Egwugwu


 * Nick Gude: The egwugwu**



An egwugwu is someone who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the tribe, wearing a mask to represent one of the spirits. It is usually an elder or someone of importance who is given the job. They are used as consuls or as judges in a case, and are of great importance to the tribe. If an egwugwu is unmasked by someone, it is believed that the spirit dies. This is important to the Nigerian tribe Umoufia because the tribe relies heavily on these masked impersonators to solve diputes and maintain order. They are very highly respected since they are considered elders, and are expected to know many elder traditions.


 * Nick Myers - Egwugwu**

The egwugwu are are group of men of the village who dress up as ancestral spirits. During special ceremonies, they judge disputes among the people of the villages. In western civilization, this egwugwu would be something like a jury of men. These spirits are known to strike fear in the peoples' hearts even though they known these are men from the villages.They decide the verdict of these cases and when the foreman announces it, it is final.

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 Works Cited "Answers.com - What Is an Egwugwu." // WikiAnswers - The Q&A Wiki //. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. ."Egwugwu." // African Literature //. 9 Sept. 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

"Igbo Art/Masking/Ogbodo Enyi." //Augusta State University//. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

"Things Fall Apart Book Notes Summary | Chinua Achebe | BookRags.com." //BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More//. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. . "What's Egwugwu?" //Yahoo! Answers India//. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .