Abstract

This study seeks to interpret the iconography and ethno-aesthetic of Adada masquerade of the Nsukka Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria, an iconic system imbued with mystical aura and uncommon beauty. Adada is also a compendium of Igbo cultural history and a storehouse of Igbo knowledge and worldview. Despite its socio-cultural significance in the life of Nsukka Igbo people, Adada masquerade has not received deserved attention of scholars and researchers. Building on Victor Turner’s theory of cultural liminality which identifies a betwixt and between state in the middle phase of rites of passage, the study examines how the cultural ingredients of Adada masquerade anchor, ritualize and project the cultural identity of Nsukka Igbo people within the changing fields of society. Art historical approach was used in analyzing data collected through fieldwork carried out in three communities in Nsukka Igbo area. This involved participant observation in Adada masquerade performance in Ovoko community in 2014, photographic documentation of the masquerade and oral interviews with 17 relevant stakeholders comprising masquerade initiates and elders in the three communities. The iconography and aesthetics of Adada contain irresistible cultural ingredients that reveal how Nsukka Igbo people contained the liminal conditions of cross-cultural encounters. However, Adada’s absence from the public space in recent times shows how acculturative agents like Christian evangelism, urbanism and modernism have adversely affected the willingness to animate the masquerade whose outing and performance is both entertaining and didactic.

摘要

这项研究旨在解释尼日利亚东南部Nsukka Igbo人的Adada化装舞会的肖像画和民族美学，这是一个充满神秘气息和罕见美感的标志性系统。阿达达（Adada）也是伊博文化历史的缩影，也是伊博知识和世界观的仓库。尽管Adada假面舞会在Nsukka Igbo人的生活中具有社会文化意义，但并未受到学者和研究人员的应有重视。在维克多·特纳（Victor Turner）的文化合法性理论的基础上，该理论确定了通俗仪式中间阶段的中间状态与中间状态，该研究考察了Adada化装舞会的文化成分如何在不断变化的领域内锚定，仪式化和投射Nsukka Igbo人的文化身份社会。艺术历史方法被用来分析通过在Nsukka Igbo地区的三个社区进行的实地调查收集的数据。这涉及参与者观察2014年Ovoko社区的Adada假面舞表演，假面舞的照片记录以及对三个社区中包括假面舞会同伴和长者在内的17个相关利益方的口头访谈。Adada的肖像和美学包含不可抗拒的文化成分，这些成分揭示了Nsukka Igbo人如何容纳跨文化相遇的边缘条件。但是，阿达达（Adada）近期不在公共场所，这表明基督教传福音，城市主义和现代主义等文化因素如何对假装化装的意愿产生不利影响，假装的外观和表演既有趣又有说服力。