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During the ceremony, around 500 prisoners would be sacrificed. As many as 4,000 were reported killed in one of these ceremonies in 1727. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Most of the victims were sacrificed through decapitation, a tradition widely used by Dahomean kings, and the literal translation for the Fon name for the ceremony Xwetanu is "yearly head ...
Nine-Night, also known as Dead Yard, is a funerary tradition originating in West Africa and practiced in Caribbean countries (primarily Jamaica, Belize, Antigua, Grenada, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Trinidad, and Haiti). It is an extended wake that lasts for several days, with roots in certain West African religious traditions. During ...
The Nyau members wearing animal structures resemble wild animals or nyama za ku tchire, which appear at the time of death of people and therefore feared. There is some kind of hierarchy between the different animals, with some very respected animals (such as njobvu, the elephant) and some less important. Highly respected animals are also ...
In Europe, historians have thought the three- day festival of the dead is a ritualistic remembrance of the deluge in which Halloween the first night is depicting the wickedness of the world before the flood. The second night is spent celebrating the saved who survived the deluge and the last night is meant as an honoring to those who would ...
A masquerade ceremony (or masked rite, festival, procession or dance) is a cultural or religious event involving the wearing of masks. The practice has been seen throughout history from the prehistoric era to present day. They have a variety of themes. Their meanings can range from anything including life, death, and fertility.
The Dugu is a type of funeral ceremony that brings the community and families together. It is a festival that aims to bring deceased ancestors of the Garifuna to the present [2] and lasts between two days to as much as two weeks. The ceremony seeks to cure ill persons that have become sick because they have displeased the gubida (spirits). [3]
In the southwest masks represent animals such as antelope, bush buffalo, and various strange creatures, are painted red, white and black. In the east, around Boulsa, masks have tall posts above the face to which fiber is attached. Two female Mossi masks of the eastern style at a year-end ceremony in the village of Zegedeguin.
Animals are common subjects in African masks. Animal masks typically embody the spirit of animals, so that the mask-wearer becomes a medium to speak to animals themselves (e.g. to ask wild beasts to stay away from the village); in many cases, nevertheless, an animal is also (sometimes mainly) a symbol of specific virtues.