structure was constantly reinventing itself within specifi- cally Yoruba idioms, and I do not want to imply that the wars created an entirely different set of parameters for all Yoruba.10 However, the shifts in alliances and the codification of structures that were promoted by the rise and fall of the Ibadan hegemony cannot be ignored; the wars of the nineteenth century did effect lasting changes in Ekiti.11 There is little doubt that a part of that change was the promotion of a wider sense of shared identity, and cultural forms were contributory to the debates over Ekiti (and Yoruba?) cultural inclusiveness. The encroachment of the colonial administration into Ekiti also had a profound effect on the power relations of the vari- ous kingdoms. The sense of a specifically conscious Ekiti unity was sealed by the fact that the Ekitiparapo became regarded as the major civil organizational and administrative alliance in the district. The extension of the Lagos protectorate into Ekiti rap- idly installed a functioning colonial administration based in Ado. What was also clear is that this administration regarded the established Obas as the major agents of rule in the area. The pol- icy of indirect rule was to fix the power of the Obas over those of their subjects. It is clear that Adeleye I was able to rely on British 11 the Ede masquerade headpiece is said to contain all the feathers of the birds of the intervention in a number of disputes. forest. As the mask moves into the town, it Changes operating on the level of social organization were gathers blessings in its headpiece (see Poyner also intimately involved in the changes that took place in other 1978:74). Ikole Ekiti, 1991.

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10837 • 20808222 page:20 CMYK spheres, especially the religious. The first Christians in Ikole, as in most Ekiti towns, were returning slaves. The Christian efflo- rescence did not go unopposed by the adherents to the preexist- ing religious traditions. Oguntuyi (1979) mentions that there had been a serious dispute at Osi-Ikole in 1915 started by the Chris- tians, who had destroyed the cult houses in that town.12 Through- out Ekiti there were incidents of trouble between the Christian converts and the members of the indigenous cults. In Ikole, the relationship was (officially) peaceful after the ascendancy of Adeleye I, especially in the light of his predecessor Fafure’s reac- tion to the CMS, which was one of animosity. Adeleye, however, seems to have been more far-sighted, seeing that the eventual aggrandizement of his town relied upon cooperation with the new structures of authority represented by the British and the CMS Church. This is not to say that relations were always peace- ful. There is a wonderful story told in Ikole of one of the senior masqueraders entering the CMS church in full costume and being forcibly ejected, after which, in disgust at his treatment, he invited the Catholics to Ikole! The truth of this story is unverifi- able, but it does refer to the fact that the masquerades through- out Ekiti were often at the center of trouble between Christians and pagans.13 One of the resounding statements about the wearing of mas- querade today, often repeated to me, was that “it is a mask, nobody can see who it is that is beating them, even if I go to church, I can still wear masquerade.” One of the more serious riots at Ado-Ekiti was caused by the conflict between Roman Catholics and the Egigun cult there.14 It seems that at one time Christians were even wearing masquerades in order to persecute the worshippers of other cults. It is clear that integrated into the history of the Christian church in Ekiti is a history of masquer- ade, albeit one that is difficult nowadays to ascertain. If the development of a unified Ekiti identity, changes in admin- istrative structure, and the arrival of the Christian church in Ekiti provide areas of historically and structural contingent change at the turn of the century, there is one more piece of evidence that provides a backdrop to the analysis. A number of informants sug- gested that it was in order to prevent illness that masquerades were introduced to the town. Egigun were bought to Ikole in order to “warm children up”—to make them better. If illness was a factor in the introduction of Egigun, the seemingly widespread intro- duction would suggest that this was a result of an epidemic. There are two possible candidates: influenza and measles. The influenza epidemic that swept through Nigeria in the early part of the century, known as lukuluku (‘killing by a sudden stroke’), hit Ekiti in 1918. The epidemic caused extremely high mortality especially among children, and it is clear (Oguntuyi 1978) that people had little idea of how to treat the disease. The high mortality rate led to an increase in the number of witchcraft accusations in the town and there were a number of reports that the use of sasswood (Obo) ordeals increased alarmingly.15 Ogun- tuyi (1978:80) comments that, throughout the area, Ede mas- querades were in the streets chanting in an attempt to ameliorate the epidemic (see also Oguntuyi 1979:123) and Peel suggests that the epidemic may have been one of the causes for the develop- ment of the churches in Ilesa (Peel 1969; see also Peel

1967:60–62). 12 ede performing in Ikole as night falls. 1991.

