In the story, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, egwugwu are the spirits of the ancestors of Nigerian tribes. Great men of these tribes wear masks that can have a rather terrifying look about them, which is exactly how it is supposed to make you feel.
The most disgraceful things you can do to an egwugwu would be to unmask it in public, which kills the spirit. When an egwugwu dies, the mother spirit cries a dreadful cry for the death of her son for a week.
The egwugwu were also summoned whenever the villagers needed to settle disputes in a court. The spirits of the ancestors were said to be the highest judges in the land.
Enoch, a Christian convert, unmasks an egwugwu, killing it.
Okonkwo did play the role of an egwugwu in the egwugwu court.
Enoch's unmasking of the egwugwu enrages the clan, and forces them into option.
Each egwugwu represents a village of the clan. There are nine villages in the clan.
eh-gwoo-goo
One of the egwugwu was unmasked, killing the egwugwu.
Enoch, a Christian convert, unmasks an egwugwu, killing it.
The chief egwugwu is called Evil Forest.
Okonkwo did play the role of an egwugwu in the egwugwu court.
"Egwugwu" is used in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe to represent the gods.
Enoch's unmasking of the egwugwu enrages the clan, and forces them into option.
The egwugwu gather for several reasons:FestivalsCourtFuneralsRevenging the death of one of their own.
Each egwugwu represents a village of the clan. There are nine villages in the clan.
When Enoch unmasks the egwugwu, he desecrates and kills it. The other egwugwu attempt to hide the face of the egwugwu from the public. For the rest of the week, the wailing of the mother egwugwu is heard throughout the villages, a somber song for her mourned son. Eventually all of the tribes gather. They end up burning down Enoch's compound, and the church where Enoch hides.
Egwugwu were present in many ceremonies in the Igbo culture. They were present at funerals of honoured men, to pay homage to dead warriors. There was also an egwugwu court, where they would preside over cases among mortals.
The egwugwu are ancestral spirits of the clan. It is not known how many there are specifically. In tribal courts of Umuofia, there are 9 egwugwu, one representing each village. A notable egwugwu is the Mother of Spirits, who makes an appearance after one of her sons is killed. Another is Ajofia, the leading egwugwu of Umuofia.
The women's attitude towards the egwugwu is that they are to respect them. They are not to go to their house, yet they are the ones to paint the walls on the outside