ABSTRACT
This study appreciated Masquerades and Artistic Elements and the manner in which they are presented and their stream of impart on Carnivals. Interest in the research was motivated by the prominence accorded masquerades during carnival festivals in Abuja National Carnival, Carnival Calabar and the Rivers State Carnival from 2008 to 2012: their role in tourism development and the dearth of literature on the subject. Interestingly, these carnivals are hosted in the state capitals and the federal capital territory respectively away from their original habitats, in variance with Section 10, 1992 Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Decree (NTDC) which empowers the Local Government Areas the responsibility to host this event. This action however, does have its consequences on the masquerade performance and the motive for hosting the event.Literature reviewed include; Masquerades in Africa, Masquerades in Rivers State and their significance in Carnival Rivers, Origin of Carnivals, Origin and Growth of Carnival Rivers and the Artistic Elements in Carnival Rivers. The research adopted a combinationof different research methods but centered on the historical method. It employed the step recommended by Ndagi (1999) which dealth with the documentation, evaluation and explanation in appreciating over thirty (30) masquerades identified in the Carnival Rivers. Findings revealed that Carnival Rivers commenced in 1988. The significance of masquerades in Carnival Rivers was purely to entertain and attract tourists to the State.While hostingthe carnival in the State capital (Port Harcourt) has the question of authenticity and sustainability to deal with, the Artistic Elements such as,
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masquerades, floats, dance, drama, posters, comedy and sculptures were identified and described. It was recommended that, the Rivers State Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency should engage researchers to document all aspects of the carnival to enhance the availability of literature for posterity. Further study should be carried out in the area of design elements by a Graphic Artist and the impact of the carnival to the economy of the State by an Economist.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
Certification ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………………………….. v
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… vii
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………………. ix
List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………. xiii
List of Plates …………………………………………………………………………………………………… xiv
List of Maps ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. xxi
List of Appendices ………………………………………………………………………………………….. xxii
Definition Of Terms ……………………………………………………………………………………….. xxvi
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study ……………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Aim and Objectives of the Study ………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Research Questions …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Justification for the study …………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Significance of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Scope and Delimitation ……………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Conceptual Framework ……………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Research Limitations ………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
Origin and Historical Development of Carnivals ………………………………………………….. 14
The Origin of Carnivals …………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
Masquerades in Africa ………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
Masquerades in Nigeria …………………………………………………………………………………….. 31
Masquerades in Rivers State ………………………………………………………………………………. 39
Nwaotam Masquerade ………………………………………………………………………………………. 44
Major Carnivals in Nigeria ………………………………………………………………………………… 59
Abuja National Carnival ……………………………………………………………………………………. 60
Carnival Calabar ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 62
Origin of Carnival Rivers ………………………………………………………………………………….. 63
Tourism …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 66
Cultural Tourism ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 68
Rural Tourism and Sustainable Development ………………………………………………………. 70
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 73
Research Design and Procedure …………………………………………………………………………. 73
Field Work ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75
Instruments for Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………….. 77
Use of Questionnaire ………………………………………………………………………………………… 77
Personal Observation ………………………………………………………………………………………… 78
Oral Interview ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 78
Photography and Video …………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
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Pilot Study ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 79
Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 82
CHAPTER FOUR
DOCUMENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 83
Rivers State Carnival 2012 ………………………………………………………………………………… 83
Masquerades at the Rivers State Carnival 2012 ……………………………………………………. 84
Artistic Elements in the Rivers State Carnival ……………………………………………………. 140
Float ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 140
Graphic Design (Posters and Logos) …………………………………………………………………. 156
