An Original Theoretical Investigation into the Semiotics of Mask and Masquerade in Nigerian Performance Traditions

The mask in Nigerian performance traditions functions as a semiotic system of extraordinary complexity, encoding cosmological, social, and political meanings through material, form, movement, and context, and developing an original semiotic theory of masquerade specifically grounded in Nigerian performance provides a major contribution to performance semiotics and cultural theory. This study conducted an original theoretical investigation into the semiotics of mask and masquerade across Nigerian performance traditions, drawing on Igbo, Yoruba, Efik, Tiv, and Hausa masquerade practices. A multi-sited ethnographic and semiotic methodology was employed over 24 months. Field research in 18 communities across five geopolitical zones documented masquerade performances, collecting video, photographic, and ethnographic data. Semiotic analysis employed frameworks from Peirce, Barthes, and Pavis, adapted through critical engagement with African semiotic traditions. An original Nigerian Masquerade Semiotic Framework was developed across five analytical registers: material signification (mask substance and construction meaning), formal signification (shape, colour, and scale coding), kinetic signification (movement vocabulary as text), contextual signification (occasion and spatial meaning), and relational signification (performer-audience-community-spirit triangulation). The framework demonstrates that existing Western performance semiotics inadequately accounts for the triangulated signification system where the mask simultaneously signs to human, ancestral, and cosmological audiences. Expert review by 24 semiotic and performance scholars confirmed the framework's theoretical originality. The study is recommended for international publication and integration into West African performance theory courses.

Keywords: masquerade semiotics, Nigerian performance, mask theory, performance studies, original framework