Developing an Original Methodology for the Comparative Analysis of West African Masquerade Visual Traditions

West African masquerade traditions constitute the most extensive and diverse performance and visual art system in the world, yet the methodological frameworks available for comparative analysis across the enormous diversity of forms, functions, and cultural contexts remain inadequate for systematic cross-tradition scholarship. This study developed an original comparative analysis methodology for West African masquerade visual traditions, with primary reference to Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Beninois masquerade systems. A methodology development approach was employed, combining critical review of existing masquerade scholarship methods (61 publications from 2015 to 2024), pilot application of comparative frameworks to 24 masquerade traditions, and expert validation. Critical review of existing scholarship confirmed that masquerade studies are primarily tradition-specific ethnographies, with systematic cross-tradition comparison methodologically underdeveloped. Pilot comparative analysis tested four existing methodological approaches (iconological analysis, performance studies frameworks, anthropological structural analysis, and visual cultural analysis), identifying the limitations of each for West African masquerade comparison. The original West African Masquerade Comparative Analysis Framework (WAMCAF) proposes a five-dimensional comparison architecture: costume visual grammar (structural rules governing form construction), social function topology (classification of social functions served), spiritual-cosmological framework (ontological basis of masquerade identity), sound-movement integration (relationship between music, movement, and visual display), and transmission-protection systems (knowledge transmission and community access rules). Each dimension includes standardised documentation protocols and comparative analytical tools. Expert review by 18 masquerade scholars confirmed the framework's methodological advance.

Keywords: masquerade comparative methodology, West African masquerade, visual analysis methodology, original methodology, performance arts