Terrifying Beauty

Hello steemians

Errrm, before the main story, here's a quick story.

@steemitboard is having a contest for the scariest Halloween story.This actually inspired the story you are about to read. I am from Nigeria, we do not celebrate Halloween. But, something comes to mind when I hear the word Halloween. A festival that we call the EGUN or EGUNGUN FESTIVAL. Funny how i think about that cause they have very liltle in common and wide differences. I am gonna write about that.

Enjoy....

The Egun festival is a traditional festival practiced by the Yorubas. It's not celebrated in a day . It runs from may to June. It's believed that once they are in there attires, they are no longer humans but spirit of their ancestors.

There's an hierarchy amongst the Egungun. The lowest on the chain are those that actually do what we can refer to as their own 'trick or treating'.

No, they do not get candies
They get cash.

Those at the top of the chain can be terrifying. They walk around with a crowd chasing people to move out of their way. Also their attire isn't complete without the whip. That, they use in flogging people in the way of spirits.

The most terrifying ones has the most beautiful attires... So colourful.

I lived in Lagos for the most part of my life and an Egungun shrine is next to my house. I hear them. There's a lot of screaming and incantations. But not when they come out...they are all masked up from head to toe ...very colourful and beautiful thing

Also there are some rites carried out for all those participating. It's said that you can't wear the garment without those rites

It's a taboo, they say.

And ..ooh

The dance.

I wonder if knowing how to dance is part of the qualifications required to participate or you automatically become a great dancer cause it involves dark magic.

Yea Dark magic! We will get there.

How well they dance. They tumble and turn gracefully.

Do you believe in dark magic?
Well, I do. I have seen things.

There's a showcase/celebration at the final day of the festival.That's where you see the magic.

For the shrine in my street, they do their performance right in front of the house.They take over the whole street. A lot of people travel down for this event. It's always crowded ...too crowded

Mum wouldn't allow us go outside during showcase, it's dangerous she said. Even if we did sneak out, I bet we end up being trampled on.

After a lot of begging and pleading my elder brother took me to the hospital on our street. It's a tall building, we went to the last floor so we could watch the performance. We had to go an hour earlier before they started. Movement would be the difficult once it's on.

I actually saw humans change to snakes and change back. The priest tries to calm them by pouring some watery looking thing on them.And even sometimes that doesn't work.

It was a sight.

The energy they exudes made me believe they are actually taken over by some spirit. It takes 6-8 men to hold them down when they erupt.

People get injured trying to calm them.

But at the end.They dance so much you forgot how dangerous they can get

And the prayers.

Haaaa... Those are one damn long prayer session. Everyone wants a prayer from the spirit, I suppose.

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