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10837 • 20808222 page:21 CMYK 13 egun’re Masquerades performing during There are two factors, however, that might suggest an alter- the 1991 Oro Egigun (masquerade festival). They are accompanied by the Olomedeyin, an native cause. Firstly, the dates of the influenza epidemic do older woman and member of the Egbe Egigun not fit with the probable date of Egigun’s introduction to Ikole. (masquerade society). Ikole Ekiti, 1991. Although the 1904/5 date might not be the date that Egigun actu- ally arrived in Ikole, 1918 seems like a fairly long waiting period before they were allowed into the town (although it does plau- sibly correspond with the ascendancy of Adeleye I to the Ikole throne). Secondly, although, as noted above, Egigun were mobi- lized in an attempt to ameliorate the causes of influenza, the pathology of the disease is not one that falls into the categories generally associated with Egigun. A much closer link is found in the symptoms of measles. A disease generally attacking children and which produces red blotches on the skin would seemingly fit very closely with the type of diseases (especially leprosy) associ- ated with Egigun (see Rea forthcoming).

Agents Whether Egigun were introduced as a reaction to a changing landscape of political control, to the impact of Christianity, or as a preventative to either influenza or measles, the introduction itself was managed and promoted by named individuals. The most important thing about these individuals is that they were young. Today, the intervention is still remembered of one partic- ular individual, Anisoloogun, of the Ifajimibiola family, from the Iloka lineage.16 The name Anisoloogun means “one with many yams and much medicine”17 and this is how the man is remem- bered today, a man with a great deal of agricultural capability and one who held a great deal of medicinal knowledge. He is not remembered as an especially wealthy man—this was not impor- tant. I was told of him, “It wasn’t a matter of money, but he had a lot of medicine”.18 He was clearly a man of some character. It was said that from birth he was “sharp” and he was “stubborn.” Apart from being involved with the Egigun, Anisoloogun appears to have been a key member of herbalist societies, and “any other strong place that he attended, they made him into their leader.”19 There is a possibility that Anisoloogun fought as one of the Ikole contingent against the Ibadan (but this is not confirmed), and equally he may have taken part in harassing the Ibadan army that found itself trapped in Ekiti and after the Wokuti campaign. What is clear is that he had travelled out of Ikole. Quite what the practical “mechanics” behind the introduction were is unknown. It seems that Anisoloogun led a contingent of young men from “lower” Ikole to Isinbode and, making a large payment of money, sheep, palm oil, dried fish, yams, snails,eyele, and cloth, received the medicines and knowledge that contain and situate the power of Eegun (the knowledge of that which is contained in the pot buried in the masquerade grove). Once payment had been made and the appropriate medicines had been buried, it seems that the performance of masquerade could proceed. However, it is also clear that at this stage there was no particular licence simply to start masquerading. The rights of performance of the more powerful masks were distributed among the various lineages with care and the right to perform the Ajalamo mask jealously guarded by the Ifajimibiola family. It is also clear that this moment is remembered as a direct chal- lenge to the incumbent Elekole. The performances of Egigun by lineages of the lower part of

