The 'Adamma' act is a dance drama. It can only be appreciated fully if one watches the entire episode. What is in this video clip is just a fractions. So the child masquerade stumbling and the mother masquerade coming to the rescue was part of the act. This is traditional Igbo/African theatre in action.
The Maa cult though maintains some level of secreacy, but only regarding what happens in the Ögba, (grove) and during their night outings. When they display in the day time, they do so with great funfair and it is often heavily entertaining to all, both male and female. Cont....
Most of the other displays apart from adamma are Okoro Maa, which is the male equivalent of Adamma, or you may call it Adamma's husband. Okoro maa is the energetic masquarade in in the video. The Omaba is also part of the Maa display, so also is the agressive Atu (Male Deer) whose dance is combined with trampling on the crowd. There is also the Ikwökö etc. Cont.....
@okpalaj Adamma is a feminine masquerade, like what ijaws call oshio mini use to like it in those days before i became Christian at heart, i like the dance steps though there tight, i could even tell a bit about it cuz i participated in my village but that was ijaw, if u look at the cloth covering his genital area thats simliar to that obtained in masoni rituals remember these africans were once custodian of these religious Hebraic rites.
I'm half Igbo but I know next to nothing of my heritage. (yes, I'm still mad at both my parents) Can someone please tell me what this particular masquerade personifies, - I'm thinking it's called "Adamma" correct me if I'm wrong - what's its meaning and the story behind it? Also do we call these spirits mmuo or mmwanwu (sp)? Thank you!
Maazi ukabia I greet u. I agree with you regarding the 'Agbogho mmuo, but I beg to correct the fact that Adamma is a new concept derived from agbogho mmuo. Adamma has always been there and its origin is in most parts of enugwu area. As a matter of fact adamma is just one part of the repertoir of the Mmaa cult's publis display. What happened was that in the eighties young members of the Mmaa cult cleverly turned it into a single display....to be continued
@okpalaj adamma is most like a female water spirit thing, the dances were the dances were probably used for traditional worship in Israel but corrupted to idolatry.
I must admit that the Adamma display, with the drama involved still maintained the original Maa display, but in limited fashion. If you have watched the latest video of Adamma you will find the complete Maa display incorporated in it. I still have a load of original clips from village cultural dispays, just hope I will find time to upload them. Deemnu
u can call it either: "mmuo or Mmanwu"....Adamma literally means "good daughter/girl or beautiful daughter/girl"....i blive the later was what they meant tho...therefore, an mmuo/mmanwu called an adamma basically dances, dresses and behaves like a beautiful girl as seen in the video. Since its unheard of/an abomination for women to dress up as mmuo/mmanwu, men usually have to fill these roles wich makes it more intriguing and entertaining....Hope that helps :)
u can call it either: "mmuo or Mmanwu"....Adamma literally means "good daughter/girl or beautiful daughter/girl"....i blive the later was what they meant tho...therefore, an mmuo/mmanwu called an adamma basically dances, dresses and behaves like a beautiful girl as seen in the video. Since its unheard of/an abomination for women to dress up as mmuo/mmanwu, men usually have to fill these roles wich makes it more intriguing and entertaining....Hope that helps :)
