Mmanwu Festival

The Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria perform Mmanwu, a traditional masquerade. They are only performed by men in secret groups and involve the wearing of elaborate, colorful costumes intended to evoke ancestral spirits.

Masquerade traditions serve a wide range of purposes, including enacting parables or myths, performing epic drama based on community cosmology and lore, ushering in new months and seasons, honoring totems and ancestral spirits, and ushering in new months and seasons, with entertainment and community building serving as a consistent commonality.

The Mmanwu practice is only open to men, and there are stringent guidelines for how each gender interacts with the masquerade. The masks' construction, maintenance, and use are completely the responsibility of men. Men are buried within their homes because they are masqueraders, and their souls return to the terrestrial world from time to time to offer spiritual instruction.

Women, on the other hand, are forbidden from touching the masks or even comprehending their spiritual significance. Women are permitted to observe the ceremony, and many do so, but they must maintain a safe distance.

Location: Enugu, Nigeria

Date: October and November