Odimba Rita

Department of

Digitally Signed by: Content manager’s

DN : CN = Weabmaster’s name

O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka

OU = Innovation Centre

METAPHOR AND THE IGBO MASQUERADE:

THE EZEAGỤ EXAMPLE

Odimba Rita

Faculty of Arts

Department of Linguistics, Igbo and Other Nigerian

Languages

OZOCHI, CHUKWUMA AUGUSTINE

REG. NO: PG/MA/08/48846

i

: Content manager’s Name

Weabmaster’s name

a, Nsukka

METAPHOR AND THE IGBO MASQUERADE:

Linguistics, Igbo and Other Nigerian

OZOCHI, CHUKWUMA AUGUSTINE

ii

TITLE PAGE

METAPHOR AND THE IGBO MASQUERADE:

THE EZEAGỤ EXAMPLE

BY

OZOCHI, CHUKWUMA AUGUSTINE

REG. NO: PG/MA/08/48846

A project submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies University of Nigeria Nsukka. In partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of Master of Arts (M.A.) in Igbo Written Literature. Department of Linguistics, Igbo

and Other Nigerian Languages.

NOVEMBER 2011

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CERTIFICATION

We certify that Ozochi, Chukwuma Augustine a postgraduate student

in the Department of Linguistics, Igbo and Other Nigerian Languages, with

registration number: PG/MA/08/48846 has satisfactorily completed the

requirements for courses and research project work for the degree of M.A.

The work contained in this project is original and has not been submitted in

part of full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University.

…………………………………….. …………………………………….. Ozochi, Chukwuma Prof. G.I. Nwaozuzu Candidate Supervisor

iv

APPROVAL PAGE

v

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God Almighty, to my late parents and finally

to my wife and children for their encouragements and moral supports.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A work of this nature cannot in any way be successfully completed

without the help and contributions of a lot of people. Firstly, I thank God

for providing for me and granting me His mercies during the course.

I am very thankful and grateful to my supervisor Prof. (Mrs.) G.I.

Nwaozuzu for reading through my work, and for her contributions and solid

advice which helped in no small measures in overcoming my problems.

To Dr. B.M. Mbah, Prof. Richard Okafor, Prof. C.N. Okebalama, Mr.

Anasiudu, Dr. Ikeokwu, Prof. Nwadike, I say thank you for your pieces of

advice and contributions. I thank all my lecturers for their good work

during the course work.

To Mr./Mrs. Ernest Nosike and family, I say thank you for all your

encouragements.

To all the authors I consulted and cited their works, I say thank you.

To all my informants and those I interviewed, may God bless you for

helping me.

To Miss. Nneka who carefully meticulously typed the work, I say

thank you and God bless you.

Ozochi, Chukwuma A.

Department of Linguistics, Igbo

And Other Nigerian Languages

UNN

vii

Abstract

Recently, there is a strong awareness that has been created in the study of African culture, including that of the Igbo. In Ezeagụ, the concept of masquerade is based on the concept of interaction between the living and the dead. In fact, to a good number of people in Ezeagụ Culture Area, the masquerade means a lot of things. The masquerade is metaphorically used in Ezeagụ. That is why every male in the culture area is addressed as masquerade. This work looks at the metaphoric aspects of the masquerade using Ezeagụ as an example. In Ezeagụ, the masquerade is a communal symbol because masquerade performances are taken very seriously by the people. When its performance is successful, the people feel proud and fulfilled, for success is an index of the solidarity and moral health of its people. The masquerade is metaphorical in Ezeagụ when we look at it from the perspectives of physical human attributes, entertainment, and in its behavioural patterns. The masquerade performs a lot of social, religious and security function in Ezeagụ Therefore, we can look at the masquerade and everything about it as a human. It also metaphorically performs spiritual functions and that is why the masquerade is said to be a spirit in the area. But finally, the masquerade in Ezeagụ culture area is neither human nor spirit. The masquerade is metaphor in Ezeagụ.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TIIILE PAGE - - - - - - - - - i

CERTIFICATION - - - - - - - - ii

APPROVAL PAGE - - - - - - - - iii

DEDICATION - - - - - - - - - iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - - - - - - - v

ABSTRACT - - - - - - - - - vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - - - - vii

ANNEXURE - - - - - - - - - x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - - 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - - - 2

1.3 Objectives of the Study - - - - - - - 3

1.4 Scope or Delimitation of the Study - - - - - 3

1.5 Research Questions - - - - - - - 5

1.6 Significance of the Study - - - - - - 5

1.7 Historical Background and Geographical Location

of Ezeagu Culture Area - - - - - - - 5

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction - - - - - - - - 7

2.1 Theoretical Studies- - - - - - - 7

2.1.1 Concept of Metaphor - - - - - 19

2.1.2 Origin of Masquerade - - - - - 23

2.1.3 Functions of the Masquerade - - - - 26

2.1.4 Mmọnwụ as an Institution - - - - 27

ix

2.1.5 Mmọnwụ as Cult - - - - - - 28

2.16 Entertainment - - - - - - - 29

2.1.7 Employment - - - - - - - 31

2.1.8 Physical and Moral Education - - - - 31

2.2 Empirical Studies - - - - - - - 32

2.3 Theoretical Framework - - - - - - 33

2.3.1 Features of Metaphor - - - - - 35

2 4 Summary of the Literature Review - - - 37

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - 39

3.2 Method of Data Collection - - - - - 39

3.2.1 Library Work - - - - - - 39

3.2.2 Fieldwork - - - - - - - 39

3.2.3 Personal Observation - - - - - 39

3.3 Research Population - - - - - - 40

3.4 Research Instrument - - - - - - - 40

3.5 Method of Data Analysis - - - - - - 41

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 The Costumes - - - - - - - 42

4.1.1 Agbọghọ Mmọnwụ - - - - - - 42

4.1.2 The Ijele Masquerade Head Piece - - - 43

4.1.3 The Atụ and Agaba Masquerades - - - 45

4.1.4 Other Unnamed Masquerades - - - - 46

4.2 Objects - - - - - - - - - 51

4.2.1 Use of Fan - - - - - - - 52

x

4.2.2 Use of Whip - - - - - - - 52

4.2.3 Use of White Chalk - - - - - 52

4.2.4 Use of Ọfọ and Ogu - - - - - 53

4.2.5 The Use of Awọrọ - - - - - 54

4.2.6 The Matchete - - - - - - 54

4.2.7 The Flute - - - - - - - 54

4.2.8 The Ọmụ - - - - - - - 55

4.2.9 The Iron and Wooden Gongs, the Drums and

the Tortoise Shell - - - - - 56

4.2.10 The Mirror - - - - - - 56

4.3 The Gun - - - - - - - - 57

4.4 Religious and Social Activities - - - - 57

CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Findings - - - - - - - - - 62

5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - 64

REFERENCES - - - - - - - - 66

APPENDIX I - - - - - - - - 70

APPENDIX II - - - - - - - - 72

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1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In Igboland in general and Ezeagụ culture area in particular, the

concept of masquerade is based on the concept of interaction between the

living and the dead. This concept, has in no small measure, helped the

traditional Igbo society to evolve a device for social control in its different

communities.

However, what is involved in the masquerade has been grouped into

three elements - the supernatural, the display and the mimetic elements. It

is a fact, that the presence of a masquerade or a masked figure in a

community is a display of some sort, with hypnotic effects, as it attracts

attention and draws crowds. But this, in fact, must not be taken as the

raison d’etre of the masquerade. It is important also to note the religious

and supernatural airs and mysticism surrounding the mask. This is evident

in the way it is respected and the feats that it is often believed to be

capable of achieving.

In fact, to a good number of people, the masquerade means a lot of

things. Some see the masquerade as an agent of social control, while

others see it as the appearance of the dead among the living. There are

still others who see the masquerade as mere entertainment that appears

and performs during festival or ceremonies. In some other cases, it is seen

as an identity of a particular group of people.

Again, a lot of people agree that the masquerade can compel people

to perform certain acts; it has been used to adjudicate some civil cases, to

2

guard properties against some intruders and other things of similar nature.

A lot of other things have been written about the masquerade as theatre.

Some believe that the masquerade is a cult, while others see it as spirit

manifest.

However, this study tries to investigate the masquerade as a metaphor, in

Ezeagụ cultural area.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The masquerade has been defined in various ways. Some see the

masquerade as a physical representation of ancestral spirits, while others

see it as a celebration and merry making agent. Some others like

Onyeneke (1987) see it as, the dead among the living. Okafor (1990) sees

it as spirit manifest, while Enekwe (1987) sees it as theatre.

Another group of people try to give a literary meaning to the word

‘Mmọnwụ’. ‘Mmọnwụ’ is the Igbo name for masquerade. Ugonna (1984) is

of the opinion that the word mmọnwụ is derived from two Igbo words

‘mmụọ’ - spirit and ‘nwụ’ - death, which could be interpreted as spirit of the

dead. The above explanation then implies that ‘Mmọnwụ’ is conceived as a

manifestation or concretization of the spirits of dead ancestors.

These spirits make reappearances in the form of ‘mmọnwụ’ when the

need arises.

Many, as we pointed out earlier, have written about Igbo

Masquerade (including Onyeneke, 1987; Enekwe, 1987; Okafor, 1990;

Ozọfọr, 2009, etc. Many of them see the masquerade as the coming back

of the spirits of the dead.

3

Others see masquerade as a form of entertainment; while some look

at it as special arm of government in Igbo tradition. Yet some literary

critics see masquerade as agent of social control.

However, we can see that little or nothing has been said about the

metaphorical significance of the Igbo masquerades in general and those of

Ezeagụ in particular. This situation has created a dearth of information on

this aspect of the masquerade, which if properly investigated, would throw

wore light on what masquerade in Ezeagụ stands for.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This work centers on the masquerade as metaphor in Ezeagụ cultural zone.

It aims among other things to:

i. Determine and investigate the metaphorical significance of Ezeagụ

masquerade.

ii. Find out the myth behind Mmọnwụ in Ezeagụ

iii. Find out how metaphor, powers or drives the Mmọnwụ drama in

Ezeagụ.

iv. Determine how metaphor explains the myth of the Mmọnwụ drama

in Ezeagụ.

v. Determine the prospects of the Mmọnwụ theatre against the

onslaught of Westernisation and Christianity in Ezeagụ.

1.4 Scope or Delimitation of the Study

The study of any aspect of the masquerade involves a lot of things,

because of the vast nature of the concept. This work is limited to Mmọnwụ

4

as metaphor in Ezeagụ culture area. This is because, no work at this level

can extensively study all aspects of Ezeagụ masquerade.

Some problems were however encountered during the process of this

study. Some of the people interviewed could not be found in their various

homes. As a result, the interviews were rescheduled. This is a limitation to

the study. Also, two female members of the Mmọnwụ cult who were

identified were inaccessible, This is because one died and the other was

incapacitated speech wise.

It is also important to point out that because of the differences in

enactment and performance, process of initiation, membership,

debarment, etc, the study is limited to the areas of Ezeagụ with common

or identical tradition of the Mmọnwụ theatre.

In Igbo societies in general and Ezeagụ in particular, masquerades

abound. This work does not intend to cover the masquerades in other

areas of Igboland. It is only masquerades in Ezeagụ that the research will

focus on. Again, it limits its investigation to looking at the masquerade

from the metaphorical point of view.

1.5 Research Questions

To guide this study, the following research questions are constructed:

1. To what extent is Mmọnwụ metaphorical in Ezeagụ?

2. What are the aspects of Mmọnwụ that are metaphorical?

3. To what extent does metaphor explain the Mmọnwụ drama in Ezeagụ?

4. How do the Ezeagụ people interpret the myth behind Mmọnwụ?

5

5. How does the Ezeagụ belief in Mmọnwụ relate to the general Igbo belief

about Mmọnwụ?

6. To what extent is the prospect of the Mmọnwụ theatre (drama)

determined against the onslaught of Westernisation and Christianity in

Ezeagụ?