Kids Carnival Logo …………………………………………………………………………………………. 159
Sculptures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 167
Analysis of Responses …………………………………………………………………………………….. 173
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 175
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 175
Findings ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 179
Historical Overview of Masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival ………………………. 179
Significance of Masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival ……………………………………. 180
Community Masquerade Groups represented in the carnival ………………………………… 180
Policies and Legislative Frame Work Backing the Rivers State Carnival ………………. 182
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 182
Recommendations …………………………………………………………………………………………… 183
Historical Overview of Masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival ………………………. 183
Artistic Elements in the Rivers State Carnival ……………………………………………………. 183
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Community Masquerade Groups represented in the carnival ………………………………… 183
Promulgation of Policies and Legislative Frame Work ………………………………………… 183
Development of a Statistical Data-Base …………………………………………………………….. 183
The Historian‟s Corner ……………………………………………………………………………………. 184
Rivers State Network for Rural Tourism ……………………………………………………………. 185
Rural Tourism in Rivers State ………………………………………………………………………….. 187
Proposed Rivers State Network for Rural Tourism Organogram …………………………… 187
Conceptualizing Intergrated Rural Tourism in Rivers State ………………………………….. 188
Original Contributions to Knowledge ………………………………………………………………… 190
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 191
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
An indigene of Rivers State, Mr.Ogwuonuonu after attending the Rivers State Carnival in 2009 concluded that carnivals have activated and revived Spiritism and Satanism and thus discourages the organization of carnivals in the State. His statement might not be unconnected with the participation of various masquerades representing different local government areas in the carnival. In hosting these carnivals, some practices are changed or modified while in some cases new ones are introduced to garner their full benefits. In Africa, before the advent of the major religions (Christianity and Islam),Africans believed strongly in their culture and cultural ties. This belief encouraged elders to teach or inculcate in their children, those aspects that had to do with the etiquette of respect for elders, dressing, folklores, family values and community continuity. This was carried out through meetings, festivals and various forms of annual celebrations during which masquerades fully participated.
A report which is similar to Ogwuonuonu‟s (2009) view is that of Rev. G. O. M. Tasie‟s esperience in Bakana, the home town of his mother in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State. An old man in good standing in the town and a full member of St. Andrew‟s Church in Bakana had gone missing during a fishing expedition and did not return when he was expected back the previous day. His family promptly notified their chief and a search team was dispatched to locate him. The following day while at Sunday service as the search was still ongoing in the creeks and adjourning high seas,Tasie could hear some drumming which was later explained to him. The preacher, Rev. I. O. Samuel who understood the drumming, abrubtly
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concluded the church service in five minutes into its commencement. Tasie‟s inquisition revealed that, the dead body of the old man who went fishing had been found. Invariably the drumming heard by Tasieannounced the discovery of the old man‟s body some kilometers away. On receiving the message through the drumming, the several search parties simultaneously made their way home. Fascinated about this experience, Tasie saw the need to take some lessons in the drum lore language,but was discouraged by some Christ Army Church member who happened to be his relations. According to Tasie (1999), ….I was told that it was only by becoming a member of Ekine Sekiapu Club that I could do my studies more easily. But I was also warned that as a Christian, I could not afford to be seen having anything to do with the Ekine club, described to me as simply an Unchristian Cultic Club, which played the masquerade of the water spirits and deities and recognized the ancestors to whom they offered libation. The dilemma was initially too much for me until I read some literature, especially those of Professors Robin Horton and E. J. Alagoa and in addition watched the Ekine Sekiapu play. Neither my reading nor watching the plays resolved my diemima as to whether a Christian could have anything to do with the Ekine Sekiapuor not. The matter of incompartibility with Christianity was, as perhaps to be expected, not of particular interest to the two eminent scholars, presumably because of their own persuasions. However, for me as a church historian and Christian, I thought it was terribly naïve of my Christ Army Church relatives, and indeed a display of bad „„military strategy‟‟, for a soilder of Christ(as indeed any Christian ought to be) – more so, those who have adopted the name „„ Christ Army‟‟not to be interested in knowing about the strength of the armoury – in quality and quantity, at the least – an enemy, if indeed the Ekinewas an enemy of the Christian Church.
