OzikoroThe Power of the Female Gaze: Women’s Role in Kalabari Masquerade Performance
Masquerade traditions across the Niger Delta are often portrayed as exclusively male-controlled institutions, with strict rules prohibiting women from participating as performers. However, among the Kalabari people of Rivers State, the role of women in masquerade culture particularly in the Owu and other water-spirit masquerades, is far more nuanced. While men physically don the masks,…