1.6 Significance of the Study

It is hoped therefore, that this work will serve as an important

contribution in the study of Igbo masquerades in general and Ezeagụ in

particular. It will also help literary scholars who may wish to carry out

further studies on the Ezeagụ masquerade as metaphor. It will also help

people within and outside the Igbo society to have pellucid knowledge and

picture of the masquerade in Ezeagụ as a metaphor The study will also add

to the existing knowledge in the field of 1gb literature. Finally the study will

create an awareness among the students and people of Ezeagụ to

investigate more or further into other aspects of their masquerade, for

which the area-Ezeagụ is known.

1.7 Historical Background and Geographical Location of Ezeagụ

Culture Area

Ezeagụ was a nick name to the ancestral father of the people of

Ezeagụ whose actual name was Ọwa. His first settlement was at the

present site of Orie-Ọwa Market in Imezi-Ọwa. Ezeagụ literally means ‘the

king of farm or lions’. This name was earned through his numerous

achievements in farm work and hunting. The descendants of Ọwa

6

eventually spread to various corners of Ezeagụ farm lands and settled.

Notwithstanding the spread of Ọwa descendants, they still pay homage to

their ancestral home, Imezi-Ọwa, especially during cultural festivals. This

spread eventually gave rise to the various autonomous communities of the

Local Government Council Area.

Ezeagụ is one of the 17 local government councils in Enugu State.

The headquarters of Ezeagụ is at Aguobu-Ọwa. It has been

split into four development centres. These include:

1. Ezeagụ West with headquarters at Olo

2. Ezeagụ North with Headquarters at Iwollo

3. Ezeagụ Central with headquarters at Ogodome

4. Ezeagụ South with headquarters at Umana-Ndiagụ

Ezeagụ has a very large area of fertile land (626.59sq.km), crisis-

crossed by Rivers Kalawa, Ajali, Nnam, Ezu and Duu. Ezeagụ is

bounded by Udi and Oji River LGAs in the North and North. It is bounded

by Uzo-Uwani in the South and South West and by Awka North LGA in the

present Anambra State. 20% of Ezeagụ LGA land mass is occupied by wet

lands, while 10% is highlands and 70% is plain land. The LGA is located in

the Western part of Enugu State. The people of Ezeagụ are mainly farmers

with special interest in yam crop, cassava, black beans, cocoyam, melon

and livestock. Some of the mineral deposits in the area include: iron ore,

coal and clay and Many of such mineral deposits are yet to be tapped.

Ezeagụ has also, one of the biggest tourist potentials in Enugu State. The

major tourist sites include: Heineke Lake, Igbo and Aguobu-Ọwa caves, Uje

water falls, etc.

7

8

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter reviews the relevant literature and is divided into three

sub-headings - theoretical framework, empirical studies and summary. The

theoretical foundation looks at the theories on Mmọnwụ as propounded by

previous scholars while the empirical studies looks at the relevant

literatures a Mmọnwụ both in Igbo land and Ezeagụ culture area.

2.1 Theoretical Studies

A number of scholars have studied masquerade (Mmọnwụ) as a

traditional drama. While some believe and assert that Mmọnwụ is not

drama, others hold the view that it is indeed a kind of traditional drama.

Finnegan’s (1970) does not believe that traditional drama exists in Africa.

According to her, drama in Africa is not typically a wide-spread or a

developed form, because of the absence of linguistic contents, plot,

represented interaction of several characters and specialized scenery.

Hodgson (1988) defines masquerade as a renaissance court

entertainment in which masked or disguised figures present a dramatic

action interspersed with dance and song. Nzekwe (1981:134)9 sees

masquerade as a physical representation of ancestral spirits. Karl and Ganz

(1960) define masquerade as a courtly form of entertainment characterized

by song, dance, lavish costumes and extraordinary spectacle. Amankulor

(1981:83) defines masquerade as a celebration and merrymaking during

festivals in Igbo land.

9

Beequelin (1982)says that in South Africa, masks are part of an

entire dress covering the body from head to foot. Enekwe (1981)2 defines

masquerade as a ‘communicant’ medium through which the symbiotic

relationship between the living and the dead is invigorated and maintained.

Tokin (1979:1) sees masquerade as a social activity. the act of masking is

an embodied paradox: the masker has a face and a not-face, he is

transformed by that which dehumanizes him.

Nzekwe (1981) asserting that masquerades are spirits maintains that

“the dead person’s spirit whose soul has been housed in the wood

sculpture or woven form, is temporary alive. The mask is a representation

of the anonymous spirit deity”. Jones (1945:193 says that the Mmọnwụ

masquerade represents spirit, living in the rivers and estuaries and that it

carries mask worn on top of the head and facing upward as though

appearing on the surface of the water.

Obiechina (1978) compares Odo and Omabe festivals in Nsukka area

to the Greek Dionysian and Apollonian festivals. He belongs to the

relativists school of thought and holds the view that Odo and Omabe

communal performances are drama. Enekwe (1981) holds the same view

with Obiechina. He opines that it is wrong to demand that Igbo should

develop a form similar to the Greeks. He however maintains, that there is

no need for us to keep talking of Igbo drama when it is already flourishing

all over Igbo land. Enekwe (1987) maintains that the primary function of

masking is to manifest the supernatural. He adds that the masks dramatize

the manners and habits of the living. He also says that although the

mystery remained and that Mmọnwụ became increasingly viewed as an

10

illusion of reality, which has developed from an accepted myth of human

experience.

Nzewi (1979) describes theatre in Igbo drama as liquid theatre,

which flows from place to place. In Mmọnwụ, according to him, we have

the most symbolic and powerful costumes that you can find in any

traditional performance. In Mmọnwụ is found dialogue. Okebalama (2003)

holds that drama is a re-enactment of life. He also observes that the Igbo

find it convenient to express their feelings through recreational activities,

rituals, myths, legends, folktales, ceremonies, festivals and masquerade

play. Mba and Mba (2007:338) demonstrate that “the masquerade play has

been proclaimed to be the most sophisticated specie of drama in traditional

Igbo society”. They see masquerade play to be the only form of pure

drama in traditional Igbo land. But in Ezeagụ, the masquerade is more

than that. This is because, the masquerade goes beyond pure drama. The

masquerade has many other functions as stated in this work.

Ugonna (1984:0 1) states that “the term Mmọnwụ is restricted to a

unique type of drama featuring masked characters generally regarded as

“spirits” and therefore does not apply to all and every performance in

which masked figures feature”. He also states that the concept of mask as

spirit is almost as old as humanity. He also says that mask has developed

from early man’s inherent mythopic mode of consciousness which, it would

appear, made him to choose animal characters for his narrative purposes

as cave man art tend to suggest. Onu (2005) observes that the Ọmabe

spirit in Eha Alumona, Nsukka is also seen as a dramatic presentation of a

leopard. He also adds that what is characteristic of this strand in the

11

masquerade is the masquerade performance, the artistic quality of its

shape and movement and the literary quality of its songs. Onu writes that

Omabe masquerade promotes social get-together and encourages healthy

competition among various kindreds.

Enekwe (1981) states that the Odo masking of Nsukka Igbo

originated through a woman, a widow named Urunye and her baby son.

The choice of the widow with a child is symbolic of life-giving force of

women. This goes to point out that among the Anambra - Igbo, the

biggest communal mask, Ijele masquerade is always led by a powerful

mother figure called Nne Ijele (mother of Ijele), whose supernatural power

is reputed to ensure the mask’s safety. Graham (1974) writing on the

rhythm of music of masquerade maintains that: the rhythm of the

masquerade music creates a dramatic link between various elements of the

masquerade, which in most cases are often scattered in different parts of

the village between the central marked figure and its attendant musicians,

and the groups run ahead of the mask to announce its arrival.

Okafor (1991:16) writes:

According to the oral tradition of Ozuakoll in Abia

State of Nigeria, a woman offered her fife to Am

maskers in return for her husband whom they

captured on his way to Arochukwu. Having been

impressed by the woman’s se/f- sacrifice, the

maskers taught her the art of masking. Back home

to Ozuakoli, her husband’s people learnt the

masquerade performance from her and killed her so

12

that she would never impart the knowledge to

another group.

Generally, it is claimed that women do not know much about

masquerade in Africa. But Hinkley (1980) writes that women also put on

mask in Liberia and Ivory Coast. The women, however, do not see their

mask as antagonistic to the men’s. Their own masking is seen as an act of

redemption for the community. Its theatricality is complementary to that of

men. Like its counterpart in Liberia and Ivory Coast, women masquerade

cult in Igboland abides by the codes that govern masking in general, for it

is part of the larger community of mask cults. Thus, there is a certain

degree of unity with men’s cults.

The culture and religion of the Ezeagụ people have their own

doctrines. These scenario cut almost across the entire Igboland.

This belief in line with Metuh (1981) who is of the opinion that every

philosophy, religion, and culture has its own doctrines of the human

person. This is not only because the notion of the person is the key to the

understanding of all human problems, but also because the human person

is the most paradoxical of all realities. He is the paradox of a being that is

simultaneously material and yet spiritual, a distinct individual and yet a

being essentially in communion with other beings.

In Ezeagụ, Mmọnwụ/mawu is considered to be an integral part of the

society and it is never treated in isolation. Mbiti (1985) says that the

African concept of being, in general is dynamic, not static. Beings are alive

not dead, they are interconnected and interact with one another and not

isolated. Okafor (1990) states that the Igbo generally believe that

13

intercourse with the spirit- world presents no great difficulty and that this

can be practiced in many forms. As part of this mystic-spiritual belief

system, they say that systematic manifestation of re-embodied spirits can

take place at anytime, in form of masquerade on festival occasions to

entertain people. Based on this belief system, the Igbo regard

masquerades as the return of the deceased relations and friends: the

living-dead when they appear at festivals in the form of visible re-embodied

spirits to their former surroundings, participate in ceremonies and, as

masquerades, entertain the people.

Masquerading, therefore, derives from the Igbo concept of the real or

imaginary possibility of regular interactions between mortals and spirits or

the living and the living-dead. The Anambra Igbo according to Okafor

(1990), believe that the departed are in a state of personal immortality

because the process of dying is never complete. This is also in line with the

belief of the Ezeagụ people of Enugu State. This explains the possibility of

the dead manifesting themselves as masquerades or reincarnate mortals.

As masquerades, the living-dead entertain the people and assist them in

performing certain functions.

Ozọfọr (2009:03), writes:

What lives on after death is called “Muntu” by the

Bantu people, i.e man. It is the same man who was

alive, whole and entire, that survives after death,

not just a part of him or his soul. Hence, man is a

unit and not a composite being. It is commonly

believed that at death, a good man becomes an

14

ancestor and may return as occasion demands, as

Mmọnwụ.

It is worthy of note therefore that African traditions in general and

the Igbo in particular agree with the western philosophy that man is made

up of body and spirit. However, they would not share the same view that

the body is the prison house of the soul. Man is not split into two

conflicting principles - the body and the soul. The body is simply the visible

manifestation of the spirit which is the man. At death, the body ceases to

exist.

In Ezeagụ, the idea of masquerade or masking is very old and started

from time immemorial. The masquerade in Ezeagụ is known for various

things and these include: ritual, justice, religion and entertainment. Okafor

(1990) agrees that Igbo mythology suggests that masking is a very ancient

art of the Igbo, invented for different purposes: religion, ritual,

entertainment, social control, justice and mystification.

He states that: “Many old Igbo folkiores refer to or imply that masking had

been existing even in those primeval times. And so, the Igbo express

various perceptions of the masquerades in various forms of art-music,

sculpture, painting, weaving, dancing and oral literature”.

There are for example, masquerade dances just as there are songs

and dances about masquerades; masquerade festivals and masquerades

which add colour to festivals; ritual masquerades and those whose roles

are simply to entertain also exist.

