October 31 is celebrated in many countries across the globe but how is it viewed on the African continent?
As the sun dips below the horizon, a charged eeriness can be felt in the air. Gasps and squeals escape from children who spot masked figures adorned in extravagant costumes emerging amidst the flickering firelight. Rhythmic chanting and steady drum beats only add to the haunting ambience that is already bristling with awe and apprehension.
The scene could easily be interpreted as a traditional Halloween celebration, but it’s actually that of the Egungun festival held by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The annual tradition honors those who have passed on through prayer and dance, with masked performers symbolizing vessels through which the ancestors interact with those still in this realm.
“Africans don’t worship ancestors; they revere them. The approach is holistic — it deals with the spirit, the mind, and the body,” notes Advocate Sipho Mantula who is a researcher at UNISA’s Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs.
“In African culture, the use of masks, symbols, music and dance, and traditional attire is very different from Halloween.”
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Although the spooky holiday has no roots on the continent, Africans are indulging in their own ‘portion of the pumpkin pie’, thanks to globalization.
Club General Manager, Kojo Aidoo has hosted an annual Haunted House party at the Accra-based Front/Back, since 2018.
“We have a massive crowd of expats and Ghanaians who have been schooled abroad. There were no Halloween celebrations in Ghana because it’s something that is from outside, so we decided to create an African version for them to have fun with.”
Alongside typical Halloween décor like skulls and cobwebs, home grown horrors like the cunning Kweku Anansi have also been featured by Aidoo and his team. The Ghanaian folklore character that can be described as a shape-shifting spider has starred in many a chilling tale, appearing as both protagonist and antagonist, depending on who is narrating the story.
“African storytelling usually happens around fire, in a circle, to show infinity, that there is no end,” Mantula explains.
“It is oral spirituality that is passed from one generation to the other.”
For 11 months of the year, Annie’s Angels Party Shop in South Africa’s Western Cape provides costumes for Cape Town’s burgeoning film industry. But come October, the rental store is seemingly the go-to spot for those attending Halloween events.
“We have people queuing outside the shop!” reveals award-winning costume designer, Annie Seegers, who opened the business about 20 years ago.
“The public is able to [view] the entire warehouse and hire from the film stuff. We have things from The Mummy [movie], and recently purchased all the costumes from [television series] Warrior. There is also proper military gear, so Rambo can come and dress himself here.”
In the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, elaborate costumes and extravagant décor are part of what brings The Haunted Circus event, which forms part of Circus 254, to life.
“The feeling is that no matter where you look around you, you’re immersed in the middle of this circus experience, where it kind of blurs the line between the stage and the audience,” explains Circus 254 founder, Kevin van Dijck.
“There are clowns walking around handing people balloons, there are magicians, acrobats, fire-breathers, contortionists…”
Previous years have featured coffins, dozens of carved pumpkins, and performances inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, but for van Dijck, who goes by the stage name DJ Kace, it was important to infuse an element of Africa into the experience.
“We thought to ourselves, what does Halloween look like within an African context? So we thought, ‘okay, let’s maybe play around with one or two of the costumes, and dress people up as witch doctors’.
“There’s something about interacting with someone who’s dressed up or in costume that kind of takes down people’s walls and makes them more willing to just jump into an experience,” he adds.
It’s been reported that Halloween originally stems from Samhain, the Celtic harvest festival marking summer’s end however, this point has also been disputed, with some claiming that there is no link between the two.
“What people consider as abnormal can easily be categorized as witchcraft and can lead to accusations,” says Matthew Mabefam who lectures on Development Studies at the University of Melbourne.
He spent almost a year living in one of northern Ghana’s segregated settlements known as a ‘witch camp’ where those accused of witchcraft seek refuge after being banished from their communities.
Van Dijck adds, “I had a potential food vendor pull out, saying that they couldn’t get involved in a Halloween event because of religious constraints.”
“But I think with time, people will come to understand that it’s just another excuse to have a fun time and dress up.”
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