The Artistic and Aesthetics Analysis of the Costume of Egungun Elewe in Igbomina Land

Abstract

Egungun is believed to be a visible appearance of the dead ancestors as spirits who occasionally revisit the living for festivals. During this visit, the egungun is clothed with beautiful attire that will become the embodiment of attraction. Despite several studies on egungun in Yoruba land, there is no comprehensive study on this type of egungun, thus creating a dearth of literature in this area of art history and thereby leaving in-depth research on the costumes of egungun elewe of Igbomona land. This study is targeted on the artistic and aesthetics analysis of egungun elewe of Igbomina land aiming to promote the Yoruba decorative art to document the findings in the annals of history. The study is descriptive as each of the items of the egungun elewe’s costume is analyzed using the qualitative method. Findings reveal that the role, functions, and cultural significance of the egungun elewe of Igbomina land have aesthetic qualities different from other forms of egungun known in other parts of Africa.