The rest is history as Tasie did not only learn the drum lore, but also published book on the Kalabari Drum Lore. Tasie did not only appreciate the arts but had high regards for an aspect of culture that fascinated him. Contrary to the positions of Ogwuonuonu (2009) and the United Congress of Mbaise Christians (UCMC),Soyinka in Jari (2007) bemoans the destruction of no fewer than 100 shrines after the end of a three-day Restoration Crusade organised by the UCMC. Soyinka was not bothered if the shrines were destroyed when certified by appropriate organs to be hazardous, but should have been done after the retrival of cultural items for posterity (Jari, 2007).
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These comments and incidence as narrated above exemplify the diversity of behaviour and opinions exhihibited by individuals and groups towards some aspects of African culture and tradition. According to Jari (2007) this suspiscion or reservation that some individuals and Christian converts have about art images like masquerades as being objects of the propagation of indeginous religions, can be understood within the perceived functions of art in traditional societies in Nigeria. Some art images, no doubt, perform some religious functions; it is however, not entirely true to assume that all traditional African art images perform religious functions. This is why, for instance, Brain in Jari (2007) had begun to categorize African art into non – religious titles such as “Art as Entertainment”. Claude (1999) views the presentation of cultural heritage through ceremonies as one of the main ways by which a society may establish a link between the past and present. The author asserts that, cultural heritage consists of a wide range of historical products that reflect life, activities, creativity and relationships of various groups and individuals in the past and present. According to him, it is an important component of memory, and constitutes a major aspect of the historical background of any society.
Masks and masquerades, as aspects of cultural heritage,take many forms. African masks and masquerades are still used dating back from pre-historic times to symbolize various aspects of African life and ethnicity. Foster (2010) avers that, “African mask is an ancient form of human art, religious worship and ceremonial costume”.Scribner (2002), Walmesley-Lockhart (2010) and Ferraton (2011) all agree that African masks take many forms, and are made of carved wood, tree barks, animal skins, plant fibres, leather, metal and fabrics often with cultural and traditional significance depicting prestige, religious rites and reinforcing cultural norms. These masks, according to Grahame (2010), are powerful symbolic items, linking the wearer
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with his ancestors, the animal kingdom and the spiritual world. Uzo (1997) observes that, …the term masquerade can refer to a masking performance, a masked performer, or the character embodied by the mask itself. Masquerade is an important mode of cultural expression for several groups from Nigeria. The purpose of masquerade can be to entertain, to commend achievers, to chastise evil-doers, to bring messages of hope, peace, or impending disaster, to mourn the dead or to receive a special newborn, or to grace a ceremonial occasion like a festival. To these ends, its elaborately created physical presence evokes a great range of feelings, from approbation and appreciation to fear and awe. A good masquerade has admirable human or animal features and is a great dancer. Traditionally, masquerades have the highest level of freedom in a village. In view of their awesomeness, masquerades cannot be unmasked, fought, revealed, and once under the mask, he becomes an embodiment of the spirit and sacred.
In the same vein, Igbo Culture (2000) reveals that, Masquerades (Mmanwu) are held in accordance with the community‟s native calendars during festivals, annual festivities, burial rites and other social gatherings. The masquerades are geared in colourful robes and masks made of wood or fabric. Some masks appear only at one festival, but the majority appears at many or all. Masquerades are associated with spiritual elements, as according to Igbo belief, they represent images of deities or sometimes even dead relatives. The identity of the masquerade is a well-kept secret and performed exclusively by men.