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10837 • 20808222 page:22 CMYK the town led to a movement to introduce Egigun into the upper part of the town. Here again it was a young individual who was instrumental in establishing the masquerades. There is an inter- esting contrast between the two individuals. Ogunyokun Olo- runda, of the Olonda lineage (which is still one of the wealthiest and most prestigious lineages in Ikole), was by the early part of the twentieth century already a wealthy man. Whereas Anis- oloogun’s renown was in areas that could be regarded as being completely within the traditions and practices of the Ikole of that time (such as in herbalism, farming, and warfare), Olorunda had quite clearly grasped the importance of the incipient trading rela- tionships that were just beginning to form throughout a west- ern Nigeria at peace under the Pax Britannica. He is primarily remembered for his trade in horses and cattle, which he brought from the trading posts at Lokoja (and perhaps Okene) and then traded throughout the eastern Yoruba Marches. From this base he gradually extended his trade both in area and in goods, and it seems that throughout the early twentieth century he established a good trading network in gin and cloth, eventually trading from Ejirin, near Lagos.20 Although the precise nature of Anisoloo- gun’s purchase of the masquerades, whether it was a kinship- related transaction plus some financial transaction, is unknown, Olorunda’s acquisition was quite clearly a monetary purchase. Perhaps interestingly, though, no Egun’la was purchased, and the cult of the upper part of the town does not have the same rela- tionship with a “great” mask as the lower part of the town has with the Ajalamo. The contrast drawn between these two individuals would seem to conform to a set of changing patterns within Ikole. Clearly, Olurunda might seem to fall into a set of apparently clear cat- egories that would denote a status at ease with, and grasping the full opportunities of, the changing patterns of social life intro- duced under the modernizing impetus of the Pax Britannica that had been established throughout this region. However, to regard Anisoloogun’s impact as an attempt at retraditionalization would be to miss the point of his position and his appropriation of the changing conditions of a modern life. In part, Anisoloogun’s introduction of the masquerades fulfils an agenda that must also be regarded as taking the opportunities opened up by the changing conditions of (a) modern life. While not as obviously fitting into a modernity based upon the open- ing of commodity markets, Anisoloogun’s introduction does conform to an aspect of modernity that, especially if we follow a Weberian understanding, was being opened up at this time, that of the charismatic individual. The structure of Ibadan warfare had clearly promoted the notion of the individual warrior leader, and in Ayede the people of Ikole had a clear example of what such individuals could achieve (Apter 1995). Anisoloogun, in introducing masquerade at this time, was no doubt also promot- ing his own charismatic standing amongst the youth of Ikole, and in opposition to the established system of “state” rituals and their consequent taxations. As Murphy (1998) has illustrated, and as is still apparent in the present performances of Agbe masquerades, masquerade provides an excellent aesthetic vehicle for the pro- motion of charismatic individuality. Strikingly apparent is the 14 egun’re masquerades performing in the fact that Anisoloogun refused to become involved in the formal market place during the Oro Egun, 1991. The cult structure of Egigun, preferring instead to perform and con- headpiece is known as Odide. Ikole Ekiti, 1991.

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10837 • 20808222 page:23 CMYK trol access to the Ajalamo mask, the most “powerful” object in Ikole today and one which remains entirely bound up with the identity of the individual. This is not to deny, however, that there was also an instrumental rationality behind his decisions to bring Egigun to Ikole. It is a rationality that has been carried forward by the young men of the town today, in the way in which the masquerade society structures the festival and looks to placing it as the authentic expression of Ikole’s identity. It is a rationality, however, that through aesthetic production maintains its ability to enchant and inspire. Kwami Anthony Appiah, writing about a different time of African art historical display, meditates upon a Yoruba carving of a man and a bicycle. He ascribes to the sculpture the term “neo-traditional,” a term which, I think, we can now argue with, as it presumes the existence of something that might be called “traditional,” a term that I believe curtails the examination of the ongoing creativity of traditions. Nevertheless, Appiah is right when he states that “to understand our—our human—moder- nity we must first understand why the rationalization (I might say modernity) of the world can no longer be seen as the ten- dency either of the West, or of history” (Appiah 1992:233). The young men of Ikole, both at the turn of the century and today, understood and understand absolutely that their performances present the concerns of the modern. In doing so, they challenge the very terms within which the modernist understanding of modernity have been played out.