In Igboland, the nature of the masquerade varies and there are

many interpretations as regards its nature and character. If it is accepted

15

that the society assigns many and different roles to the masquerade,

depending of the needs of the society at any point in time, then it is logical

that the masquerade would be many things to many people and many

writers. The Kaleidoscope is enhanced by different cultures of origin of

different writers. Enekwe (1987) agrees that cultural relativism comes into

play and does not always present a balanced perspective. The body is

simply the visible manifestation of the spirit which is the man. At death, the

body ceases to exist.

Ozọfọr (2009) states “that studies of masquerades have not been all

that easy in Igboland, Ezeagụ inclusive”. This is as a result of the problems

which are partly ethical and partly derived from the problematic nature of

the Igbo society as an ethnic group. The masquerade is seen in so many

ways by so many people. But generally, the society which controls

masquerades is highly secretive in so far as the truth and realities, as well

as the inner business is restricted to people who have been formally

initiated into the ‘Mmọnwụ’ group.

Part of the initiation involves an oath or solemn promise imposed on

the candidate to restrict the knowledge gained to the initiated members

only and never to divulge controlled information to anybody outside that

society. The uninitiated are called ‘Ogbodu’ and this extends to woman and

children. According to Onyeneke (1987:03), “the ‘Ogbodu’ are taken

figuratively to have broad untrimmed ears “Ogbudu nti Obodobo” which

enable them to catch lots of tales and queer stories of the masquerade that

will continually baffle their imagination”.

16

It is generally believed that an unwarranted revelation of the

confidential and secret parts or aspects of the masquerade institution

is traditionally a crime of desecration called ‘kaa mawu’ in Ezeagụ or ‘gba

ama Mmọnwụ, itikwo isi Mmọnwụ’ (informing on the masquerade, killing

the masquerade). The way this ethical problem

has been handled marks the variations among studies done so far on the

institution from the beginning of this century.

One of the earliest writers to put down something on paper about the

masquerade was Basden (1921). According to him, the masquerades were

supernaturally endowed in some mysterious ways. But people were

surprised that the Europeans at that time did not seem to recognize the

fact. Basden also writes that the Igboman undoubtedly thinks that the

ceremony of making masquerade has somehow transformed the man and

endowed him with extra-ordinary supernatural qualities.

Talbot (1926) writes that: “Masquerade societies were shown as

widespread everywhere, among the Yoruba, the Igbo, Efik and the peoples

of the Delta. He also maintains that everywhere in such societies, three

aspects are found: the religious, the political and the social and there is

nowhere that one aspect exists to the entire exclusion of the others”.

Meek (1930) sees the masquerade as cults of outstanding importance

and as secret societies which are used as an integral part of the legal

system. Nzekwe (1981) accepts the belief that the masquerade institution

is actually foreign to the Igbo and that it is imported into the land from the

neigbouring ethnic groups, the Igala of the North, the Kalabari, of the

Delta and the Efik-Ibibio of the Cross River. Uzoechi (2008) states:

17

Mmọnwụ is a being that plays the middleman between the living and the

dead or the ancestors. He maintains that Mmọnwụ also called “Onye nwe

ani” (the owner of the land) is the great homeland make belief. It returns

from the dead to visit the living in extra human forms that only men see

fully. He says that as a moral living force, it controls the society, day and

night.

Therefore, according to Uzoechi, there exists daylight masquerades

like Aguani Ojii, (young and energetic black masquerades) or the night

masters like the Omabu. All these masquerades frighten people into

obedience and goodness by day, and criticize and advise them at night.

The night masquerades (omabu) who are especially vocal and

restless, laugh at hen-pecked husbands or bed hopping wives and light

fingered men. Mmọnwụ represents all the materialized spirits ending in

their revisiting the world to guide the descendants to help unlucky lives

and to keep order. Uzoechi (2008) further states that some elders see

Mmọnwụ as a temporary returnee from the land of the dead, monitoring

their successors. Others liken the Mmọnwụ to corrective angels sent to the

upper world. Still, in an oral interview, Umeha and Aniachuna (2011) see

Mmọnwụ as an ancestral tradition serving as an eternal thread. Ankputa

(2011) in an interview says that in Ezeagụ cosmology, Mmọnwụ is a being

that links life and death. In Ezeagụ also, Mmọnwụ may be applied to a

male citizen who may be dignified with praise name “Mowu-shine”,

meaning a big masquerade.

According to Onyeneke (1987) Mmọnwụ (Masquerade) is seen as a

play, a make belief presentation in so far as it presents the spirit of the

18

dead in a visible way. He also maintains that it is a play of its own for

everyone, initiated and non-initiated to take the mask figure presented as

that of a dead spirit and respond to it as such with an undoubted show of

reverence. In his own view, Aneke (1993) counters Onyeneke’s assertion

that Mmọnwụ, mawu or maa is fundamentally a sociological phenomenon

and denying the theological and philosophical attributes. In other words,

Aneke maintains that it is untenable to say that the masquerade would be

shown to be fundamentally a sociological phenomenon, a tangible

manifestation of a deep-seated social value.

In fact, he maintains that the masquerade is a separate value on its

own and that it is not to be identified with any specific religions systems,

pagan or otherwise. Rather, according to Aneke, it is something hidden

behind any entertainment and aesthetic value of the masquerade when

presented. Further north of Enugu State, in the Igboetiti and Nsukka

regions, there are in addition to Mmọnwụ that you find in a larger part of

Igboland, the Odo and Omabe which refer to a specific mask genre of the

area such that the region is divided into three component units: Igbo Odo,

Igbo Omabe and Igbo Mmọnwụ depending on whether the masquerade

variant of the unit area is Odo, Omabe or Mmọnwụ.

Also, expressing his experience of the ‘Ibo’ man and his culture

especially Mmọnwụ, Basden (1982) writes:

It is difficult to gauge the extent of the Igbo man’s

belief that these ‘mawu’ are re-embodied spirit.

They undoubtedly think that they are not men, and

that the ceremony of ‘mawu’ has somehow

19

transformed the man and endowed him with special

powers. Among the women and children, the belief

is complete, and so tenacious is the idea with them

that even when it is disapproved, they cannot

abandon it. It is much too ingrained.

Okafor (1990) sees Mmọnwụ as a significant part of Igbo philosophy

and cosmology. Hence, he states that mmọnwụ is a spirit manifest which

deals with the continuity of life. It also deals with interspherism, that is that

the Igbo live in a world of two spheres the first sphere is that of the living

and the other is the sphere of the spirits. But it is also pertinent to note

that the two are always in interaction and interface.

Therefore, there is a crossing from one sphere-the sphere of the

living-to the other-the sphere of the dead. That is why in Igbo culture, a

man dies and takes along with him his status, his qualities, his everything

into the land of the spirits, where he lives either as an ancestor, looking

after the living or a spirit of some sort- a dreaded evil member of the

family (ajo maa) haunting the living.

Furthermore, Onyeneke (1987) says that Mmọnwụ takes its root from

two words.- ‘ma’ stemming from madu (human) and ‘nwu’ onwu (death).

In other words, mawu which we see performing in the

arena or in any theatre of Igbo culture, is a human being who has transited

or passed from the land of the living to the land of the dead (nwu), the

land of spirits. And it is from there, that he can come back to interact with

human beings. The above is just but one part of the philosophy, the other

part is wrapped up in the taxonomies that prevail in parts of the Anambra

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Basin which simply call it Mmuo (spirit) and don’t even accept that the

human element has to be brought into account or focus. For them,

Mmọnwụ is a spirit pure and simple. Mmọnwụ therefore, is spirit or spirit

made visible, made audible, made touchable and made fellable. That is to

say that in whatever perspective one looks at Mmọnwụ, its cultural

notation is not earthly. It has both human and spiritual essence.

2.1.1 Concept of Metaphor

William Grey (2000) observes that “has long been treated with both

veneration and suspicion. Even though some philosophers like Plato,

Hobbes and other empiricists condemn metaphorical use of language

Ntzsche perceives metaphor as the foundation of meaning and truth.

Ortony (1979) observes that Aristotle believed metaphors to be implicit

comparison, based on the principles of analogy, view that translates into

what, in modern terms, is generally called the comparisons theory of

metaphor. As to their use, he believed that it was primarily ornamented.

The “Comparison theory” seems to dominate the traditional approach

to metaphor and perceives metaphor as a figure of speech in which one

thing is compared to another by saying that one is the other. Grey (2000)

observes that it is difficult to reach a critical consensus on the concept of

metaphor because one person’s prime example of metaphor is for the next

person not a metaphor at all.

Lakoff (1988) presents a detailed account of a theory of mental

representation firmly rooted in the idea that metaphor plays a central role

in the way in which we think and talk about the world. Many of our

mundane concepts, such as those of time, state, change, causation, and

21

purpose are represented metaphorically, that is in terms of concepts. He

opines that metaphor, in general, is the transfer or “projection” or

“mapping” of frames from one conceptual domain to another. He points

out that the source domain is familiar from social or physical experience.

He sees metaphor as a special form of discourse inferencing, special

because they map structure from one knowledge frame or image schemata

(the source domain) into a Target Domain. Ortony (1979) perceives

metaphor as a way of shaping diverse experiences and holds that

metaphor is a means of describing sensations and effects of experiences,

and to the fact that metaphor may disclose diverse points of view within a

particular cultural environment.

Searle (1979) observes that other than being rooted in nature or

human experience in nature, metaphors actually give shape to our

perception, conceptions, and even behaviours. Grey (2000) reinforces the

above position when he states that metaphor has a central role to play in

the way we make sense of the world. In fact, besides the perception of

metaphor from literal or figurative dimension, it is also an important

element of the semiotic system that enables its users to express their

cultures, beliefs and attitudes in a more forceful manner. Again, the

metaphoric resources enable the users to generate new meanings from old

ideas, expressions and experiences.

According to Searle metaphor has traditionally been viewed as the

most important form of figurative language use, and is usually seen as

reaching its most sophisticated forms in literary or poetic language. He

says that there are many explanations of how metaphors work but a

22

common idea is that metaphor is somewhat like simile (e.g Reading that

essay was like wading through mud) in that it involves the identification of

resemblances, but that metaphor goes further by causing transference.

And this is where properties are transferred from one concept to another.

Saeed (1995) maintains that there are two traditional positions on

the roles of metaphor in language. The first is often called the ‘classical

view’ since it can be traced back to Aristotle’s writings on metaphor. It sees

metaphor as a kind of decorative addition to ordinary plain language; a

rhetorical device to be used at certain times to gain certain effects. This

view portrays metaphor as something outside normal language and which

requires special forms of interpretation from listeners or readers. Metaphor

is often therefore, seen as a departure from literal language, detected as

anomalous by the hearer, who then has to employ some strategies to

construct the speaker’s intended meaning. If one hears the utterance, “Obi

is a pig”. One knows, that cannot be literally true, that the utterance, if one

tries to take it literally, is radically defective. The defects which cue the

hearer may be obvious falsehood, semantic nonsense and a violation of the

rule of speech acts, or violations of conversational principles of

communication.

The second traditional approach to metaphor, often called the

‘Romantic views’ since it is associated with eighteenth and nineteenth-

century Romantic views of the imagination, takes a very different view of

metaphor. In this view, metaphor is integral to language and thought as a

way of experiencing the world. It is evidence of the role of the imagination

in conceptualizing and reasoning and it follows that all language is

23

metaphorical. In other words, there is no distinction between literal and

figurative language.

An important characteristic of cognitive semantics is the central role

in thought and language assigned to metaphor. However, given the

Classical/Romantic opposition to views described, cognitivists argue that

metaphor is ubiquitous in ordinary language. Though they pull back a little

from the strong Romantic position that all language is metaphorical. This is

because according to them, while metaphor is seen as a very important

mode of thinking and talking about the world, it is acceptable that there

are also non-metaphorical concepts. Lakoff and Turner (1989) maintain

that metaphor allows us to understand one domain of experience in terms

of another. To serve this function, there must be some grounding, some

concepts that are not completely understood via metaphor to serve as

source domain. Lakoff and Johnson (1980 write to emphasize the

important role of metaphor in ordinary language. Lakoff and his colleagues

have identified a large number of common metaphor. They describe and

group as ‘spatial’ metaphors. Such ones include any metaphors associated

with an Up-Down orientation.

