Eyo Festival, Lagos

The Eyo Festival, otherwise known as the Adamu Orisha Play, is the foremost Yoruba cultural event unique to the city of Lagos (traditional name is Eko). It is usually held to celebrate the life and times of, or in commemoration of the passage or ascension to the throne of an Oba (king). It is also staged as final funeral rites for prominent illustrious citizens of the city. The festival features a procession of thousands of “Agogoro Eyo” (literarily: “tall Eyo”), white-clad masquerades representing the spirit of the dead who dance and celebrate on the streets to cleanse the city and pray for its continuous prosperity and peaceful existence.