HALLOWEEN AND IGBA MMAWU: A TALE OF THE SAME MASKS AND THE LOST PRIDE OF THE IGBO
There is an ancient Igbo proverb that says, “A man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot know where he dried his body.” This truth echoes deeply in our times, as we, Africans—especially the Igbo —find ourselves celebrating the strange while neglecting the sacred. Every October, we see our youths painting their faces, wearing strange costumes, and shouting “Happy Halloween !” Yet, in this masquerade of imitation, we fail to see that Halloween and igba mmáwù—the masquerade festival—are one and the same in purpose, spirit, and symbolism. Halloween, in the West, is a day of masks, costumes, and connection with ancestral spirits . In Igbo land , igba mmáwù is our way of honoring our ancestors and unseen forces , a celebration of the mystery that binds the living and the spirit world. So why do we despise our own while glorifying the foreign? It is the disease of inferiority complex , a silent chain that binds the African mind. As our elders say, “ He who does not value ...