Masquerades in African societies, as enunciated by Charles (2002), Foster (2010) and Ferraton (2011), provide entertainment, define social roles, communicate religious meanings, inculcate societal values, and depict defense. They are used during harvest seasons, fertility ceremonies, renewal of rituals, and for status and funerals, passed down from one generation to another. Groups such as the Yoruba in the South – West, the Ibo in the South – East, the Ikwerre, and Ijaw in the South – South of Nigeria and the Chokwe of Congo hold masquerade festivals. The Dan of Burkina Faso and the
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Ibo of Nigeria believe that the spirits of the forest act out masquerades. Powerful water spirits perform during yearly masquerade ceremonies in Kalabari, Ogoni and Okpoma communities in the South – South of Nigeria. These spirits, according to Charles(2002), acting through masked performances, oversee the symbolic rebirth of adolescents into adulthood, and act as guiding spirits to the communities. In the modern African world, masquerades are taking on new forms and purposes to meet new needs and conditions whilethey continue to play significant functions. There has beenmore interest in issues that often address politics, theatre, economy, sustainable development and tourism. “Rural Tourism Morphology: An Examination of Masquerades and Artistic Elements in the Rivers State Carnival” investigatedthe historical overview of masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival, the significance of masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival and the artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival. Others included how many community masquerade groups participated in the carnival, the description of masquerades and artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival and the existence or absence of policies and legislative frame work backing the Rivers State Carnival.
Background to the Study
Salawu (1993)inRivers State: Background Information (2003), and Rivers State- “Treasure Base of the Nation” (2011), reveal that, Rivers State was created out of the old Eastern Region of Nigeria on May 27, 1967. However, the agitation for the creation of the state predated Nigeria‟s independence from Britain in 1960. During the colonial period, Britain signed many treaties of protection with the chiefs of many communities. Some of such chiefs had hoped that with Nigeria‟s independence, the treaties of protection they signed with Britain would also lapse and thus, they would become
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independent states. The 1958 constitutional conference which affirmed Nigeria‟s nationhood dashed such hope, but agreed to some extent to allay the fears of the ethnic minorities in the area. As reported in Rivers State: Background Information (2003): between 1941 and 1952, an organization known as Ijaw Rivers Peoples League agitated for the creation of a distinct Rivers Province. In 1953, another body called the Council of Rivers Chiefs replaced the league and became the Rivers Chiefs People‟s Congress in 1954 and the Rivers Chiefs Peoples Conference in 1956. The leaders of these organizations cooperated with the Calabar Ogoja Rivers (COR) State Movement formed in Uyo in December 1953, but later broke away to press their own case before the Willink Commission. To allay the fears of the minorities under the dominant ethnic groups within the Nigerian state, the British made an important concession by setting up a commission headed by Sir Henry Willink to look into the misgivings of the ethnic minorities(Rivers State: Background Information, 2003). The commission recommended the setting up of the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) to address the problem of underdevelopment in the area. The NDDB did not meet the agitations of the people and thus, in February 1966, Isaac Adaka Boro, Sam Owonairo and Nottingham Dick with their supporters proclaimed the „Delta Peoples Republic‟(Rivers State: Background Information, 2003). This was quashed by both the Federal and Eastern Regional governments. The continued cries of political marginalization, economic pauperizations and deprivation, and environmental degradation, led to the creation of Rivers State by General Yakubu Gowon through a Decree in 1967. Rivers State, located in the South – South geo – political zone in Nigeria, was part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 to 1893, when it became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with the Chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form Southern Nigeria(Rivers State- Treasure Base of the Nation, 2011).
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With a population of five million one hundred and ninety-eight thousand seven hundred and sixteen (5, 198, 716) people ( National Population Commission, 2006), the state is divided into twenty three (23) Local Government Areas with divergent and diverse, rich and unique culture and cultural heritage. These ethnic nationalities have existed together for centuries long before the creation of the state. Port Harcourt, the state capital, is Nigeria‟s second largest commercial centre after Lagos, and has the second busiest sea port in Nigeria after Lagos. Covering a total landmass of 30,000 square kilometers (Ejii, 2009), Rivers State is bounded in the south by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by Abia and Imo states, in the east by Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, and in the west by Bayelsa and Delta states . The state‟s inland consists of tropical rainforest, and features many mangrove swamps towards the coast with a network of creeks and rivers including New Calabar, Orashi, Bonny, Sombreiro and Bartholomew Rivers (Ejii, 2009). The State accounts for over forty eight percent(48 %) of the crude oil, and one hundred percent (100%) of Liquefied Natural Gas production in the country (Ejii, 2009). The hosting of the Rivers State carnival in Port Harcourt, the State capital, has given rise to activities that attract visitors and tourists alike to the event since its reintroduction in 2008. In planning the event, different cultural groups are invited to participate including the masquerade groups. Against this backdrop, it has become imperative to investigate, if this carnival will achieve its desired result. Furthermore, the study examined the historical overview of masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival, the significance of masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival, describe the masquerades in the carnival, the artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival, the number of community masquerade groups that participated in the carnival and if there were policies and legislative frame work backing the Rivers State Carnival.
