Adamma: a contemporary Igbo maiden spirit

African Arts, Autumn, 2003 by Benjamin Hufbauer, Bess Reed

Although the main theme of the Adamma play and the act of masquerading itself are deeply rooted in Igbo tradition, the main character's costume and movements are contemporary components of southern Nigerian culture. A variety of dance styles invigorate Adamma's performance. For example, Nigerian women told us that young people should have a fast, energetic dance style, while the movements of elders should be slow and controlled to reflect their greater wisdom, status, and calmness. They also said that men should dance more vigorously than women. Adamma's dancing was an active, male-inflected version of young women's dance that sent dust flying around her feet and the rows of bells sewn on her legs jingling (Fig. 15). Periodically, however, one would glimpse some other dance movements. One night at an Enugu restaurant, we saw the pop singer Michael Jackson performing endlessly on an MTV videotape loop. With white-gloved hands he pressed the air in front of his body, pushed his palms down to his sides, and snapped his fingers as he sauntered about. At the Mmanwu Festival, the Adamma masker appeared to have incorporated elements of Jackson's dance routines, which themselves sometimes bear traces of African kinesthetic practices. The mix of Igbo tradition and global popular culture made for a quintessentially contemporary performance. This appropriation of and reinvention of pop star behavior was also expressed by Adamma's waving at the audience and her posing for the cameras.

[FIGURE 15 OMITTED]

In recent decades Igbo women have become increasingly active participants in the Nigerian economy, selling in the markets, running shops, and becoming college-educated professionals. Many are powerful, assertive, and glamorous as well as virtuous, dedicated, and hard working. Sometimes their new roles seem to conflict with traditional social values, leaving the subject of women's vanity ripe for parodic critique by men. This present-day situation is expressed in Adamma, just as participation in contemporary global society is reflected by the masking troupe's appropriation of Michael Jackson's dance moves and its adoption of the video medium and the theatrical scenario. Through her style, context, and dramatic form, Adamma ties together tradition, innovation, and contemporary experience in an entertaining masquerade.

[This article was accepted for publication in May 2001.]

The information presented here was gathered in Enugu, Aku, Ikolo, and Akama in 1993 and 1994 when we were in Nigeria studying the Mmanwu Festival. We would like to thank the following people for sharing their time, knowledge, and creativity with us while we were in Nigeria: Jasper Amankulor (February and March 1994), Charles Ezeorah (November-December 1993 and January-March 1994 in Enugu, Aku, and Nsukka), Elizabeth Okara (Enugu, March 1994), Lawrence Emeka (Enugu, December 1993 and March 1994), Robert Maduakor (October-December 1993, January-February 1994), Dorothy Obi (October-December 1993 and January-March 1994), Eunice Obi (January 1994), Fride Okoh (November and December 1993), Chief Nwakolobia Agu (January-March 1994), B. Egbeji (Enugu, November-December 1993, January-March 1994), R. Maduakor (Enugu, October-December 1993), and A. Umeh (Enugu, March 1994). We also wish to acknowledge the members of the Adamma masquerade troupe who performed so well in 1993 and 1994, as well as the many others who helped us in countess ways. Special thanks go to Simon Ottenberg, to the anonymous reviewers of African Arts, and finally to H.M. Cole, who gave us countless hours of advice and encouragement. This research was undertaken in part by a grant from the Santa Barbara Friends of Ethnic Arts.