When reading about the egwugwu, I was struck as to how everyone comes together in the belief that the masked people in front of them are spirits. But, it turns out, the masks are pretty transformative. Although it is obvious that most of the villagers know who is beneath them, it is easy to see how they maintain their status...
3 comments:
When looking at the pictures you posted and other alike them online, I noticed that the egwugwu are not simply just masks as I had imagined them when reading but large-scale full costumes that these village elders would put on. As you said, I believe most of the villagers know that there are actual people under the costumes, but have such beautiful large costumes certainly helps with the emersion and believability of the egwugwu.
I agree with Bruce. Although I did imagine the egwugwu dressed up (not just wearing masks), I didn't realize just how large the masks could be (like in the second picture) and how encompassing the other parts of the costume were. Put that together with the frightening noises they apparently made (as Achebe said) and the fact that in Igbo culture, spirits were given more credibility than they are now in most Western cultures, and I feel like I too would probably feel kind of scared if they started marching towards me. It also makes me wonder though how/why Enoch managed to unmask one of them. I understand that he was trying to taunt them and discredit the meaning of the ancestral spirits, but I felt like it was just bewilderingly disrespectful, and now that I've seen just how full the costumes are, I can't help but think whether or not Enoch was also just a little terrified when he went to unmask one (although he really didn't seem repentant or giving the slightest bit of respect, so maybe not). Then again, Mr. Smith was quaking in his boots when they came to confront him at the church, and he also seemed totally unappreciative of the Igbo culture.
I never would have thought to look up pictures of the egwugwu! Thank you for sharing these, because that’s not really how I pictured the egwugwu in my mind. Perhaps they dress differently in different places, but still, I had no idea the extent to which the costumes went. I remember Achebe talking about Okonkwo’s mask and how terrifying it was, but the pictures rally crystallize the description. Like Ally and Bruce said, I can definitely see why the people were so in awe of the egwugwu. The suspension of disbelief isn’t hard when it seems like the elders/titled men have literally transformed into something else. (I still don’t really get why the women were taught (?) to run away at the sight of the egwugwu, though.)
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