POIGNANT POETICS: THE AESTHETICS OF IGBO MASK CHANTS
The Igbo of South-Eastern Nigeria are an ethnic group known for their many and culturally rich traditions. The mask or mm?nw? cult, one of these traditions, is a haloed institution among the Igbo. The masks are regarded as ancestral spirits that visit the land of the living periodically in order to commune, direct and intervene where necessary, in human affairs. These masks play numerous roles of which chanting words and poems of wisdom and entertainment in a sort of dramatic performance could function as either a means to an end or an end in itself. This paper through the context-based pragmatic analysis theoretical framework method examines these chants and finds them laden with aesthetic elements which are functional, entertaining and satisfying as any poetic performance or verse could be.
Keywords: aesthetics, chants, igbo, mask, poetics, poignant