The Gelede Yoruba Masquerade

In Yoruba society elderly, ancestral, and deified women are believed to control reservoirs of intense spiritual
power within them. This energy may be directed toward creating new life or bringing about its destruction.
Male members of the community acknowledge and honor female power and authority in masquerade
performances known as Gelede.

Gelede performances are organized annually at the beginning of the

agricultural season, between March and May. Gelede originated in the
center of Ketu in the fourteenth century and subsequently was adopted by
the communities situated along a corridor of trade in western Yorubaland.
Unlike Egungun, which spread throughout Yorubaland, Gelede, like Epa
and Magbo, is a more regionally focused form of expression.

Gelede celebrates motherhood through a diverse range of artistic

representations that address almost every aspect of Yoruba life. Its
sculptural component is a mask in the form of a human head that may be
extended by a superstructure at the summit. Over the lifetime of a mask's
use, from one year's performance to the next, it may be physically altered
by its owners. This refurbishment may be limited to the application of new
layers of paint or it may involve the more extensive alteration of adding
attachments to the superstructure. Such changes, which may completely
transform the subject matter of the headdress, reflect the ongoing aesthetic
input of the sculptor or the changing desires of the patron.

Gelede performance
Gelede performance has been described as "the ultimate spectacle." A multimedia sensorial feast composed of
a sequence of dances, it is inaugurated by a series of nighttime performances and rituals known as Efe. On the
afternoon of a Gelede performance, a succession of masquerades unfolds in the order of the performers'
seniority. The setting of the dance arena is the marketplace, a major gathering spot for the community at large.
The market is also the site of social and economic activity controlled by women, who attain wealth and
independence as professional traders in Yoruba society. In each of the dance segments, male dancers proceed
across this arena toward the drummers at the opposite end. Twin dancers, in identical masks and costumes,
refer to the extent of women's control over life, which allows them to bring two identical beings into the
world.

In performance, the mask is painted and integrated into an extensive costume that may incorporate other
sculptural elements, which convey the anatomy of an idealized female figure. These include carved breast and
stomach plates and back plates with babies. Layers of textiles further heighten the figure's grandeur and add
another kinetic dimension to the ensemble.

Two Excerpts from the film Efe/Gelede Ceremonies among the Western Yoruba
These video excerpts are from the film Efe/Gelede Ceremonies among the Western Yoruba by Henry John
Drewal made in the town of Idahin in June 1971. On that occasion, the Metropolitan's Gelede mask was
documented in two distinct creative contexts. In the first, the sculptor Falola Edun completes the lateral hinged
extensions for this mask and for an identical one, both originally carved by his father, Fagbite Asamu. In the
second, this pair of masks appears in performance as the Gelede festival concludes at dusk.

video 1 : The sculptor Falola Edun completing

work on the Gelede Mask. June 1971.
©1997 Henry John

video 2 : The Gelede Mask being danced. June 1971.

©1997 Henry John Drewal.

Gelede Headdress
Fagbite Asamu (Idahin, Ketu region, late 19th-mid-20th century) and Falola Edun (Idahin, Ketu region, b.
1900)
Gelede Headdress, ca. 1930-1971
Wood, nails, pigment
Gift of Roda and Gilbert Graham, 1992 (1992.225.1)
The history of this work's creation reflects an ongoing artistic collaboration between two successive
generations of related artists. It is one of a pair of headdresses that was begun about 1930 by the Ketu master
Fagbite Asamu and completed by his son Falola Edun in June 1971. Fagbite is remembered for his innovative
design of kinetic attachments for Gelede headdresses that could be manipulated by the masker during
performance. The carving of the work's set of hinged attachments by Falola Edun was filmed in 1971 by
Henry John Drewal. Gelede masks are repainted every time they are prepared for performance. The brilliant
colors that once embellished this headdress have since been removed.

The lateral extensions take the form of two enormous snakes devouring antelopes. Depictions of animals
consuming other animals occur frequently in Gelede compositions as metaphors for competing spiritual or
social forces. Although many different animals are drawn upon in Gelede imagery, serpents are especially
appealing for the fluid forms and plastic qualities they afford artists.

The annual Gelede festival honors the creative and dangerous powers of
women elders, female ancestors, and goddesses, known affectionately as
"our mothers." The Gelede headdress often consists of two parts, a lower
mask and an upper superstructure. The lower mask depicts a woman's face,
its composure expressing the qualities of calmness, patience, and "coolness"
desired in women. The static expression and simplicity of this portion of the
headdress contrasts with vitality and diversity of the superstructure. The
design of the superstructure is intended to placate the mothers by displaying
their inner powers for all to see, thus pleasing them and ensuring the well-
being of the community. Birds signify the dangerous noctural powers of
women who act as witches. Snakes symbolize the positive feminine
qualities of patience and coolness. The snake coiled around the front also cautions vigilance with the saying
"the snake sleeps but continues to see." Gelede artists demonstrate their artistry and mastery of the medium by
developing complex imagery within the confines of the basic cylindrical mass of wood. The elaborately
carved example shown here (originally painted in bright colors) exhibits many different forms and angles to
view, as the dancer moves before his admiring audience.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Tauger, 1979.58.9