Today I had a very entertaining visit to the Porto Novo Mask festival. It’s a modern vehicle for preserving genuine local traditions. The masked figures represent various spirits.
My favorites were the the Zangbeto or “night watchmen” . These are guardian spirits, who may patrol villages, acting as an unofficial police force. They enjoy whirling and chasing and being chased by dancers:
The Egungun are more solemn and represent the spirits of departed ancestors:
And there are a variety of other styles too:
While walking around the city, I was accosted by a few wandering spirits of the dead. Fortunately they were willing to be placated with small cash offerings. 🙂 These mundane transactions were graciously mediated through human assistants.
I’m on a four country West African tour organized by Evans Tours of Lagos. We didn’t have the Mask Festival on my original itinerary, but when Evans realized I’d be nearby on one of the festival days, he very kindly adjusted my schedule to I could attend. Thank you!