Masquerade & Santa Claus
My first encounter with masquerade was in Onitsha. I was on my way to a laundry shop when they blocked the bike man carrying me. I wasn't only flogged mercilessly, I was also robbed by them! Unbelievable right?
In Ogidi, I wasn't only beaten by masquerade, they nearly knocked me off the bike. This happened on my way to a Church meeting. That would have been my end if I fell off the bike. I sustained serious injury that lasted for months.
At Uli, before my very eyes, a young girl was flogged and disgraced publicly. What was her crime? She is a woman and isn't supposed to be seen outside when masquerades are on parade and she was new to the town, didn't know about their culture.
Then, someone looks me in the face and say that our masquerades are the same thing with Santa Claus. That's rubbish argument. Santa Claus comes with gifts, kids can play with Santa, sit on his lap, sing Christmas songs, fondle with his white beards and wish to spend more time with him...
This is not about Santa being of Christian origin or not. That's not my argument, it's about the lame comparison of Santa with our village masquerades. We can also delve into the discussions of the origin of both and the purpose of their origin, then we can see even more vividly that the argument of being the same thing is lame.
Till date, my heart skips at the sight of masquerades. It's in Asaba that I can shrug shoulders with a Masquerade because it's simply worn by folks who just want to have fun, collect 20 naira and drink beer. In Ibusa and some other Igbo towns in Delta State, there is no such thing as masquerades and there is no culture or event that forbids people from leaving their houses and going about their normal businesses.
The difference between Santa Claus and Muo-onwu are two parallel lines that can never meet. For starters, muo-onwu is a Spirit in Igbo culture, the Spirit of the dead while Santa Claus is based on tradition surrounding St. Nicholas who was always giving gifts.
Dey your dey.