ORIGIN OF THE FESTIVAL
There are few accounts of how the festival
started. However, the differences inthese
accounts are not fundamental. Generally,
Ireba Eku (masquerade cult) wasbelieved
to have been formed under the divine
instruction of God to check the excesses
of women, apart from serving as ancestor
worship. Myth has it that aftercreating
man and woman as husband and wife, one
day God sent for the man but hewas too
busy to honour the call. Instead, he
requested his wife to heed God’s call onhis
behalf. God gave her Irakwo (an egg-like
object that contains the secrets of lifeand
has the capacity to manifest supernatural
powers) for her husband. Having dis-
coveredits contents and being fascinated
by them, she hid it in her uterus and
laterswallowed it without giving it to her
husband. She thereafter became quite
powerful,performing supernatural feats as
turning into any animal and changing back
to ahuman being. She could instantly grow
wings to fly around in astral travels. She
alsobecame capable of all sorts of
mysterious transformations. Her husband
becameenvious of her powers. In
sympathy, God enabled the husband to
create the Ekumasquerade cult from which
women membership is strongly
discouraged as a coun-terforceto the
powers the women posses.
Adapted from: THEATRICAL AESTHETICS
AND FUNCTIONAL VALUES OF EKUECHI
MASQUERADE ENSEMBLE OF THE EBIRA
PEOPLE IN NIGERIA by S.E ODODO,
Department of the Performing Arts,
University of Ilorin (
African Study Monographs, 22(1): 1-36,
May 2001)
The Adeika of Eika, the traditional Chiefof Eika
clan in Ebiraland in an interview recorded by
Shamoos Adeiza, collaboratedthis notion:Eika
is the senior clan in Ebiraland and Ekuechi
originated from them. The real originof the
festival is a traditional secret and I wonder
whether I should reveal it. Well,well, I
will...Ekuechi originated from necessity, for
when witchcraft crept intoEbiraland it was the
women who reigned supreme in the cruel
craft and they cheatedus men by it. Many
people were being killed by them especially
men. In retaliation,we men also set up the
Eku cult to dread the women. Women are
made to believe thatEkus who perform during
Ekuechi are ancestor spirits raised from the
dead to comeand admonish, warn and punish
evildoers in their songs and ritual (Adeiza,
1994).This is one of the major reasons
women’s participation in the night
performanceof Eku’rahu is highly restricted.
According to Ogunba (1978: 24),in many
African cultures women are not admitted into
the secrets of the masking art;indeed, they
are often the favourite target of masking and
satirical ridicule, theassumption being that
they live a more poetical life than their
menfolk, have secretpowers, are more of
spirits than human beings, and therefore an
object of fear or ven-eration.A more
encompassing conceptual thought on this
phenomenon of female exclu-sionfrom
masquerade cults within the African context
resides in the understandingTraditionally, like
everything else of any importance,
masquerading and its secrets arethe
prerogatives of the men-and initiates at that.
Women have been excluded fromsharing in
the secrets for they are weak and fickle and
are therefore not fit to take partin them. They
are also mysterious and sometimes unclean.
They cannot thereforeapproach these
ancestral manifestations, whose character is
diametrically opposed totheir own. Any
meeting between them would have adverse
effects on both parties.Much harm would
come to the women and masquerades would
lose something of theirvirtue. Apart from this
fear, there is the desire to avert the wrath of
these spirits whosecondescension to visit
mankind in the form of masquerades is a
great honour, whichmust not be abused. They
are mindful of the fact that ancestral spirits
are superior tomere mortals and constitute an
unusual phenomenon when they assume
physical forms(Nzekwu, 1981: 132).In modern
times, however, women are beginning to pick
information here andthere on the secrets of
masquerading without being participants.
Nevertheless, themysticism surrounding the
masquerade cult is still intact, for previous
attempt toneutralise this always met with stiff
mystic and physical opposition from
custodiansand a cross section of Ebira people
who believe strongly in the inviolability of
suchcultural practices.According to oral
account and Sani (1993: 84-85), Obaji and
Ododo were said tobe the progenitors of Eku.
These were two brothers who constantly
antagonised eachother on account of seniority
contestation. But seniority was generally
conceded toObaji, and Ododo was not
pleased. One day Obaji took ill and was about
to die. Hisbrother, Ododo, said he would not
like Obaji to be his senior here on earth and
againbe his senior in the great beyond
(Idaneku). Ododo then decided to change his
iden-titywith his dying brother. When Obaji
died, Ododo put on the costumes of an
Ekuand the women were made to believe that
Ododo rose from the dead. So, Obajibecame
the senior of the living, while Ododo became
the senior of the dead in theworld beyond.
