Connecting Cultures

 Egungun masquerade garment

African Quilt

Is there any relation?

One question that came to mind during our lecture on the Egungun Masquerades this week was if there was a connection between the Egungun dance garment that the Yoruba peoples dance and quilting.  Looking at the fabrics, I made the visible connection because of the different patterns and colors, which reminded me of quilts that I’ve seen in my family.   As I was researching more on the Internet and in my textbook to see if there was any connection at all between these two historically, I didn’t find much information.  However, I did find some similarities and differences that have to do with these beautifully put together pieces.

The Yoruba peoples create the Egungun for performances that include costumes, dance, music, poetry and interaction between the dancers and the crowd.  The Egungun helps the Yoruba peoples communicate with the spirit world, while they entertain the living.  Our textbook tells us that the Egungun first appeared among the Oyo Yoruba and may have been developed in response to ancestral celebrations of the Nupe peoples (252).  The Yoruba peoples ancestors are believed to help the living community if they are shown honor through the Egungun.  Our textbook also mentions the The Egungun, like the ancestors they are associated with, are identified with specific families.  They play a regulating role in the family and serve as a link between the living and the dead (252).  The Egungun dancers are possessed with the spirits of their ancestors.

African quilting doesn’t have much documentation on it, however it has been traced back to the Yoruba peoples.  Quilts were made for trading purposes.  The characteristics that were sometimes incorporated in quilting were weaving, large shapes and colors, asymmetry, improvisation, patterning, applique and record keeping, religious symbols, and protective charms.

Some of the similarities that I came up with, although there isn’t much connection between the two besides their bright colors and patterns that are applied are; family influence and trading purposes.  In the American culture those who make quilts (those who make them in my family anyways) make them to help their family members remember them.  They can achieve this by using cloth with sentimental value to the quilts or by personalizing them.  Not all quilt makers make quilts for the purpose of ancestral remembrances, sometimes they make them for a hobby or to sell them to others much like the African quilters made their quilts for trading purposes.  There are many more differences than there are similarities, however in a way I can see a connection.  The Yoruba peoples dance their Egungun and the focus is mainly on the spiritual possession that their ancestors take control of is one difference.  Another difference is that although they share the influence of the ancestral makeup behind these objects the Egungun is done in a much more powerful way than quilting is done.  Egungun is danced to cover the face and sometimes they even use masks or other costumes to cover themselves, while the quilt is just used to keep warm or to be put on display.

Although these two objects have more differences than similarities the most important thing that they have in common is the visual connection between them.  Both are made in a way to catch peoples attention and make you think about your ancestors and in my opinion, that’s important enough to compare.