Will Rea is a senior lecturer in the School of Fine Art, Art History, and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds. He has carried out research in Ikole Ekiti since 1990 and has published on the relations between anthropology and art, masquerade, and religion. His monograph No Event, No History: Masquerade Politics in Ekiti is forthcoming. [email protected]

15 egun’re performing in the market place. The color scheme of the costume relates to the masks’ role in promoting fertility (see Rea 1995). Ikole Ekiti, 1991.

Notes

Fieldwork was carried out between 1990 and 2006. I entirely separable category of masquerades, is a dialect masquerade began as a mask called Ajanbula, a mas- would like to acknowledge the support I received from difference, or is a part of a broader categoryegungun querade that gathered a considerable amount of fame the Nigerian National Museums and Monuments com- is an open point, but not one that seemed to concern to it because of its rough behavior (see below). The mission, Professor Jacob Ade and Ajayi and Mrs. Christie people in Ikole. My own feeling is that in an area where performer altered the name of his masquerade when Ade Ajayi, and the people of Ikole, especially Oba Adeleye cosmological divergence can be extreme within a loose the Nigerian currency changed to naira. Recently the II. In the I acknowledge the support overall pattern, concern over rigid naming should not performer, now perhaps the leading Agbe masquerade received from the British Academy, from the Sainsbury be over-emphasized. in the town, changed the name of the masquerade back Research Unit, John Picton, and fellow panel members at 2 During the Ogun festival, one of the beer par- to Ajanbula, at which point one of his friends started a the AEGIS conference, and especially Charlie Gore. lors on the main road of Ikole actually keeps a partition masquerade called Naira. 1 Drewal argues that the broader generic term in the back of the parlor so that masqueraders can go 6 There is one mask known as Arewa, “the beauti- egungun should be used for the masquerades, such as and unmask out of sight of women. ful one”; its behavior is of exactly the same order as the those of described by Poyner (1978:65–76), that fall 3 Glyphaea Lateriflora. It is a tree known for its other masks. outside the Oyo-derived category Egungun. If that is the toughness and suppleness and is used for bows and whips. 7 Not to conform to the range of expected varia- case, then the masquerades of Ikole, which are in many The tree is always planted in the masquerade grove. tion is to introduce an element of the unpredictable that ways similar to the masquerades of Owo, would also be 4 Names were gathered from interviews with vari- would not necessarily be accepted. As Picton (1992:13– categorized as egungun. However, throughout this paper ous performers, and from asking the masquerades their 53) has pointed out, there is a difference between cre- the term “Egigun” is used, as this is what people in Ikole names at the festivals in and around Ikole. ativity that involves the manipulation of the established call their masks. Whether the term “Egigun” refers to an 5 There is a story of evolution in this mask. The creative frame and innovation that changes that frame,