These include:

(a) HAPPY IS UP; SAD IS DOWN

(b) CONSCIOUS IS UP; UNCONSCIOUS IS DOWN

(c) HEALTH AND LIFE ARE UP; SICKNESS AND DEATH ARE DOWN

(d) GOOD IS UP; BAD IS DOWN, etc As the authors point out, these

metaphors seem to be based on our bodily experiences of lying down and

getting up and their associations with consciousness, health and power, i.e.

24

of verticality in human experience. Their point is that by using language

like this, speakers are not adding rhetorical or poetical flourishes to their

language. As a result, metaphors are conceptual structures which pervade

ordinary language.

2.1.2 Origin of Masquerade

One of the theories of the origin of masquerade according to Emeka

(1969) states that the first Mmọnwụ came from the court of Attah of Igala.

By saying this, Emeka ascribes foreign origin to the masquerade, but this is

not true, when you consider what has been put down in this work by the

researcher. Emeka says that it is the Attah who was in contention and in

argument with his wives, and somehow, he invoked the spirit to come. The

spirit started whining under the cooking place. What is true about what he

said here is the spiritual nature of the masquerade which is generally

accepted but the foreign origin of Mmọnwụ in Igboland is not accepted by

Onyeneke 1987, Okafor 2006, Ozọfọr 2009, etc.

Another theory was by the people of Igbirra in Kogi State. They say

that Mmọnwụ came as a result of two competing and quarrelling brothers

in the court of the Attah of Igalla. They say this because ‘Egwugwu’ in

Yoruba means spirit, hence Egwugwu Attah is the spirit of Attah. It is true

that some masquerades in some parts of Igboland answer Egwugwu but

Egwugwu simply means ‘Rainbow’ and it is a praise name given or

showered on some masquerades in Igboland. Also, Ozọfọr (2009) citing

Chime Nwa Ozoani (1985) says that Egwugwu masquerade is not

associated with Attah of Igala.

25

He said that Egwugwu is the Mmọnwụ connected with Atama (the shrine

priest of Ogbobe and Mome shrines in Ngwo. In other words, Egwugwu is

the spirit of the dead shrine priests of Ogbobe (protective god) and Nome

(the shrine of god of birth and wealth). According to him, it takes the

Egwugwu masquerade ten (10) years to come out and display or perform

in public. It also takes a lot of sacrifice and rituals to release the Mma

Egwugu to come out and interact with the people. To ask the Nome

(shrine) according to him, to release its priest’s spirit Egwugwu Atama, the

people must sacrifice seven rams, seven tubers of yam, seven kolanuts and

seven white cocks. This practice is similar in Ezeagụ, where series of rituals

are performed before the masquerade comes out to perform in public.

Similarly, Umeha Obu (2010) during an oral interview told how the

great Igwedum Masquerade was invoked and the necessary sacrifices as

stated above were performed before it was able to perform at the Ugwu

Ezema Square during one of the ‘Ibono’ festivals.

Yet another account of the origin masquerade which negates the

foreign origin was the one told by Late Ọzọulonaamaenyi of Amandim Olo,

who was the oldest man in the entire Ezeagụ and Udi Local Government

Areas in 1983. He was a (dibia) medicine man and participated in the last

tribal war in Igboland between Ukehe warriors against Umunko. According

to him, the oldest Mmọnwụ in Ezeagụ is ‘Akpọkọ’, while in Udi, it is

‘Inyiagba Ọkụ’ and in Agbaja and Ngwo, it is ‘Ivuegwo’. He also said that

the oldest ‘Odo’ masquerade is ‘nyite Neke’ and that the oldest ‘Omabe’ is

the ‘Akatakpa’ Ibagwa and Mbu.

26

He said that the masquerade came as a result of a serious dispute between

two brothers of Ezeagụ Igbudu: Olu and Ọchima as recorded in Ozofor

(2009:09), over who should be in possession of ‘Isi Ọgwu’ (staff of power

and authority). Igbudu and other relations made all possible efforts to

settle the case through dialogue but failed. They then invoked the spirits of

their ancestors who came in form of one of the three, which is Akpoko and

handed the Isi Qgwụ to Olu. From that day, Akpoko became an arbiter in

settling very serious and long seated disputes between brothers in

Ezeagụçi and even beyond.

However, Onu (2011) writes on Ogbodo-Uke women masking in Izzi

clan of Abakaliki. According to him, Ogbodo-Uke is a mask performance

that is organized and performed by women of Izzi clan in Igboland, Ebonyi

State of Nigeria. He discovers that Ogbodo Uke women masking in Izzi clan

of Abakaliki originated from masculinist society that classified masking as a

male affair. According to him, this is a new phenomenon that is viewed

with mixed feelings.

Onu (2011) maintains that it is an expression of independen and

gender cooperation by special women such as menopausal ones, wives of

senior cult members and lineage daughters. This group is often drafted to

perform roles in the masking performance in honour’ of the Uke oracle. He

says that by this act, the women of Izzi have broken the indomitable door

that barred them from the sacred activity of masking and achieving full

integrity as people who can play with gods.

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2.1.3 Functions of the Masquerade

One of the outstanding functions of the masquerade among the Igbo

in general and in Ezeagụ in particular is that of policing. In other words,

the masquerade to a large extent acts as the police in various

communities. Onyeneke (1987:75) says:

The primary function of the masquerade in Igbo

traditional society is that of village police. It makes

concrete, visible and practical, the controlling authority of

the village community, an authority based on tradition

derived from the preceding ancestors but which is

presently vested in the collective adult community of the

existing generation.

This authority comes alive and is concretized for practical purposes in

the masquerade. He maintains that this traditional authority is the force

that guards the law of the land, and the mores of the community. Since

the traditional community will of the village is supreme in a folk-like

society, the masquerade which expresses it is not considered subject to

any other higher authority.

In fact, that is why to challenge the powers or the authorities of the

masquerade in Ezeagụ and elsewhere in Igboland is viewed seriously. That

is to say that to resist a masquerade directly and publicly is seen as

challenge, not to the individual mask but to the authority of the community

itself. Retribution for this therefore, is always taken up by the community,

led by a masquerade or by the congregation of all the masquerades.

Onyeneke maintains that the first function of the masquerade is therefore,

28

to be a visible embodiment of the community will for implementing its

social order. Their authority affects the community as a whole with no

respect for male or female, the initiated or the non-initiated. It is the law of

custom and it is applied equally to everyone under it.

Another function of the masquerade is that it differentiates the male

and the female in Igbo society. The masquerade is the exclusive right of

the male in every part of Igboland.The females are excluded, even when a

female masquerade or character is portrayed in the masking. The men who

are not initiated into it in the society are not taken as men; they are

women in that context. According to Onyeneke, a few cases exist where

special concessions are made for a few women to be closely connected

with the masquerade displays such as the ‘nne Ijele’ (mother of Ijele) or in

Nri area, ‘Umuerere’ (the shimmering offspring) permitted to be close

enough to join in and support the song and choruses. This situation is

never obtained is Ezeagụ, no matter the circumstances. The masquerade in

Ezeagụ is totally the exclusive of the initiated males.

Again, according to Okafor (2006) one of the reasons why women

are barred from participating in Mmọnwụ cult is that women are flippant.

Also they lose blood through menstrual circles which the men regard as

unclean.

2.1.4 Mmọnwụ as an Institution

During the ancient times through the pre-colonial Nigeria in so many

places in Igboland, when there were no law enforcement agents, no

judiciary system and no western style governments, the Mmọnwụ

institution offered an effective means of enforcing law, order and

29

administering justice among the Igbo communities especially Ezeagụ.

According to Okafor (2004), the Mmọnwụ institution in its ontological

designation symbolized spiritual authority that works efficiently in the

eradication of social evils. Taking cognizance that Mmọnwụ are connected

to the people’s ancestors and the spiritual beings, their power and efficacy

in combating crimes and meting out justice to offenders in a society that is

deeply religious is obvious. The Mmọnwụ (spirits) are most effective

instruments or tools for mobilizing and strengthening the community

consciousness in areas of moral and penal codes.

Some masquerades, such as the Obute in Imezi-Ọwa, and the

Oguadimma in Umana Ndiagu, all in Ezeagụ L.G.A, and the Agunegbuefi of

Uwani Uboji and the Akatakpa Ugbuojii of Okwe Ngwo, all in Udi L.G.A.,

are very effective in maintaining peace and order in the society. The

Mmọnwụ cult is a scared institution because it possesses spiritual and

mystical powers. It is a common belief in Ezeagụ that it is only those who

led good lives that would qualify as ancestors. Anigbo (1982) says that

masquerades are spirit incarnates and incarnations of the ancestors, just

like their Christian counterparts that are called saints.

2.1.5 Mmọnwụ as Cult

Mmọnwụ according to Onyeneke (1987), Okafor (2001), Ozọfọr

(2009), Uzoechi (2008), Enekwe (1987), etc., is a cult, a sub culture within

a universal culture of Igbo philosophy and philology. It is part of the life of

the Igbo, as well as their attitude. There may be a group of people who

have extreme religious beliefs or who are not part of any established

religion. Here, in Ezeagụ, as well as in Igboland, Mmọnwụ is a cult for the

30

men. To the women in Ezeagụ as well as in Igboland, Mmọnwụ is a cult for

the men.

Mmọnwụ to the Igbo man is a scared cult that is not absolutely

secret. This is because, all the adult men in Igboland that have been

initiated into the Mmọnwụ cu know the elements and principles of

Mmọnwụ. The functions of Mmọnwụ cult across all spheres of the Igbo

community. In other words, Mmọnwụ performs its roles for the good of all

the members of the community without exception. Mmọnwụ maintains

peace and order among the people (both men and women). It also

mobilizes the entire people to community development projects and

sanctions offenders.

2.1.6 Entertainment

It is generally accepted that the Masquerade or masquerading is a

form of entertainment. In the first place, every presentation of the

masquerade dance includes creative activity in a lot of ways. The

masquerade chants in Ezeagụ and other places in Igboland are very

entertaining and contribute in no small measure, to Igbo poetry. This view

is also shared by Egudu (1971), Ugonna (1984) and Onyeneke (1987).

They maintain that masquerade chants, are veritable forms of Igbo poetry

and have been collected on that count in other studies.

In fact, it is also generally accepted that the dance movement

pattern of masquerades and the music that goes with them are other

forms of art which give artistic pleasure. It is now common fact that every

appearance or presentation of a mask or masquerade always draws

31

spectators automatically in spontaneous recognition of the art displayed

whether in the costume, the chant or dance or all of these.

Furthermore, it is also clear that some actual masquerade performances

embody an organized theatrical presentation. Ugonna (1984) has shown

how the appearance of Mmọnwụ Ozaebule is a full theatrical performance

involving an open air arena as a theatre, the interaction of the mask

performance and audience and a performance broken up into stages and

period of action presenting some ritual event if not a written plot. In

Ezeagụ, as well as in so many other places in Igboland, the masquerade is

unequivocally part and parcel of village life and is always on display during

events, such as funerals, entertainment-during’ feasts and village festivals,

receptions of prominent visitors and personalities, as well as other similar

situations.

Another aspect of the masquerade entertainment is the initiation of

candidates into the masquerade cult. This is timed to coincide with a

festive masquerade season of the area. In the Ezeagụ area, it is done

mainly during ‘Ibono festival’, which occurs around November/December of

every year. It also occurs in Imezi-Ọwa around February/March, during

‘Ọgụgọchi festival’.

