Egungun Festival graces streets on San Juan

Trindad and Tobago: The Heritage Masquerade under Egungun Festival 2024 graced the country, Trinidad and Tobago as it was held in San Juan which is one of the towns in the country on July 27, 2024.

The Heritage Masquerade was held with the purpose to pay homage to the ancestors of the First people and African people. To celebrate the indigenous people of the country, this parade marks great entertainment.

The festival commemorates the African ancestral lineage and the Black Indians who are the mixture of African and indigenous people. Every year, the festival is celebrated in honor of the ancestors and heritage.

The country has been celebrating the festival for more than 15 years. As every year, this year as well, the country celebrated the festival with great enthusiasm. The Egungun dances were performed during the festival at the La Venezuela Gardens at the Santa Cruz Old Road that marked an immense celebration.

Considerably, there were even several of the Yoruba masqueraders who were dressed in colorful costumes, and they made several stops in the community while moving around. 

While, the glimpses came out of the festival, the feature at Petit Curacaye, Santa Cruz Road

 came into light is as follows-

• Members of the Omo Oduduwa Institute
• An Egungun dances 

Further, the feature came ahead at the La Venezuela Gardens, Santa Cruz Old Road are as follows-

• A Black Indian performing the libation ritual 
• An Egungun dances

The festival outlines the rich culture of Trinidad and Tobago through costumes, dance, music, and various other activities. Under the Egungun festival, at the masquerades, egungun dancers completely cover their body layer upon layer of cloth and come ahead with the cultural embedded costumes.

The festival has originated from the Yoruba religion of South West Africa, is dedicated to their ancestors where they pay them honor.