This is an Egungun costume from Nigeria. I took this photo at the Smithsonian a few years ago, but I thought you would all enjoy its design. Egungun are the ancestor spirits of the Yoruba people and dancers wear these costumes during ceremonies to honor them. As they move, the strips fly out and away from them. You can check out this site for more info about it!
4 comments:
Oh Elle, what a wonderful perk the link is this morning. Pan African Studies was a minor concentration for me in college. Have you ever read the novel The River Where Blood Was Born by Sandra Jackson-Opoku? An intriguing and gripping (at least for me) story about how the ancestors watch over our affairs. It was a very visual read for me but very convuluted (such as life is).
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I haven't read it, but I'lll look into reading it now!
Beautiful colors and textures. Thanks for posting a great photo!
elle, thanks for this beautiful photo and the rekinding of memories, there was an exhibition of Yoruba textiles in the next town to me way back in the early nineties, they were fantastic, hope to get time to visit the link this week end,
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