By Jean Ambele
Abuja – It was a sight to behold as participants at the Masquerade Fiesta thrilled residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and other visitors with their acrobatic dance steps.
The Masquerade Fiesta, organised as part of activities at the ongoing Abuja Carnival, held at the Eagle Square on Monday.
The event featured four states namely; Bayelsa, Kogi, Nasarawa and the FCT.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the costumes of most of the masquerades were scary, but, however attractive.
Some of the masquerades that thrilled the audience include; Soroniya and Apaka from Kogi, Mada from Nasarawa, and Agori from Bayelsa among others.
Some of the residents described the Masquerade Fiesta as exciting and entertaining.
Mr Osaka Eze, a civil servant described the event as thrilling and exciting, adding that he has heard about masquerades before, but never had the opportunity to see them life.
According to him, masquerades are part of our tradition which must not be allowed to go into extinction.
Eze noted that some of our traditional heritages such as masquerades were being condemned by some religious leaders, who describe them as fetish.
“Tradition should not be mixed up with religion, as they are two different things entirely.
“Even the bible recognises tradition, and so it must be accorded its place in our society,’’ he said.
Miss Joy Adavi, a student who was visibly excited, told NAN that it was her first time of seeing masquerades perform, adding that in her home town women were not allowed to see them.
She commended the organisers of the carnival and urged them to make necessary logistics available to enable more states participate in the event.
Mohammed Egye, the Director of Culture, Nasarawa State Ministry of Culture, said every masquerade dance displayed symbolised something.
Egye said that the dance steps by the masquerades had a form of importance in their tradition which could not be changed or abandoned.
“These masquerade performances have been known to be economically beneficial, because they have helped attract foreign investors over the years
“Foreigners have been attracted to our dances and masquerade costumes, therefore we as Nigerians should be proud of the traditional concepts of arts that we have.
“I am really impressed with the states that were able to make it for this carnival, in spite of the economic challenges that the teams may be facing.
“Most of all, I am really pleased with the dedication and hard work put into the preparation of these dances by all the states that performed here this afternoon.’’
According to him, these teams have come here today to showcase the beauty in the dance depicting their culture and tradition.
Shaibu Hussein, a member of the Abuja Carnival Committee, said he was happy that the few states that were able to participate in the fiesta made a memorable one.
“We all know that the carnival this year has lower turnout and we can’t really blame the states that did not show up because it is quite expensive to prepare for such an event.
“The current economic hardship has caused depletion in the excitement and diversity of this year’s carnival, however, the few states in attendance have made it memorable.
“We are really pleased with the masquerade performance by Bayelsa, FCT, Kogi and Nassarawa because they really entertained us today.
“We learnt that the masquerades displayed by each state are used for national, state and traditional celebrations and other ceremonies.
“We hope to continue to use this platform to encourage Nigerians to develop interest in exploring the beauty of other tribes and culture within Nigeria,” he said.