Adega, a masquerade character who
specialised in the chants of his-toricalevents,
myths and legends, gave a similar account in
his 1983 annual Echanefestival
performance:Ozi Ododo vana si ozi Obaji dosi
mo nyi ehi niIjo ozi Obaji vaso ka yo ozi
OdodoKa ani ewun ma ze ada aniniDo ozi
Ododo va se so ka ine hi ni
Do Ododo ka Obaji ana vo zoku yoni
ehononiDore vana ve ozoku idaneku yo niDi
Ododo wusu niDa hure Eku niIhe gwo eta ani
do Obaji oni re wu suni (Adega, 1983).
(Translation)Ododo’s son took Obaji’s
daughter for a concubineWhen Obaji’s
daughter told Ododo’s son of her father’s
illness,Ododo’s son went home to relay the
informationOdodo enviously opined that Obaji
who is his senior in the human worldWill
again be his senior in the world beyond
(Idaneku).Therefore, Ododo passed on before
Obaji.His Children made Eku out of him.The
third day, Obaji also passed on....
The two accounts by Sani and Adega slightly
contrast each other but both agreethat Eku
cult came to be after Ododo’s death or
exchange of identity.There are five prominent
masquerades in the cult. These are Eku’rahu,
Eku’ahete,Eku’okise, Eku’echichi and Eku’oba.
Eku’rahu features during the night perfor-
manceof Ekuechi, Ebe, Okehi and Otu
festivals. It is also performed at the
funeralceremonies of a deceased male elder
to transport him to the transitional void, and
toembody the spirit of the dead for a gentle
repose of his soul in the world beyondbefore
transmigrating into an ancestral figure. This
performance also takes place atnight.
Eku’ahete ensures a safe and free passage in
the ancestral visits to earth dur-ingEkuechi
festival. Eku’okise proclaims divine messages
from God and prophe-sisesto people with
clairvoyance, featuring in both Ekuechi and
Echane festivals.Eku’echichi is performed fully
masked during Echane festival, which is
mainly abroad daylight affair with active
women involvement in the general celebrative
for-matbut not in the core performance
rituals. Eku’echichi also performs in
Ekuechifestival, as Agadagidi with no
prescribed roles except to add colour to the
generalfestive mood. The performers are now
referred to as Agadagidis because they do
notdon their full costumes and often do not
mask. They chase people around and play-
fullyflog them. Sometimes, some men offer
themselves to be flogged to test andexhibit
their manly valour. Eku’oba does not feature
in Ekuechi or any festival. Itannounce the
masking season is also performed in some
core traditional funeral ritesand to
commemorate deceased male elders of high
traditional standing as theOhinoyi (the
traditional political head of Ebira people),
Ohindasi and Ozumi, whoare key figures in
Ebira Traditional Council. To have an Eku’oba
perform is consid-eredan extreme honour
because it is believed that its appearance will
atone for allthe sins committed by the
deceased while alive. Thus heavenly bliss is
assured inthe world beyond. Eku’oba can
come out during the day or at night but
always fullymasked, irrespective of the time
of appearance. To acknowledge this unique
and val-uedappearance, the families of the
deceased often sacrifice rams or cows,
depend-ingon their financial capabilities, to
mark out a bloodline for Eku’oba to cross
intotheir compound. The traditional
importance of this masquerade is further
establishedby the fact that it must rain within
that same day or the next of its appearance.
Itscoming out is also believed to secure peace
for the land. It is the wish of an
averagetraditional Ebiraman to live long
enough to merit the appearance of an Eku’oba
athis funeral. That majority of these
prominent masquerades of the Eku cult
feature inEkuechi ensemble makes the festival
a converging forum for Ebira ancestors,
andfurther enunciates its unifying force for
the corporate existence of Ebira
people.Ekuechi festival enjoys corporate
ethnic involvement in terms of preparation
andpresentation. At its artistic peak, the
festival can easily be mistaken for a
celebrativespectacle meant to entertain only.
But it always has conceptual bases that
transcendmere entertainment objective
(Nzewi, 1997: 20). Put differently, there are
somefunctional values of the festival that are
conceived and manifested within the gen-
eralfestival atmosphere. For instance however
entertaining, satirical songs are ren-deredfor
social control. Very often, an important
personality of the community whois satirised
might be carried away by the entertainment
values of the songs withoutinstantly
apprehending their import. He then sneaks
away from the festive arena inshame at the
point of cognition.

I thaught the irakwo was given to the man and the woman cunningly slip some portion into her husband food and the man slept off only for him to wake up and found that the wife has stolen the irakwo(supernatural power)