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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 business". [8]
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.
At Sande ceremonies, the pure white of hojo and of the clothes worn by Sande officials is thrown into dramatic contrast with the blackness of sowei masks. The most important participant in the sowei masquerade is the ndoli jowei, "the expert in dancing," the woman who dances in the mask in public and teaches dancing to the girls in the ...
A well-known example is the mwana pwo (literally, "young woman") of the Chokwe people , that mixes elements referring to feminine beauty (well-proportioned oval face, small nose and chin) and other referring to death (sunken eye sockets, cracked skin, and tears); it represents a female ancestor who died young, venerated in rites such as ...
Ijele Masquerade, known as the biggest Masquerade in Sub-Saharan Africa, is a tradition of the Igbo people of Nigeria and was listed in the UNESCO Archives as an intangible cultural element in need of urgent safeguarding [1]. In many communities in the state of Anambra in South-Eastern Nigeria, celebrations, burial ceremonies and other special ...
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 ...
Around the globe, graduation carries wide-ranging significance; it's a moment of profound historical and social meaning, though some traditions don't quite translate across cultural lines.
The typical Okuyi performer wears a large, loose costume that is said to resemble the spirit of the clan members’ ancestors. The ancestors are illustrated by the dancers as tranquil and serene and suggest that they were the people who safeguarded, counselled, and educated them from the residence of the deceased.