Abo Egungun Festival

It’s December 2024, and my family and I have embarked on the six-hour drive to my husband’s village in Kogi State. I fell in love with Kabba the first time I visited—especially during Christmas, when the town truly comes alive. The festive season brings a vibrant energy, and Kabba never disappoints when it comes to local entertainment.

One of the highlights of the season is a traditional masquerade festival that no visitor should miss.

The Abo Egungun Festival is a deeply rooted cultural celebration among the Okun people, a Yoruba-speaking group in Kogi State. Held in Kabba, the festival honors ancestral spirits through vivid masquerade performances, rhythmic drumming, music, and communal gatherings that bridge generations.

In Yoruba tradition, "Egungun" represents the spirits of the ancestors, believed to return from the spirit world to bless, guide, or caution the living. Each Egungun appears in distinctive attire and moves with its own rhythm and purpose. Some are humorous, others command reverence, and a few are sacred—rarely seen, but always felt.

The festival is more than entertainment; it’s a spiritual ritual, a tribute to those who came before, and a living connection to the past.

I’ve attended the Abo Egungun Festival in Kabba more than once. And each time, I feel as though my camera and I are being welcomed a little deeper into the heart of it all—into the inner circle of a tradition both mysterious and magnificent.

Enjoy some of my work here.