May 22, 2019
"Play of late Chief Ogolo of Opobo - men dressed in ritual costumes." photographed by Arthur Tremearne, c. 1913. MAA Cambridge. Ọkọnkọ masquerade known as Atụ, bush cow.
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"Play of late Chief Ogolo of Opobo - men dressed in ritual costumes." photographed by Arthur Tremearne, c. 1913. MAA Cambridge. Ọkọnkọ masquerade known as Atụ, bush cow.
Okonko masquerader, Umuahia, 1930s. Photo: G. I. Jones.
An Okonko masquerader with a ‘pathological’ face mask, Uzuakoli, 1930s. G. I. Jones.
Hello there, I was wondering if you happened to know the name and/or history of the Okonko masqueraders (the ones whose dress is shaggy all over). the reason I ask is because it seems to be the closest resemblance to my own Barbados' "Shaggy Bear" character in our culture, but any sense of concept or known history has been forgotten by the island.
The ‘shaggy’ raffia Okonko masqueraders are usually referred to as atu (bush cow), other types of masks represent animals such as leopards. Atu are minor players who run around quite aggressively. Okonko masks are usually outed during feasts/festivals (like the new yam festival) and at Okonko initiates funerals. Okonko, associated with the Ekpe festival, is a men’s society which in the past (before the colonial court) represented the highest court in its areas. Okonko was introduced to various Igbo communities (including mine) around the 18th and 19th centuries by the Aro confederacy which controlled much of the slave trade and other economic activities in the area due to the raids they sponsored (on adversaries) and their manipulation of the powerful Ibini Ukpabi oracle which acted like a high court, so Okonko was a kind of political and economic association.
Okonko has actually been linked with the Jonkonu festival which I believe is found in Jamaica and the Bahamas by Douglas Chambers who has written about links between Igbo people and Virginia mainly. Judging by the amount of Igbo people who were arriving in larger numbers to Barbados in the 18th century, and the timing of the rise of Okonko, plus the other cultural links that exist, It looks like the ‘Shaggy Bear’ probably has at least some links to Okonko.
Okonko by Marko Stavric on Flickr.
Okonko on Flickr.
A photo that I took a while ago and recently touched up.