Sarcouncil Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

Abstract: Masking, otherwise known in some linguistic parlance as masquerading has remained an eloquent means of expression in traditional African nay Nigerian societies especially among the Igbo of South-Eastern Nigeria. There has been, over the years, various modes and means of performing masking according to the traditional codes of the performing cultures or societies. However, at the turn of the 21st Century and the consistent tilt towards globalization and the new media technologies, most traditional performance genres began a struggle for survival in order to remain relevant in a digital age. The problem of this study therefore is an appraisal of masking among the Igbo in the face of the rising face of media technology with the aim of re-positioning it within a performative framework that will meet the tests of the digital age especially with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study finds that masking can survive in the new age in spite of the pandemic if it is made more secular and media friendly. It thus recommends that adherents of Igbo culture should aim at bringing Igbo masking performances within the Intangible Cultural Heritage by playing down on the sacred and exhibiting more of the aesthetics and entertainment aspects of the performance