This day trip with the Nigerian Field Society was another great opportunity to get out of Lagos. I went with three other teachers, and Melody and Andrew and we took canoes through a beautiful waterway to a village.
I couldn’t believe how beautiful the land/water was leading up to the village. It was a very interesting day to learn more about the Yoruba culture. It was a long commute and very hot, but well worth it.
Below is a great description of the trip written by another teacher who went along:
Ikogbo Masquerade Festival
By Cristiana Jurgensen
This weekend we went from a quiet, peaceful river lush with green foliage to a loud, exciting, drum-filled masquerade party! It was all part of another amazing trip organized by the dedicated group of adventurers at the NFS.
We started off at Isasi (pronounced as Ishashi). There, small canoes took us (about 50 members in all) up the river on a magical, relaxing one-hour boat trip that made one forget the go-slows and noise of Lagos. We arrived in the village of Ikogbo and were greeted by their Chief. They quickly set up chairs for us to relax and enjoy our picnic lunches while we watched (and in some cases participated) in their traditional Ikogbo Masquerade Festival.
This festival, held once a year, honors the Egun, the physical
representations of the spirit world. Men dress up in elaborate costumes and dance around the main square of the village. A handful of drummers work up a sweat while they pound beautiful rhythms that vary according to which spirit is being represented. The atmosphere is joyful and the ©¯characters©˜
play with the audience and invite them to join in the celebration. The children especially enjoyed the animal characters, complete with horns and a tail.
The rest of the villagers joined in, singing and dancing. A special treat was to see a village elder, dressed beautifully in all white, dance while the rest of the village clapped and sang to him. The children (both from the village and our own!) imitated his foot stopping and twirling with great amusement.
Matthias, who was also this trip©ˆs organizer, knew exactly what to do and showed the NFS©ˆs appreciation in the traditional manner. He approached the dancers and placed 20 Naira notes on their foreheads while they where dancing. Many other members joined in and did the same. The villagers were honored to have us there and grateful for our shows of appreciation.
We made it back to the canoes just in time for a light rain shower to cool us off on our way back downstream. It was another wonderful adventure that leaves you tired and dirty, but also glad to have taken part in something so magically Nigerian.
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