Technical Aids in Òpélé-Ìbà Masquerade Festival of Òsogbo Osun State

Abstract

This paper x-rays the philosophical, cultural and socio-spiritual aesthetics of technical aids in Òpélé-Ìbà masquerade festival performance of Òsogbo in Ò̩ sun State, Nigeria. The study adopts the participant-observation and descriptive research methods within the purview of Sunday Enesi Ododo's Techno-Cultural Performance Theory. It has come to the fore in this study that, although masquerade tradition is a common phenomenon to Yorùbá people yet the historical evolutions are different from lineage to lineage even in the same cultural set-up. Apart from visual glamour, technical aids such as costumes, makeup, props, and others are cogent and subsequently codified and godified by the family. The non-ritual nature of technical aids equally goes beyond mere embellishments glamour to promote the economy of the family through the artistic expression of the masquerade. Also, the design patterns of the technical aids supply more than cultural aesthetics pleasure, but equally portray high degree of social belief of the people during celebration. The paper argues that the expressive nature of these aids fulfill the utilitarian nature of African performance arts especially masquerade festivals. It is, therefore, recommended that the potentials of these technical aids in the communication and aesthetic process of the festival can be explored by making the costumes more attractive to enhance its entertainment gait. Also, the utilisation of space can attract creative input by designing a special raised platform for the masquerade to perform.