Mmanwu: The Spiritual and Cultural Embodiment of Igbo Tradition
The word Mmanwu comes from two Igbo words: mma (meaning “belle-belle” or beauty) and nwu (meaning “die”). So, it means “belle-belle which is dead, or “spirit that has beauty.” It is like the ancestors who come back wearing black masks, and they act as middlemen between living people and the spirit world. They protect tradition,…