According to Enekwe (1987), Emeka (1969) and Okafor (2006),

masquerades are classified using their types. These include: dancers,

aggressors, lampoonist, satirists, singers and lyricists, agicians,

thaumaturgies and exhibitionists. Each has a magical crowd pulling power

that rests mainly on the entertainment value of the performance. Today’s

funeral, burials and so on, are graced with quantum of entertainment from

32

masquerades. It is also a fact that many people are always there at the

arena to watch them. Again, Okafor (2006) affirms that ‘mawụ’ is perhaps,

one of the highest theatre in Igbo philosophy in that ‘mawụ’ performance

implicates human beings, spirits, the visual arts, the phonic arts and the

kinetic arts and even thaumaturgy.

2.1.7 Employment

Mmọnwụ has offered a lot of artisans enough employment

opportunities in Igboland. In other words, mmọnwụ though a spirit

manifest has far reaching socio-economic implications. This is so because

mmọnwụ has an outstanding interaction effect between the living and the

dead. Mmọnwụ raises some revenue for the community and often for the

age grades. This agrees with Uzoechi (2008:26) who says that a lot of

revenue comes from the masquerade to the community. He also maintains

that this fact has created a division of labour and jobs hence, diviners,

fortune-tellers, carvers, blacksmiths, tailors, dyers, traders, diplomats and

other ancillaries who participate in the preparation and performance

theatre of the masquerade, earn their living through these jobs. Okafor

(2004) contends that Mmọnwụ is a communal property and so, members

of the community have a stake and a part to play in a successful

performance. This generates a festival and a festive atmosphere in which

members of the community usually invite their friends from other

communities as guest and spectators.

2.1.8 Physical and Moral Education

In Ezeagụ, the masquerade gathers an audience by strolling through

the village. In this case, the masquerade and the audience behave

33

according to convention. The masquerades exchange views and point out

the evils in society. While the masquerades perform, the audience tries to

spur them on. This is because the audience believes that it is encountering

the spirits. In this process, a lot of lessons are learnt. This is because, two

or more masquerades act out actions which are logically connected with

good and evil and which make a point of a moral kind.

2.2 Empirical Studies

There is no specific work on the metaphorical aspects of Mmọnwụ in

Ezeagụ cultural area as well as other places in Igboland.

What we have on Mmọnwụ are general views and knowledge about

Mmọnwụ, which have been reviewed under theoretical studies. There is no

documentation of any kind, about Mmọnwụ as metaphor in Ezeagụ. Rather

what we have are works about Mmọnwụ as it affects the Igbo people in

general.

Cole and Aniakor (1984) observe the Igbo masquerade as visual art,

a form of Igbo creative activity which is fluid and ongoing.

Onyneke (1987) reckons on the masquerade as a play, a make belief

presentation, in so far as it presents the spirit of the dead in a visible way.

He also maintains that it is a play of its own for everyone, initiated and

non-initiated to take the mask figure presented as that of a dead spirit and

respond to it as such with an undoubted show of reverence.

Furthermore, Mmọnwụ according to Enekwe (1987), Okafor (2001),

Uzoechi (2008), Ozofor (2009), etc is a cult, a sub culture within a

universal culture of Igbo philosophy and philology are not part of any

34

established religious belief. Here in Ezeagụ, as well as in Igboland,

Mmọnwụ is a cult for the men.

Of all these researchers who had written on the masquerade, none

had looked at the metaphoric aspects of the masquerade. This is why this

work is relevant and necessary. At least if not for any reason, to contribute

its own quota in the studies of the masquerade in Igboland in general and

Ezeagụ cultural area in particular.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

The theory adopted in this work is the cognitive semantic theory. The

theory was formulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and further modified

by Mark Johnson (1987) and Fauconnier (1997). The theory arose as a

result of the diametrically opposed position of the behaviourists and the

mentalists in language acquisition, comprehension and use. The theory

believes that for language to be understood, prior knowledge of the

speaker-hearer has to influence the -interpretation of new speech forms.

The theory claims that the brain processes words in various mental

domains simultaneously such that complex images are formed and

processed before the eventual interpretation of data. These mental images

are what it regards as image schemata. Abstract ideas are therefore

processed through the viewpoint of prior knowledge so that what would

ordinarily appear unacceptable in language is given new meaning. This is

how figurative expressions which are ordinarily unacceptable grammatically

are processed via image schemas by what the theory regards as analogical

35

mapping. When prior knowledge is mapped unto new data, the eventual

meaning results.

The image schemas include: containment, path and force schemas.

The study intends to use the mmọnwụ theatre En Ezeagụ as a litmus test

in the adaptation of the theory in the analysis of the literature. To the

Ezeagụ people, Mmọnwụ is not an ordinary mask. Mmọnwụ is their

philosophy about the spirit-human relation bounded in the mask. The

advantage of the theory is that in the study area, Mmọnwụ is seen as one

of the metaphors we live by. The metaphor here is that the masquerade

represents objects in their natural forms. In Ezeagụ for example the “Atii

Masquerade” exploits the motif of the power and resilience of the warriors

or strong people to play the dramatic re-enactment of the stability and

strength incarnate in the body of the youth of Ezeagụ community.

The study as specified in the objective statement of problems intends

to see how the theory explains the world view of the Ezeagụ people in

particular and the Igbo in general with regard to how they

perceive or revere Mmọnwụ as an aspect of their culture.

In Johnson (1987), these image schemas are proposed as a more

primitive level of cognitive structure underlying metaphor and which

provide a link between bodily experience and higher cognitive domains

such as language.

Some of these image schemas include: containment schema, path

schema and force schema. According to Johnson, the schema of

containment derives from our experience of the human body itself as a

container; from experience of being physically located ourselves within

36

bounded locations like rooms, beds, etc; and also of putting objects into a

container. This container simply means that: ‘If I am in bed, and my bed is

in my room, then I am in my room’. It is important to remember according

to Saeed that these schemas are in essence neither static nor restricted to

images.

This schema of containment can be extended by a process of

metaphorical extension into abstract domains. Lakoff and Johnson (1980)

identify CONTAINER as one of a group of ontological metaphor, where our

experience of non-physical phenomena is described’ in terms of simple

physical objects like substances and containers. For Lakoff and Johnson,

these examples are typical and reveal the important role of metaphor in

allowing us to conceptualize experience.

2.3.1 Features of Metaphor

Cognitive semanticists argue that, far from being idiosyncratic

anomalies, metaphors exhibit characteristic and systematic features. Some

of these characteristics can be classified under the headings of

conventionality, systematicity, asymmetry and abstraction. The first,

conventionality, raises the issue of the novelty of the metaphor. (in this,

the awards competition is portrayed in terms of warfare. Some writers

would however claim that some metaphors have become fossilized or

dead. In the literal language theory, this means that they have ceased to

be metaphors and have passed into literal language, as suggested by

Searle (1979). In dead metaphor therefore, the original sentence meaning

is bypassed and the sentence acquires a new literal meaning identical with

the former metaphorical meaning. This is a shift from the metaphorical

37

utterance to the literal utterance. On the contrary, cognitive semanticists

argue against this approach, pointing out that even familiar metaphors can

be given new life, thus showing that they retain their metaphorical status.

The second feature systematicity, according to Searle refers to the

way that a metaphor does not just set up a single point of comparison:

features of the source and target domain are joined so

that the metaphor may be extended, or have its own internal logic. 1 For

example, “A nursery of unruly stars in the Nebula has yielded the

best look at our sun’s baby album”. Another example is “More than 4.5

billion years of evolution have erased all traces of the sun’s youth”. With

these examples, Saeed (1995) maintains that this systematicity has been

an important focus in cognitive semantic) views of metaphor.

Again, Lakoff and Turner (1989) identify, for example, a metaphor

LIFE IS A JOURNEY, which pervades our ordinary way of talking. Thus,

birth often described as arrival as in “The baby is due next week, or She

has a baby on the way; and death is viewed as a departure as in She

passed away this morning or He’s gone”. Lakoff and Turner identify a

systematically in this mapping between the two concepts. Another example

comes from the role of metaphor in the creation of new vocabulary: the

coming of the term computer virus for a specific type of harmful program.

This coining is based on a conceptual model of biological virus which is

generalized or schematized away from the biological details.

The third feature, asymmetry, refers to the way that metaphors are

directional. They do not set up a symmetrical comparison between two

concepts, establishing points of similarity. Instead they provoke the listener

38

to transfer features from the source to the target. “LIFE IS A JOURNEY” as

a metaphor is asymmetrical and the mapping does not work the other way

round. The final feature, abstraction, according to Lakoff and Turner, is

related to this asymmetry. It has often been noted that a typical metaphor

uses a more concrete source to describe a more abstract target. Again LIFE

IS A JOURNEY metaphor exhibits this feature:

The common, everyday experience of physically moving about the

earth is used to characterize the mysterious processes of birth and death,

and perhaps equally mysterious processes of ageing, organizing a career,

etc. This is not a necessary feature of metaphors because the source and

target may be equally concrete or abstract.

Sweetser (1990) claims that historical semantic change is not random

but is influenced by such metaphors as MIND-AS-BODY. Thus metaphor, as

one type of cognitive structuring, is seen to drive lexical change in a

motivated way, and provides a key to understanding the creation of

polysemy and the phenomenon of semantic shift.

The “comparison theory” seems to dominate the traditional approach

to metaphor and perceives metaphor as a figure of speech in which one

thing is compared to another by saying that one is the other.

It is this framework that is applied in this work, that is the cognitive

semantic theory formulated by Lakoff and Johnson.

2.4 Summary of the Literature Review

This chapter has looked at the previous works on the masquerade,

both in Igboland and generally. It has also looked at the empirical studies

39

which shows that there has not been any documentation of Mmọnwụ as

metaphor in Ezeagụ cultural area. It also looked at the theoretical

framework, which is the theory adopted in this work. The theoretical

framework adopted is the cognitive semantic theory. The theory was

formulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and later modified by Mark

Johnson (1987) and Fauconnier (1997). The theory believes that for

language to be understood, prior knowledge of the speaker-hearer have to

influence the interpretation of new speech forms.

Apart from language and function, other metaphorical aspects of the

masquerade, such as, the costumes, instruments and activities, etc are

considered in this work.

40

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

For a meaningful and worthwhile research to be carried out and good

results arrived at, certain methods or techniques of data collection should

be adopted. The techniques employed in this work are discussed below.

3.2 Method of Data Collection

3.2.1 Library Work

The research began with library work in order to establish a base for

the study. In view of this, the researcher visited some libraries such as

Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Department of

Linguistics and Nigerian Languages Library of the same University, the

Enugu State Library and the Archive, all in Enugu, where data were

collected. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Enugu was also visited

during the fieldwork.

3.2.2 Fieldwork

The major source of data for this work is fieldwork. This is done

through personal interviews with some elders or men from Ezeagụ for

relevant information. Oral information was given by selected people from

the four political areas of Ezeagụ-West, North, South and Central.

3.2.3 Personal Observation

The fact that the researcher is a native of Ezeagụ where the research

is conducted made the work a little bit easier, as a result of his personal

observations, and experiences which he acquired as a native. As an

41

indigene, the researcher has witnessed so many masquerade ceremonies

and festivals. For example, he has witnessed so many ‘Ibono’, ‘Ogogo chi’,

‘Aka’ and festivals, involving a lot of masquerades.

3.3 Research Population

The people used in this research are from the four development

centres in Ezeagụ. Ezeagụ has a population of about 170,603 which

comprises 84,466 males and 86,137 females according to the 2006

National population census. The data are collected from the Federal Office

of Statistics Enugu. The population of the males within the study area who

are qualified is about 10,000 which is about twelve percent of the males,

who are up to sixty years and above. Five men were selected through

random sampling and were interviewed. In order words, a total of twenty

men within the age range of sixty and ninety years were interviewed.

3.4 Research Instrument

A work of this nature cannot be done without using some

instruments for authentic result. The population the researcher addressed

was both literate and illiterate and hence there was the need to ask

questions orally from an approved interview guide.

