Gelede masks, such as this one, are worn by male Yoruba dancers at festivals honoring the women of the community, living and dead, especially the powerful Great Mothers, including both the elderly women of the community and the ancestors of Yoruba society.

Gelede mask from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Held at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The Gẹlẹdẹ spectacle of the Yoruba is a public display by colorful masks which combines art and ritual dance to amuse, educate and inspire worship. [1] .

This Yoruba mask was used as part of the Gelede masquerade celebrating female ancestors and elderly women. For the Yoruba, mask performances, along with music and dancing, are a way of recognizing female status.

A gelede is a festival of masks performed in veneration of the society’s powerful older women, the iyami. Egbado Yoruba communities perform gelede annually, at which time they formally recognize the powers of the iyami, and solicit their benevolence to ensure the prosperity of …

This mask or headdress, called igi Gelede in the Yoruba language, would have been a part of Gelede, a festival in western Yoruba communities that celebrated the power of women. The performances of Gelede masquerades not only entertained, but also honored the spiritual power of women in the community, known as awon iwa ya or "our mothers".

The masking tradition known as Gelede is believed to have originated among the Yoruba people of the Ketu region, in today’s Republic of Benin, sometime in the late eighteenth century. Gelede honors the spiritual powers of elderly women who are referred to as awon iya wa , …

Nonetheless, the Gelede ceremony performs diverse functions in Yoruba society, including to pray for rain, purify the village of disease, to enlist spiritual help in wartime, and to honor the dead. This mask was culturally used, probably in the 1980s, in a Nigerian community.

Sep 17, 2014 · Located between the Weme River in the Republic of Benin (RPB) and the Ogun River in southwestern Nigeria, western Yoruba-speaking people (Ketu, Egbado, Ohori, and Anago) are renowned for an elaborate masked performance tradition known as Gelede.

Male Yoruba dancers wear gelede masks at festivals honoring the women of the community. Gelede masquerades often serve as a showcase for artistic innovation, with their masks depicting motifs that are both entertaining and critical.

Aug 5, 2023 · The Gelede masquerade is deeply rooted in Yoruba culture, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. It is believed to have originated in the 18th century and has since become an integral part of Yoruba society.