By Lari Williams

If masquerades and the arts are seen as entertainment, it is obviously not right to stigmatise the masquerade by equating it with cultism. This clarification is crucial.  Why are we afraid to encourage the masquerade by letting it get popular as a unit of entertainment? In today’s entertainment schedule, we find that masquerades are either totally missing or miserably reduced to the foot of the ladder. Masquerades expertly display captivating dances, songs and acrobatic agility apart from their colourful disposition and the arresting beauty of their esoteric regalia.

Masquerade

Take a look at drama which tells stories of men and women as we see them whereas the masquerade’s performance includes mime, sign language, dance, and a strong feeling of audience participation. In every public display, a captivated audience is encouraged to get involved consciously or unconsciously. Beginning from childhood, we were made to believe that the masquerade has a spiritual and mystic quality. As we get older, we come to the knowledge and realisation that the masquerade is in fact a masked man supplying a vital entertaining display.

As a child, I followed the Iyeriye and Sokolobo which were Lagos children’s masquerades. In adulthood, I became an ardent follower of Zunguru and Lapampa. I loved their displays and appreciated their entertainment value. Other masquerades were Tarzan, Raimi Jagba and Bamgbose, dreaded but supremely entertaining Lagos Island masquerades. Later, along with Chief Ajanaku II, the Araba of Lagos, I became the first theatre producer to bring Egun Lapampa on stage at the main bowl of the National Theatre, enriching the 1984 production of my play, Awero, with no ritual, no blood spilling, no chicken strangling. It was purely art and entertainment.

In childhood, the spiritual, mystic, dark and occultist connotations behind the masquerade were real to my inexperienced thinking. I accepted them as Ara Orun, entities from the spirit world. They fascinated me from this perspective. Later, I began to notice that they had feet like ordinary humans. Some wore socks and soft shoes though their voices were unearthly. Along the line, realisation occurred and the artistic and entertainment value took over in my mature judgment.

Families, age groups and groups of friends operate and maintain masquerades but it does not mean that masqueraders are cultists. For instance, I run a Playhouse along with a few executives and they are merely actors and actresses and we include a masquerade act in some of our productions. Lagos carnivals in April always include masquerade seasonal displays (Odun Egun) during Fanti fancy carnivals. It goes along with Christian Easter celebrations, adding colour and pageantry.

Masquerades create community identity for the different environments where they belong. This should present no conflict with the church or any other religious group. They are purely cultural entertainment and entertainers. Surely, we don’t see Lagbaja, a masked musician as a cultist representation but as a musician masked to add colour to his craft and presentation. The boisterous nature of masquerade entertainment makes it unique to keep boys and men on their toes as they dance round villages, towns and cities. Masquerade entertainment can also be seen as a seasonal exercise that is good for youth and the young at heart.