In view of this, the researcher used tape recorder to record most of

the information given. The researcher also used a camera to take pictures

of some masquerades.

42

3.5 Method of Data Analysis

The data for this work were collected from two sources. The first one

was through secondary sources or documents collected from the libraries

and Archives whereas the second dimension was through primary sources

or through unstructured interview carried out with selected respondents

from the area of study. In essence, we considered it necessary to embark

on the venture of generating fresh data from primary sources, since the

study deals with the recent time and so primary methods of data collection

become applicable and or easy to handle. For instance, the unstructured

interview has the advantage of allowing free flow of information because of

flexibility in the use of words that could be redefined and explained. The

interview also provides a less stressful atmosphere because of the

cordiality between the interviewee and interviewer. It also allows variation

of question from one respondent to another, depending on the status and

type of information possessed by the respondent. In fact, it also allows one

to observe non-verbal responses that appear in form of gesticulations.

Nonetheless, secondary sources were used because it allows the

researcher to study the development and trends of Mmọnwụ in Ezeagụ

over a reasonable period of time. The use of primary and secondary

sources of data analysis ensures the reliability and validity of the data

collected, it tries essentially to be exact and minimize vagueness.

The data collected were transcribed and analyzed critically using the

cognitive semantic theory to explain how the Ezeagụ cultural area uses

Mmọnwụ as a metaphorical extension of their belief and philosophy.

43

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 The Costumes

In analyzing the data collected for this research on the metaphorical

significance of masquerade in Ezeagụ, it was observed that in Ezeagụ,

every male child is an “mmanwụ shinne” (a great masquerade). According

to tradition, every male child is mysterious, in tune with his nature as a

masquerade. In Ezeagụ for instance, the masquerade owns the land. The

land they claim has been there from origin and will remain for eternity, the

same as the masquerade.

In this research, the costume plays an important role metaphorically.

For example, the numerous sign systems, inscribed on the face of the head

piece as well as the costumes reveal a lot of things. All these bind the

people to their value system, history and environment. Thus, the distorted

and exaggerated facial features of some masquerades in Ezeagụ draw the

audience’s attention not only to the masquerades’ supernatural nature, but

to the qualities or ideas that they represent the people’s belief and ethics.

The “ichie” marks on some “Obute” masquerades reveal wealth or riches

according to the belief of Ezeagụ people. This is because Ọzọ titled men

are beautified with these ichi marks and it reveals wealth.

4.1.1 Agbogho Mmọnwụ’s Costume

In line with the people interviewed, the “Agbọghọ Mmọnwụ”, the

maiden masquerades, the colourful appliqué costume and the ribbons,

trills, mirrors and tiny bells with which it is decorated, suggest beauty and

44

elegance. Such things apart from ‘her’ essential image as a supernatural

being, suggest chastity and fertility.

The helmet head piece, which covers the head, is crest-plaited into

lobes to represent the Igbo female hair-do. The style is determined by the

class or status of the female spirits represented.

The spiritual nature of this masquerade is accentuated by a profusion of

glittering material, especially mirrors. The supernatural quality of the

masquerade is stressed by design, since, as a female, she must not be

assertive. While designing this type of head piece, the designers are very

much concerned with the coherence or harmony of form and function. All

these create the impression of coyness and making it possible for the

audience to perceive the feminity and eloquence of the head and neck

movement.

Another style of the helmet-face has the crest surrounded with

beautifully knitted short stems, terminating in frills, which suggests fertility,

for maidenhood represents the most ripe and most fertile age of a woman.

Yet another metaphorical aspect of the headpiece, is the one with totem

figures or plank crests. Its surmounted pieces represent a combination of

both human, animal or any other objects that pertain to the people’s

ancestral origin. All these are metaphorical because it is not just what you

see on the masquerade that matters but the fact that such things reveal

and suggest the people’s ancestral origin.

4.1.2 The Ijele Masquerade Head Piece

The interviewees also believe that the Ijele masquerade is a mobile

art gallery. The Ijele is designed with such figures arranged in scenes,

45

showing a woman in labour, a man climbing a palm tree to cut palm fruit,

or a chief, accompanied by his musicians, making his annual appearance,

etc. There are also realistic figures of local animals made of felt or cloth

and stuffed with grass on the Ijele masquerade. A great ingenuity is also

demonstrated in matching colour and texture in the model to the

appearance of the original. All these are not just mere pictures. They are

metaphorical because they show or reveal the life of the Igbo people in all

its complexities

The Ijele headpiece also may include “cocks or fowls perching on the

supports as is on a compound wall, a man or a woman carrying a child on

his/her shoulder. There is again a wealthy lady showing off her status or a

well-dressed gentleman displaying his outfit. All these reveal what your find

in the Igbo society. On the same headpiece, you may find domestic

portraits blended with figures that recall past political history of the Igbo,

for example a colonial official strolling with his wife or escorted by a

policeman. There are also figures representing the world of the spirits

shown on some important Igbo masks. These enhance the aura and

mystical power of Ijele. There may also be the feature of a variety of

animal figures. This may include a leopard about to pounce on its prey,

such as an antelope. All these are metaphorical because they are not mere

pictures but rather reveal the historical background and the life of the Igbo

people. It also reveals the various things that are found among Igbo

people. It also reveals that Ezeagụ people are very much involved in

hunting because the areas is filled with bush animals.

46

An Ijele masquerade has an enormous size and one may find a giant

python enfolding itself around the base of the superstructure. This

suggests that the Ijele has the power of the river, whose goddess the

python represents. Ijele, because of its size means many things to many

people. In general, it symbolizes the ingenious mind of the people and the

social solidarity that makes it construction possible. The giant Ijele,

symbolizes the king, while the others represent his subjects. This is

because it is structured like a small community of masked spirits consisting

of one principal masquerade - the Ijele and other minor spirits of both

sexes. Ijele is found in many other places in Igboland, apart from Ezeagụ.

Its movement is slow and majestic, enabling ‘his’ image as the king of the

masquerades and a figure of supreme mystical authority to be clearly

appreciated.

4.1.3 The Atụ and Agaba Masquerades

The Atụ and Agaba masquerades have elaborate horned headdress

topped by crescent shaped buffalo horns which could be real or carved.

They also have pointed horns of various kinds of antelopes, which are used

to convey the symbol of masculinity in the community, where young men

are renowned for killing wild animals in communal hunts. The heads of

such game were used as trophies. The Agaba and Atụ masquerades’

headpiece is symbolic because it draws an analogy between the physical

perfection of wild animals and the strength and vitality of the young men

of the community. The helmet, surmounted by a cluster of horns and

sometimes carved objects, such as knives, spears, paddles, etc, are partly

for decoration and partly to characterize the achievements of the young

47

men. In other worlds, they are symbolic and metaphorical. They reveal the

hunting and fishing prowess of the Igbo people.

Some masquerades’ regalia is made of tough cloth, covered with

scaly objects, snail shells and large brown or black beans that are attached

in rows so that they overlap and rattle. Some have cracks and contours. All

these are symbolic. The scaly and rough objects attached reveal the fact

that life is not always smooth. The cracks and contours all over the regalia

indicate that there are various cracks in our lives and the society at large-

social ills. Therefore, their presence is metaphorical.

4.1.4 Other Unnamed Masquerades

Some masquerades have the shape of animals. They have the shapes

of elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards and the likes. Their appearance is

not just for one to see the picture or shape of animals. They have

metaphorical implications because they show or reveals power or strength.

Some appear carrying a house. The house you see is not just an ordinary

house but represents protection. A house is where people move into, to

protect themselves from danger. The female pregnant masquerade is

respected and handled with care. Whenever she appears, the policeman

masquerade clears the way for her, making sure that people do not move

very close to her in order not to push her down or disturb her. Similarly, in

real life or in our society, people respect expectant mothers very well and

handle them with care because of their delicate state. This masquerade

stands as an instruction to the general public as to how a pregnant woman

should be treated with dignity, love, care and protection.

48

Nwaozuzu (2010), gives a very good example of a metaphor. He

states that the burning candles give light for people to see. But when the

candle lights are out, there will be total darkness in the room. He likens the

darkness that envelops Africa to the various coups d’etat in many African

countries and Nigeria in particular. The burning candles are symbols of

limited time which people have to right the wrongs inflicted by the

oppressive military regime.

Some masquerades put on shoes while some others do not put on

any foot wears. Some who do not put shoes, see it as respect and also in

line with the tradition of the land. It is to maintain originality. It is also

quite reminiscent of the biblical story where God asked Moses to remove

his shoes, for the land on which he stood was a holy land. God is the

biggest spirit. Similarly the masquerade is a spirit.

Enekwe (1981) in his Myth, Ritual and D rama in Igboland says that

running around of people when pursued by the masquerade is a form of

physical exercise and entertaining. It may not just be that. In actual fact, it

goes beyond that. This is because, the masquerade is a spirit and would

not want human beings to come too close or to look very closely at a spirit.

He pursues people therefore to stay a distance away from the spirit. The

masquerades therefore stay together among themselves when performing.

Again, some of the masquerades represent the weaker set in society. They

include: the aged, the pregnant mothers, the children and the sick.

People are driven away from this set of masquerades or pursued, for

them not to stampede the masquerades or push them down while they

perform. It is very important also to note that it is anathema and a bad

49

omen for a masquerade to fall down or to be pushed down. Those

masquerades who act as law enforcement agents carry out this duty of

pursuing or driving people away.

In the regalia and movement of Agaba masquerade in Ezeagụ, ritual

ideas and values are illustrated in his performance. Underlining all the

activities of the masquerade is the myth that it is a supernatural being that

must be respected and feared by human beings. Another value that is

dramatized in Agaba is the metaphor of the superiority of the elders in the

social and political hierarchy of the living. The elders are the mediators

between the ancestors and the rest of the living because they are the

closest to the ancestors, on account of their age. This is why Agaba is

usually accompanied by the elders and why it terminates its movements in

the area where the elders are seated during festivals involving

masquerading.

It is pertinent to state at this point that for every masquerade, the

costume, whether in the form of face or head masks, the patterns of the

enveloping costume, are veritable forms of art that are metaphorical.

Another important form of make-up is the rubbing of honey on the

exposed parts of the masker’s bodies. The honey makes the masquerade

to shine in the sun as if he is wet. The extended meaning of this practice is

the idea that some masquerades emerge from water. It is believed in some

parts of Ezeagụ that some masquerades emerge from a river or stream.

The masquerades, representing different lineages at Ezeagụ, present a

most splendid sight as they appear on the stage in full formation. The sun

bristles on their flaming costumes and their glittering limbs. The beauty of

50

this scene has been aptly described as poetry in motion. But it goes

beyond that because it also lends credence to the belief in such areas that

such masquerades emerge from the water, river or stream, or a valley if

there is no stream in the neighbourhood.

Ogbuadana (matchete) and ọmu (tender palm frond) as

objects of masquerade.

51

Okpokoro mbe (tortoise shell), nzụ (white chalk) and ogu

(symbol of truth) as objects of masquerade.

Ekwe (wooden gong) ogene (iron gong) and awọrọ (musical

instrument) as objects of masquerade.

52

4.2 Objects

In agreement with those interviewed, the supernatural and spirit

world can intervene and affect the life of man directly and through material

objects. Material objects have their intrinsic powers and forces reposed in

them by the supernatural and spirit world to affect the state of man.

Through the correct manipulation of material objects that have specific

powers, the masquerade can lead the spirit world to intervene and affect

the state of human beings.

In Igboland, it is generally believed that witchcraft and sorcery are

actions employing objects which are believed to achieve desired objectives,

not by mere virtue of the powers alone but also by objects. Such powers

are not only known to be intrinsic to the media objects or actions, they are

also inevitable intervention of occult and supernatural forces. The desired

objective of their use may be to protect a client from a threatening danger

or to effect and cause harm on an opponent or both. For example, when a

masquerade carries a staff “oji” and plants it here and there, it is not a

mere demonstration. It is symbolic and has an extended meaning. For

instance, when a dance masquerade plants it staff firmly on the stage or

playground, it is designed to effect a firm steadiness for his dance steps. It

is done to forestall any problem. This is because an opponent may decide

to effect dizziness on him and bring him down on the stage or playground.

