Egungun, (full version, HD) filmed and edited by Tim Harrison, Cove, Benin, August 2017;
In Yoruba culture the Egungun are the spirits of the ancestors , and also a ‘secret society’. Respect and reverence for the ancestors is built on the belief that the spirit of a human never dies, and after death that spirit influences the lives of the community from another realm.
The Egungun wear a costume known as 'ago' or 'eku', which covers the entire body and face, no part of the body is uncovered. The wearer of the costume is always a man, although some Egungun represent the spirit of a woman (for example at 17.20, this Egungun is a female spirit) The identity of the man wearing the costume is secret, and they speak in a disguised voice. Everyone knows the wearer of the costume is a living human being, but at the same time they believe he is 'ara orun', a being from another dimension, the spirit of the ancestors come to visit and interact with the living. An individual Egungun doesn’t represent a particular dead individual, but symbolically represents each and all ancestors.
The Egungun wear a costume known as 'ago' or 'eku', which covers the entire body and face, no part of the body is uncovered. The wearer of the costume is always a man, although some Egungun represent the spirit of a woman (for example at 17.20, this Egungun is a female spirit) The identity of the man wearing the costume is secret, and they speak in a disguised voice. Everyone knows the wearer of the costume is a living human being, but at the same time they believe he is 'ara orun', a being from another dimension, the spirit of the ancestors come to visit and interact with the living. An individual Egungun doesn’t represent a particular dead individual, but symbolically represents each and all ancestors.
The Egungun come out to interact with the living at an annual festival or on important occasions. In this video I shot in a village near Cove in Benin, the Egungun have come out to commemorate the death of a member of the Egungun ‘secret society’ – it is a funeral or ‘wake’, you can see a shrine in the bottom right of the video in front of the drummers and chorus that various Egungun pay their respects to.
