Obugulu Mau Masquerade: Egu Agu

Image Masquerades

A close-up of an Obugulu Mau masquerader wearing a decorated helmet mask and harlequin-like costume.

Egu Agu (Money Finish) masquerader in an Obugulu Mau (Ghost) performance, Amuda village. From the G.I. Jones Collection, 1932-1938.

A photograph depicting a close-up portrait of a masquerader known as Egu Agu (Money Finish) during an Obugulu Mau (Ghost) masquerade. The figure wears a helmet mask with a complex superstructure decorated with cloth, tassels, and fibrous material. The mask is pale with symmetrical dark geometric patterns on the cheeks and forehead. The masquerader is dressed in a brightly coloured, harlequin-like costume featuring a cloth cloak tied around the neck over a woven or net cloth attached to the mask. In the mid-ground to the right, several minimally clothed male onlookers are visible. This masquerade type, popular in the 1930s within the Nri-Awka Igbo area, typically featured characters representing a grandmother, mother, and daughters.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 11, 2026

The masquerade is attributed to the Isuochi people (Northern Igbo) within the Nri-Awka cultural area. While documented as Amuda village in the Onitsha Province during the 1930s, this location is in present-day Isuochi, Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State. The original negative was stored in a film album by G.I. Jones labeled “ISU-OCHI - etc. ...” under reference C13/.

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 11, 2026

Obugulu Mau (also spelled Ogbugulu Mau), meaning "Ghost Masquerade," was a traditional dance performed by men to escort the spirits of respected deceased elders to the spirit world. These performances typically featured a family-based troupe consisting of characters representing a grandmother, a mother, and several daughters.

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 11, 2026

Egu Agu (also recorded as Ego Ago), translating to "Money Finish" or "Money is Exhausted," represents one of the daughter characters. The name refers to the high social status and cost involved in maintaining such costumes. Other characters in the Amuda village troupe include Iro Ekpetu (Merciless) and Nwabogho Efi (Heifer). As detailed in Ogbugulu Mau Masquerader Performing in Amuda Village, these daughter masks featured superstructures constructed from wire and cane covered in wools, streamers, and cloth tassels. This performance is further documented on page 143 of G.I. Jones's 1984 publication, The Art of Eastern Nigeria.