Masquerade Costume for Egungun (Paka)

A dazzling, multilayered Egungun costume of expensive imported and handmade textiles is an offering to the ancestors. It honors them by its beauty, intricate workmanship, and expense. In performance, the costumed dancer twists and turns, stirring a breeze that blows on the spectators like a blessing from the beyond. Closest to his skin, the performer wears an undergarment of woven cloth like that used to wrap a corpse for burial. His face, hands, and feet are concealed by a dense indigo and white striped netting. The panels of an Egungun costume are refurbished and added to yearly; the oldest pieces of cloth on this costume date to the late nineteenth century.