An ordinary eye will just see it as a mere demonstration, but it is it is more

than that. Other objects used are discussed below.

53

4.2.1 Use of Fan

Another object that is very much used by the Ezeagụ masquerade is

the fan. It is also used by the followers of the masquerade. When the fan

is used on the masquerade, it is not just for the masquerade to cool off is a

metaphoric action that shows that nothing bad can touch him. In other

words, the fan has an extended meaning. The masquerade on his part,

uses the fan with both hands. When he uses the left hand in fanning

himself, it is intended to clear or remove all the evils in society. Conversely,

when the right hand is used, it means inviting the good things to the

society especially within the environment or the arena where he is

performing. Therefore, the fan means more than what the spectators see.

4.2.2 Use of Whip

The respondents agree that the whip is also carried by the

masquerade not only to chase people away from disturbing him but also a

metaphorical way of chasing away some other evil spirits that may try to

disturb people during any celebration or within the arena where he is

performing.

4.2.3 Use of White Chalk

In line with what the respondents say, the white chalk, “nzụ” which is

another object used by the masquerade has an extended meaning. It

reflects, purity, chastity and peace. The Ezeagụ masquerade offers the

white chalk to people. When you accept it, you scratch it with your fore

finger, and put the powder either on your forehead, chest or any other part

of the body. This performance is for peace among the person, the

54

masquerade and the environment. It is expected to attract purity and

chastity. The nzụ is not just an ordinary object. It has a metaphorical

connotation as we have indicated above.

4.2.4 Use of Ọfọ and Ogu

It is generally believed in Ezeagụ that the “ọfọ” and “ogu” are

symbols of truth and innocence respectively. They are also used’ by the

masquerades. The two objects are used by the masquerade when it sits on

the throne of judgment. If there is any misunderstanding between two

people, two groups or two communities where the masquerade has

jurisdiction, the masquerade sits as a judge or as a magistrate on the

throne of judgment. The two objects: “ọfọ” and “ogu” which are symbols

of truth and innocence are placed side by side during the settlement of the

problem. Any person who testifies in that case will hold or at least touch

these objects. The implication is that whatever the person says will not be

anything short of the truth.

It is believed by the people that if anybody gives false evidence in a

matter, the person will attract upon himself, sickness or death. These

objects are not mere objects. They have metaphorical implication that

shows them as symbols used to enforce discipline and justice in society by

the masquerade in Ezeagụ and some other places in Igboland. It is widely

believed in Ezeagụ that the “ọfọ” and “ogu” are symbols of truth and

justice. It is also believed that with the “ọfọ” nothing evil can affect the

masquerade or anybody and with the “ogu”, the masquerade cannot harm

the innocent. These objects also are meant for the protection of

everybody.

55

4.2.5 The Use of Awọrọ

The people interviewed also agree that the masquerade in Ezeagụ

uses objects and artifacts like “awọrọ” (external mask objects). The

“awọrọ” is worn by the masquerade around the waist, the legs or even on

the arms. The object makes noise as the masquerade moves or enters into

the arena. The noise of the “awọrọ” no doubt signals the movement and

the direction of the masquerade. It helps people to locate the masquerade

whenever they want him. The noise made by the awọrọ is musical. But it is

not just the object itself or the musical aspect of the object that matters.

What matters is the metaphorical function it performs. The sound of the

object is believed to drive away evil spirits from the community as the

masquerade moves about or performs in the village square. This gives the

people a feeling of protection in the society. In other words, the “awọrọ”

protects the people from the danger of evil spirits.

4.2.6 The Matchete

In line with the people’s belief, the matchete is also another object

that is carried by the Ezeagụ masquerades. The matchete is symbolic. It is

also for protection. It is believed that the masquerade sees and knows evil

men and spirits. The masquerade therefore is capable of chasing both the

evil men whom he sees and the evil spirits that humans cannot see. The

masquerade sees and knows all these things. That is why he moves the

matchete in all directions for protection to be realised.

4.2.7 The Flute

56

It is also believed by the people of Ezeagụ that the flute “opi” is

another essential object that is part and parcel of the masquerade. The

flute produces melodious music. It is also important to note that without

the flute in quite a good number of cases, the masquerade will not

emerge. The flute is also used for incantations masquerading. These

aspects of music and entertainment to invoke the ancestral spirits to join

the living during masquerade activities or ceremonies. Therefore, the use

of the flute has an extended meaning. It also infuses energy to the

masquerade.

4.2.8 The Ọmụ

Those interviewed also believe that the objects used in masquerading

cannot in any way be complete without mentioning the “ọmụ” (tender palm

frond). This object is not only to decorate the masquerade; it has some

extended meaning in masquerading. It signifies sacredness. It shows that

masquerade is both sacred and dangerous. If you go to any shrine in

Igboland, the “my” is used to mark out or show the sacred area of the

shrine. It is only the chief priest that enters the marked area. Ordinary

people cannot enter into the marked area because it is sacred. When a

man dies in the traditional Igbo society, the tender palm frond is placed on

the door post where the corpse is. This is to show that you do not enter

into that place anyhow because it is dangerous to do so. Corpses are seen

as sacred. The ọmụ is an indication that the spirits visit the dead. Human

beings should wait until it is their turn to see corpse.

When you see a vehicle with “ọmụ” you know that it is carrying a

corpse. Therefore, “ọmụ” symbolizes sacredness and danger in

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masquerading and is not just a mere decoration. The “ọmụ” is also thrown

at the masquerade and on his way to make him not to be aggressive. This

is because the “my” has the power to pacify the masquerade and generate

peace in any aggressive situation.

4.2.9 The Iron and Wooden Gongs, the Drums and the Tortoise

Shell

These objects are used to produce music for both the audience and

the masquerade. But it is not the musical aspect that is stressed here. It is

the fact that the music produced by these musical objects is expected to

drive away any evil spirit that may try to disturb both the masquerade and

the audience in the arena during any celebration.

4.2.10 The Mirror

The mirror is another important object in masquerading that has an

extended meaning or a metaphorical function. There are some

masquerades that carry mirrors on their bodies or on the headpiece. These

mirrors are not just for them to shine and glitter but for the community to

see through the mirrors, its achievements and failures. It is intended to

enable the community see through the mirrors, the areas it has done well

and the areas of improvement.

Furthermore, some masquerades carry a lot of carved babies on their

headpiece. The carved objects are symbolic. These little carved objects on

the headpiece of the masquerade are not just for decoration. The baby

objects represent the continuity of the community. It means that the

society will continue to increase for the ancestors to continue to see those

to visit. Even though the ordinary eye may see the picture as mere carved

58

objects, it is more than that because the carved objects have an extended

meaning.

4.3 The Gun

The gun is yet another objects that may be carried by the

masquerade or his followers. The gun or the cannon is fired in the arena

during masquerade’s performance. The booming of these objects is

actually to grace the occasion. But apart from gracing such occasion, it is

used to invite the good spirits from the land of the dead to the arena to

partake in the ceremony. It is also a warning to bad people who may try to

rear their ugly heads or try to cause trouble in the arena.

Mmọnwụ therefore, is an art and a construct evolving from an

interaction between the living and the dead. It is also a construct because

it showcase the patterned life of the people of Ezeagụ and some other

places in Igboland.

4.4 Religious and Social Activities

Another area where the metaphorical implications of the masquerade

in Ezeagụ is established is in the area of religion. Available evidence

indicates that the masquerade in Ezeagụ played and still plays, significant

roles in the religious sphere. In Ezeagụ, the masquerade is the centre of

intense religious and ritual activities. For example, gifts and prayers are

offered to the Achukwu masquerade, which is one of the biggest

masquerades in the area. The Achukwu does not play every year. It plays

once in every two or three years, as the need arises. When it plays, it is

seen as an idol or a deity, where believers go to worship.

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It is very powerful and is therefore, worshipped and consulted as an

oracle. Whenever this masquerade plays, gifts and prayers are offered to

the masquerade by suppliants, requesting blessings such as good health,

long life, numerous children, good harvest etc. In that case, they have

shrines which are serviced by priest on a regular basis.

The earnestness of such gifts and prayer when offered to the

masquerade will be obvious to any objective observer. It is also pertinent

to note that whenever a masquerade represents an idol or a deity, it

becomes really very powerful and is, therefore, worshipped and consulted

as an oracle.

The masquerade also performs a serious activity on other occasions

where total support is desired. For instance, if there are laws that have to

be underlined heavily, the “obute” is involved in the enactment. Again,

when certain religious rituals are to be performed, action is usually

spearheaded by the same masquerade. That masquerade is the operative

or tutelary representative of the deity or the god that is involved. As a

ritual symbol, the masquerade makes it possible for the authorities to

communicate certain values and ideas to the people. Such values and ideas

would be unquestionable, especially if the community’s belief system is

threatened or doubted. In all cases in Ezeagụ therefore, the masquerade is

an authority symbol because it is the embodiment of the accumulated

wisdom and authority of the people.

Similarly, in times of war in the past, masquerades functioned as

rallying points of action by inspiring combatants. In this case, the

masquerade is a war commander. When the magnificent Ugo masquerade

60

performs in a village square or elsewhere, it is not its activity or

performance that matters, it is the fact that it symbolizes beauty and

dignity. In other words, the Ugo is a symbol of beauty and dignity. When

the Udene Igwe and the Akpọkọ masquerades perform during festivals,

their activities instill fear. The activities of these masquerades in the arena

involve the display and use of charms. The charms are however not meant

to harm. But a good number of the spectators would leave the arena as

soon as these masquerades appear on the stage, because of their

activities. These masquerades are symbols of fear. Their presence and

activity are seen as dangerous to the people because they instill fear.

The Achụkwụ masquerade in Imezi-Ọwa in Ezeagụ which plays once

in two or three years goes to the arena, carrying a corpse on his head. He

goes round the historical arena with the corpse on his head and leaves.

This activity, performed by the Achụkwụ is significant. The significance is

that he has cleared the arena of all the available evils that may disturb the

community or cause any problem during the celebration.

After the Achụkwụ masquerade had gone round the arena with the

dead body on his head, the stage is cleared. He goes away with the

corpse, probably to bury it. This activity is quite reminiscent of what

happened in the bible, in the book of Tobit. Tobit himself was on exile in

Nineveh and anytime he saw that the dead body of one of his people had

been killed and thrown outside the city wall, he gave it a decent burial.

This is done to clear the environment.

The Ọkụnagbachala masquerade from Ezeagụ is both a preacher and

a teacher. Whenever the masquerade performs, he normally starts with

61

prayers. He receives kolanut which is an object used in prayers in Igboland

and prays. Although this is a prayerful situation, it is also an activity, for

the masquerade is playing the customary role of an elder whose duty it is

to pray when people are gathered. This is a religious activity. After his

prayers, he begins to preach by reminding the people of the dos and don’ts

in society. He does this, using figurative expressions and chants as well as

proverbs, idioms and parables to drive home his Point. For example, “onye

ọ bụla kpara nkụ arụrụ sịrị ngwere bịara ya orịrị. He also teaches because

when he speaks, the lines of poetry that flows from the masquerade in a

guttural voice. The masquerade by so doing, teaches the people the values

and norms of the society.

Another activity that is worthy of note is that of the Achụkwụ

masquerade that goes round the historical arena to clear it. This particular

action is very important because after the action, it is believed that the

arena is cleared of every obstacle that may be detrimental to anybody in

that arena. The Akpọkọ performs this activity, using the charm. Also, the

obute masquerade sits on the throne of judgment as a magistrate or a

judge to adjudicate on a misunderstanding or disagreement between

individuals or groups. The obute listens to the case and gives judgment in

such time of dispute because he is a judge. He handles cases without fear

or favour. The activity of the police masquerade can’t be left out in this

analysis. This is because, the police masquerades are security officers.

