BEHIND THE MASK: THE PHILOSOPHICAL DYNAMICS AND SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MASQUERADES AMONG THE OGONI AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

The Ogoni society is a unity of both the visible and the invisible worlds. In this scheme, human and all concrete objects they create or live with are inextricably linked to a spirit world. Masquerades, in their semi-divine state serve as a conduit between the spirit world and the realm of the living, providing a means for ancestral spirits and supernatural deities to communicate and bestow blessings and protection upon their descendants. However, the Ogoni social milieu in its original traditional settings is no longer as vivid and valid as it ought to be. Consequently, masquerades in the Ogoni communities could be said to have lost its ancestral flavours and heritage of the spirits. The reason for the current neglect attitude shown towards the patronage of the indigenous cultures cannot be separated from globalization and advances in technology, as well as the fact that some of these masquerades are under threat of extinction as much effort has not been done towards its documentation. This study focused on the philosophy behind the mask, and the symbolic significance of masquerades among the Ogoni and the global future. The paper adopted the descriptive method. The paper argued that while these masquerades are designed to entertain, they perform more utilitarian functions than mere spectacle. The study concluded that while not adopting the negative and harmful practices of masquerades in Ogoni, the good part must be preserved and mingles with modern concept, thereby maintaining the people’s distinctiveness.

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