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Gẹlẹdẹ



Performing the Gẹlẹdẹ is an important cultural tradition of the Yoruba-Nago community that stretches from Benin to Nigeria and Togo. For more than a century, the Yoruba-Nago community has been performing the Gẹlẹdẹ ceremony to honor the primordial mother Iyà Nlà and the role that women play in the social organization of Yoruba society.

The social agenda of Gẹlẹdẹ is based on the Yoruba maxim Eso l'aye – meaning, the world is fragile. This maxim preaches that it is vital that we live our lives with great caution and with an emphasis on respect, consideration, diplomacy, and harmony.

The origins of Gẹlẹdẹ are both historical and mythological. Among the Gẹlẹdẹ performances, Ketu is one of the oldest and most elaborate, among Ilobi and Old Oyo.

According to its legend, there was a dying king whose twin sons both vied for his throne. One brother, after learning that he wouldn't get the throne, came up with a plan to kill his twin. The other brother came up with a counter-plan that involved creating a mask and a camouflage. The mythological origins are linked to Iya Nla.

The annual celebration takes place once a year after the harvest, at important events, and during droughts and epidemics, and consists of dances, and chants, retracing the history of the Yoruba-Nago people. These are performed mostly at night, usually in a public square and the dancers prepare in a nearby house.

It is the drummers and singers who appear first. There is an orchestra to accompany them, which is followed by masked dancers wearing splendid costumes. There is a lot of preparatory work involved in crafting the masks and costumes.

The performances depict an oral heritage that uses epic and lyric verses supported by carved satirical masks and employs a good deal of irony and mockery. Animal figures are often used, such as serpents, who are symbolic of power, or birds, who are symbols of the “mothers”.

In the community, the men and women are divided into groups, led by male and female heads. It is the only known masked society that is run by women. The Gẹlẹdẹ have adopted a more patriarchal society in modern times, but the oral heritage and dances are remnants of the former matriarchal order.

Technology is causing a loss of traditional knowledge, and tourism has put a threat to Gẹlẹdẹ by portraying it as a folklore product. Nonetheless, the Gẹlẹdẹ community shows great awareness of the value of their cultural heritage through their preparations for the event and the number of participants they see growing every year.


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