Apart from maintaining the law and order in society, they also arrest and

bring offenders to the obute masquerade for trial, if such offenders prove

stubborn.

62

From the above analysis, therefore, the extent to which Mmọnwụ is

metaphorical in Ezeagụ L.G.A of Enugu State has been highlighted. The

analysis also reveals those aspects of Mmọnwụ that are metaphorical in

Ezeagụ, as well as the extent metaphors explain the Mmọnwụ drama in

Ezeagụ.

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CHAPTER FIVE

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Findings

At the end of data analysis, the researcher discovered that to a good

number of people, the masquerade means a lot of things. While some see

the masquerade as the spirit manifest, some others see it as an agent of

social control. In Ezeagụ, the masquerade is also seen as an identity of the

people.

Furthermore, the study investigated the different aspects of the

masquerade that have metaphorical undertone Ezeagụ cultural areas.

These include: the costume, the nature of Agbọghọ Mmọnwụ, the Ijele

masquerade, the Atụ and Agaba masquerades. The researcher identified

the objects that are used in masquerading which are metaphorical. They

include: the whip, white chalk, ọfọ and ogu, awọrọ, matchete, flute and

ọmụ. The researcher also discovered that the life of every male child in

Ezeagụ is a life of masquerading and masking.

The researcher again observes that every male child in Ezeagụ is

presented at birth at the abode of the ancestors called ọgbaja. The first

initiation into the masquerade cult takes place there as custom demands.

There is another initiation when the male child is between the ages of six and

ten, for him not to divulge the masquerade. researcher also notes that

masquerade objects used in masquerading in Ezeagụ, such as, ‘ Awọrọ’

(sacred cloth of the masquerade), Wooden and iron gongs, tortoise shell,

‘ọfọ’, ‘Ogu’, white chalk (Nzụ), honey, ite egu (the neutralizing concoction

meant to protect his followers), etc are all metaphorical. The masquerade

64

is natural, traditional, cultural, social for every man in Ezeagụ. The

masquerade in Ezeagụ is seen as the creator’s crop. It is planted in

Ezeagụ, it grows and yields big fruits. It is not a stranger to Ezeagụ.

Mmọnwụ is both an art and a construct In Ezeagụ. It is an art because the

art work of the people is reflected in the mask. It also a construct because

it is a patterned way of life of the people of Ezeagụ. It is also observed that

the masquerade’s costumes, objects and activities are part and parcel of

extended meaning of Mmọnwụ in Ezeagụ.

The researcher found out that the masquerade performs those

various functions that are performed by human beings. Such functions

could be social, judicial, religious and entertainment. The masquerade is

also a go between the spirits and the living. He also found out that there is

no difference between a male or male child and a masquerade in Ezeagụ

culture area. The Ezeagụ people accept the masquerade’s voice as

masquerade because whenever the voice is heard, they know it is the

masquerade.

It was also observed that the masquerade’s performance in Ezeagụ is

ritualistic, religious, sanctifying and sanitizing as well as entertaining. The

people believe that the masquerade emerges from an anthole. This belief is

a myth because there is a serious ritual performance, without which, the

masquerade cannot come out. The masquerade in Ezeagụ is at least the

ancestors seen among its own people. The white chalk drawn around the

anthole from where the masquerade is expected to emerge is to give the

emergence of the masquerade a credence. It is also done to sanctify the

coming of the masquerade, so that the ‘Mmọnwụ’ will not just be a spirit

65

that kills, but also a spirit that lives with the people and makes them

happy.

The white chalk is again drawn around the eyes of the young men. It

is a ritual that is performed when the masquerade is awaited. This is done

to make the young men pure, sharp, bright and peaceful, for them to see

the side of the spirit from the eyes of the spirit. They can as well see the

living with the eyes of the living. The bitter kola is also taken because it is

a sanitizer and an antidote for poison. The masquerade’s incantation is also

metaphorical.

The researcher observed that Igbo people generally see the

masquerade as a spirit. They accept the masquerade as a spirit that lives

with human beings. This is in line with the Ezeagụ belief about

masquerade. The researcher also found out that the Igbo origin of

masquerade is similar to that of Ezeagụ.

Finally, the researcher observed that while some Christians back out

during masquerade festivals, a lot of others enjoy such celebrations. The

Igbo generally believe that the masquerade is a spirit. The Igbo people

believe the masquerade encourages social interaction and social control.

5.2 Conclusion

Considering the analysis and findings, the researcher concludes that

the masquerade in Ezeagụ is highly metaphorical. The masquerade does

almost everything that human beings do, as well as all the things spirits do.

That is the reason why Ezeagụ people say that the masquerade is

male/man and that the masquerade is also a spirit especially in Ezeagụ

66

culture area. It is because men do great and wonderful things, similarly,

the masquerade does great and wonderful things and that is why in

Ezeagụ, “mawu bu woke, woke bụ mawụ” meaning masquerade is man

and man is masquerade. Therefore, the totality of masquerade is a

metaphor in Ezeagụ.

Furthermore, this study investigated the different aspects of the

masquerade that have metaphorical undertones in Ezeagụ cultural areas.

These include: the costumes, the nature of Agbọghọ Mmọnwụ, the Ijele

masquerade, the Atụ and Agaba masquerades. The researcher identified

the objects that are used in masquerading which are metaphorical. They

include: the whip, white chalk, ọfọ and ogu, awọrọ, matchete flute and

ọmụ.

The researcher also observed that the life of every male child in

Ezeagụ is a life of masquerading and masking. The masquerade is natural,

traditional, cultural and social for every man in Ezeagụ. It is also a

construct because it is a patterned way of life of the people of Ezeagụ.

This work has therefore exposed the place of metaphor in

Mmọnwụ drama in Ezeagụ. It has also added a new dimension to the

appreciation of Mmọnwụ drama in Igbo literature.

67

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APPENDIX I

List of informants and interviewers, their villages/towns as well as their

states.

1. Aniachuna, Okolie (2011) oral interview conducted in his home

Umumba Ndiuno. He is an octogenarian (80 years) and

knowledgeable enough in issue of masquerade in Ezeagụ.

2. Anikputa, Odishi (2011) oral interview conducted in his home

town-Upata Ezema, Imezi-Ọwa, on the 8th day of March, 2011. He

is 82 years and vast in issues of masquerade in Ezeagụ, Enugu

State.

3. Chigbo, Umegbolu (2011) oral interview conducted in his village

Amagụ, Mgbagbu-Ọwa in Ezeagụ L.G.A. He is a leader of a

masquerade group. He is a septuagenarian (73 years).

4. Chika-John (March, 2011) is one of the researchers informants. He

narrated the metaphorical aspects of masquerade in Ezeagụ in his

home town Umana-Ndiagụ in Ezeagụ. He was a leader of a

masquerade group in Umana. He is a septuagenarian (72 years).

5. Ozomadu, Ugwu (Nov. 2011) is also one of the researcher’s

informants. He informed the researcher on the masquerade in his

home town Olo in Ezeagụ. He is seriously involved in

masquerading in Olo. He is 62 years old.

6. Umebe, Obu (2011) is a septuagenarian who is vast in

masquerade, spoke to the researcher about the masquerade in his

home at Oghe. He is 78 years old.

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7. Umegbuo, Eze (2012) is one of the masquerade leaders in

Umulokpa in Ezeagụ. He informed the researcher on the

masquerade in February, 2012 in his home town Umulokpa. He is

65 years old.

8. Umeze Ulonaamaenyi (2012) is one of the eldest men in Ezeagụ.

He is a ninogenarian (90 years) and very vast in every issue of

masquerade in Ezeagụ. He spoke to the researcher on the

metaphorical aspects of masquerade in Ezeagụ in February, 2012,

in his home town – Iwollo.

This investigation covers the four development centers/areas of Ezeagụ.

1. Ezeagụ West – Olo and Umọlọkpa

2. Ezeagụ North – Oghe and Iwollo

3. Ezeagụ Central – Imezi-Ọwa and Mgbagbu

4. Ezeagụ South – Umumba Ndiụnọ and Umana Ndiagụ.

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APPENDIX II

Interview Questions

The research questions are meant to elicit necessary information on

the metaphorical aspects of masquerade in Ezeagụ Local Government Area

of Enugu State. Here is a list of question items to find out what the

masquerade is in Ezeagụ.

This research is all about masquerade as metaphor in Ezeagụ L.G.A,

that is, Ezeagụ is a case study and the researcher hopes to find out from a

number of people their reactions on facts about masquerade.

Research Question I

To what extent is Mmọnwụ metaphorical in Ezeagụ.

a) Why is every male child in Ezeagụ addressed as Mmọnwụ Shrine (Big

masquerade)?

b) Where is the male child presented at first?

c) Where does the first initiation of the male child into the masquerade

cult take place?

d) How old then is the male child during the first initiation and possibly

subsequent ones?

e) How actively do male children participate during masquerade

performance in Ezeagụ?

f) What objects do they use during masquerade performance in

Ezeagụ?

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Research Question II

What are the aspects of mmọnwụ that are metaphorical in Ezeagụ?

(a) Is mmọnwụ itself metaphorical in Ezeagụ?

(b) What of the materials used by the masquerade, something like

the “Ofọ” or “Ogu” symbols?

(c) Why does the masquerade hold the “Ọfọ” and “Ogu”?

(d) What of the matchete and the whip?

(e) What of the costumes-something like the headpiece, the honey

and the white chalk that are rubbed on the body of the

masquerade, are they still metaphorical?

Research Question III

To what extent does metaphor explain the mmọnwụ drama in

Ezeagụ?

(a) How do the Ezeagụ people see the functions and other aspects of

mmọnwụ?

(b) Are those functions metaphorical?

(c) Do they address the males in Ezeagụ as mmọnwụ?

(d) Do the Ezeagụ people accept the mmọnwụ voice as masquerade?

(e) Is the “ọfọ” used by masquerade, a metaphor?

(f) What of other things like the costume and the “ọmụ” (virgin palm

frond)?

(g) What of the running around with the masquerade, does it involve

any metaphorical aspect of the entertainment of mmọnwụ?

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Research Question IV

How do the Ezeagụ people interpret the myth behind mmọnwụ?

(a) From where does the masquerade emerge?

(b) Is there any ritual that is performed before the masquerade

emerges?

(c) Do the Ezeagụ people see mmọnwụ as a spirit?

(d) Why is the “nzụ” (the white chalk) used around the anthole from

where the masquerade is expected to emerge?

(e) Why do the young men chew the alligator pepper?

(f) Why is the “nzụ” (white chalk) drawn around the eyes of the

young men during ritual when the masquerade is awaited?

(g) Apart from the physical aspects, how do the Ezeagụ people see

mmọnwụ?

(h) What of the “akuilu” (bitter kola)?

Research Question V

How does the Ezeagụ belief in mmọnwụ relate to the general Igbo

belief about mmọnwụ?

(a) Do the Igbo people see mmọnwụ as a spirit?

(b) Is the belief the same in Ezeagụ?

(c) Do the Igbo people have their own origin about mmọnwụ

(d) Does the masquerade perform similar functions in other parts of

Igboland?

(e) Do they regard mmọnwụ the way Ezeagụ people do?

(f) Do they see mmọnwụ as something that should be preserved?

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Research Question VI

To what extent is the prospect of the mmọnwụ theatre determined

against the onslaught of westernization and Christianity in Ezeagụ?

(a) Do Christians support or enjoy mmọnwụ in Ezeagụ?

(b) Do all or some Christians back out of the mmọnwụ celebrations in

Ezeagụ?

(c) Does the masquerade appear during every festival and ceremony

in Ezeagụ?

(d) Is the masquerade being modernized?

(e) Is mmọnwụ likely to continue or survive in Ezeagụ?