Masked Iconoclasm: The Guerrila Socio-Performative Traditions of Gelede-Efe and Pyrate-Efe

Abstract

Cosmically, gelede-efe masques, personifying the nocturnal sign, and gelede-ajogi masques, representing the diurnal sign, reinforce Yoruba's correspondence principle as symbolised in the edan Ogboni. Thus, order is integral to the total gelede carnivalesque.

Communal rejuvenation defines, more profoundly, the African artistic or performative value. Efe's construction of social order privileges didactic entertainment over spectacular artistry, which the ajogi emphasises. Though gelede's popular art-identity owes more to its reformative potency than its entertainment potential, previous investigations have side-lined its influence on contemporary performance art. Convinced of this strong impact, a certainty of its popularity, my purview is the aesthetic dialogue between gelede-efe and a modern Nigerian protest art Pyrates Confraternity's sally culture. the

Conceptually grounded in the satiric and guerrilla artistic theories, the paper reveals radical dissension and reform as ideological platforms of efe masking. This indexes the performer's non-conformist temperament and formally crystallises the performance as a guerrilla art, thus an engagement guided by a functionalist intention.

The gelede-efe guerrilla performance theory is then applied in interrogating the subversive and invective art of the Pyrates Confraternity a socio-humanitarian group that commands a robust repertory of satiric and correctional songs. A parallel is established between Yoruba indigenous gelede-efe masker and this Nigerian contemporary paradigm: both are guerrilla artists, iconoclasts and social performers.