Egungun

thumb|Egungun, masked costumed figures of the Yoruba people in Oyo, Oyo State|Oyo

Egungun (Yoruba language: Egúngún, also known as Ará Ọ̀run; "the collective dead") in the broadest sense is any Yoruba masquerade or masked, costumed figure. More specifically, it is a Yoruba masquerade for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collective force. Eégún is the reduced form (abbreviation through syllable elision) of the word egúngún and has the same meaning. There is a misconception that Eegun/Egun (Yoruba language: Eégún) is the singular form, or that it represents the ancestors while Egúngún is the masquerade or the plural form. This misconception is common in the Americas by Orisa devotees that do not speak Yorùbá language as a vernacular. Egungun is a visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings. thumb|Egungun in the city of Ouidah