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10837 • 20808222 page:24 CMYK although the two in Agbe masquerade are not mutually 16 As such, Anisoloogun was from the lower part Murphy, William P. 1998. “The Sublime Dance of Mende exclusive. of the town (Odo Ode), which was structurally signifi- Politics: An African Aesthetic of Charismatic Power.” 8 The proverbAso to sun mo egungun ni a upe cant in the way that the cult in the town is constituted. American Ethnologist 25 (4):556–82. jepe, ‘the cloth nearest to the masquerade is called jepe,’ 17 Anisoloogun’s Oriki is reproduced in full in Rea Oguntuyi, Msgr. A. 1978. The Way of Life in Ado-Ekiti. is reported in Renne and Agbaje-Williams (2005:9). As (forthcoming). Ado-Ekiti: Bamgboye Press. they state, “the proverb juxtaposes the closeness of jepe 18 Chief Elefosan, personal communication, Octo- cloths with inside knowledge.” Whether this is the same ber 2, 1991. ______. 1979. History of Ekiti: From the Beginning to cloth, described in use by the Oyo area masquerades 19 Ibid. 1939. Ibadan: Bisi Books. (Thompson 1974:219, Barber 1991:227) is a moot point. 20 Olorunda’s wealth is still remarked upon in Peel, J.D.Y. 1967 “Religious Change in .” There is an affinity between this cloth and the acknowl- the town, but perhaps the exploit for which he is best Africa 37 (3):292–306. edged metaphysical powers of these masquerades. remembered is riding a horse into the palace courtyard 9 NAI CMS (Y) 2/2/4 “Papers relating to the during the Elekole’s Ogun festival, a huge display of ______. 1969. “Understanding Alien Belief Systems.” development of churches and schools, Ondo and Ilesa wealth and perhaps a direct challenge to the then British Journal of Sociology 20 (1):69–84. Districts 1885-1907”. My thanks to J.D.Y. Peel, who Elekole. Picton, John. 1992. “Tradition, Technology, and Lurex: found this document in the CMS archives during his Some Comments on Textile History and Design in West research. References cited Africa.” In History, Design, and Craft in West African 10 Nor do I want to enter into the debate about Strip Woven Cloth, ed. Sylvia H. Williams, pp. 13–52. Appiah, Anthony K. 1992. In My Fathers House: Africa how much the wars of the nineteenth caused an entirely Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. different “Yoruba culture” to emerge. It is enough here in the Philosophy of Culture. London: Methuen. Poyner, Robin. 1978. “The Egungun of Owo.”African to note the problem. Apter, Andrew. 1992. Black Critics and Kings. Chicago: Arts 11 (3):65–76. 11 Although it is probably not until after the cam- University of Chicago Press. paign that this common heritage could in any way be Rea, Will. 1995. No Event No History. PhD thesis. Sains- ______. 2005. The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the said to be a conscious recognition of shared identity. bury Research Unit, University of East Anglia. 12 I could find little evidence of this dispute. Spectacle of Nigeria. Chicago: University of Chicago 13 This is a fact that is talked about by the perform- Press. ______. 1998. “Rationalising Culture: Youth, Elites, and Masquerade Politics.” Africa 68:98–117. ers of masquerade today. One of the things that is said Barber , Karin. 1981. “How Man Makes God in West is that the Orisa declined because of Christianity, but if Africa: Yoruba Attitudes Towards the Orisa.” Africa 51 ______. 2007. “On Staging Performance.” Journal of you perform Egigun then nobody can see you. (3):724–45. African Cultural Studies 19 (1):95–112. 14 As quoted in Oguntuyi 1979. The Christians of the town may have grouped together and dressed ______. 1991. I Could Speak until Tomorrow: Oriki, Renne, Elisha P., and Babatunde Agbaje-Williams. 2005. as Egigun attacked the pagan worshippers. Oguntuyi Women, and the Past in a Yoruba Town. Edinburgh: Yoruba Religious Textiles. Ibadan: Bookbuilders. Edinburgh University Press. suggests that the masqueraders may in fact have been Shiltz, Marc. 1978. “Egungun Masquerades in Iganna.” Christians. Riots in Ado seem to have been Cole, Herbert M. 2007. “First Word.” African Arts 40 African Arts 11 (3):55. caused by the beating of a young Christian after one of (1):1–5. these beatings by Christians. Thompson, Robert Farris. 1966. “An Aesthetic of the 15 NAI CMS (Y) 2/2/4 “Papers relating to the Drewal, Henry John. 1978. “The Arts of Egugun among Cool: West African Dance.” African Forum 2 (2):85–102. Yoruba Peoples.” African Arts 11 (3):18–19, 97–98. development of churches and schools, Ondo and Ilesa ______. 1974. African Art in Motion: Icon and Act in Districts 1885-1907” NAI Ondo Prov. Intelligence Enwezor, Okuwui. 2001. The Short Century: Indepen- the Collection of Katherine Coryton White. Los Angeles: Report 4/2, 1918. dence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945–1994. University of California Press. London: Prestel.

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