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Statement of the Problem
Authors who have documented masquerades from Rivers State had done so without adequate analysis and description of such masquerades. These authors, in their publications, have only documented selected masquerades without any mention made to their artistic elements. For instance, the masquerade images in Eyo (2008) and Kleiner (2009) shown in plates XIX (Saimon Face Mask) and plate XX (Duen Fubara) record very scanty or limited analyses and descriptions. Even where some authors like Brown (2009) and Makoro (2009) have attempted to document masquerades, their studies are silent about the new role that masquerades have begun to play both in performance and tourism in the Rivers State Carnival which this research set out to document.
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to document and appreciate the image and form of indigenous masquerades that participate in Rivers State carnival. The objectives of the study are to:
i. obtain a historical overview of masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival,
ii. investigate the significance of masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival,
iii. identify and describe the artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival,
iv. describe the masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival,
v. identify how many community masquerade groups are represented in the carnival, and
vi. establish if there are policies and legislative frame work backing the Rivers State Carnival.
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Research Questions
Some questions that spurred the course of this study are as follows;
i. What is the historical overview of masquerading in the Rivers State Carnival?
ii. What is the significance of masquerades in the Rivers State Carnival?
iii. What are the artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival?
iv. How cantheMasquerades in the Rivers State carnival be described?
v. How many community masquerade groups participate in the carnival?
vi. What are the policies and legislative frame work backing the Rivers State Carnival?
Justification for the study
The colonial government (Britain) ceded Rivers State to the Eastern region. This singular decision had its own consequences on the various ethnic nationalities within the state as they were subsumed into a regional government that was dominated by a major ethnic group. Consequently, little or, in some cases, nothing was known about their history, culture, cultural heritage and festivals, as even till date they are referred to as Igbo people in many quarters. This situation resulted in the dearth of the documentation of the history, cultural heritage and festivals of their respective communities which this research addressed. Present day iconoclasm has also continued to be detrimental to the preservation and documentation of artifacts and heritage items in most Nigerian communities. In the same vein, the lack of adequate storage facilities in some communities has given rise to the invasion of such artifacts and heritage items by weathering, thieves and termites. No wonder, Soyinka (2006) refers to the UCMC as „Termites of our time‟‟. There is therefore, the urgent need to document the few in existence.
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Furthermore, the nature of the network as proposed by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Decree of 1992 between resource controllers, planners, stakeholders and tourism businesses has not formed the focus of much research. The concept of intergrated rural tourism suggests that the activities of these groups are vital in providing a combination of services to residents and tourists alike, raising the profile of the area, and fostering processes of innovation and change (Saxena and IIbery, 2008). These lapses have made this research inevitable.
Significance of the Study
The study is significant because it provides a guide to artists, researchers, government officials, tourism planners and stakeholders interested in planning, studying and aquainting themselves with masquerades and artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival. The study is equally significant because it will help in correcting misconceptions held by individuals towards the masquerades performance or participation in the Rivers State Carnival..
Scope and Delimitation
The Pilot study of this research was focused on the Abuja National Carnival and Carnival Calabar from 2008 to 2012. The researcher delimited the investigation on the description and documentation of masquerades, and artistic elements in the Rivers State Carnival staged in 2012.
Conceptual Framework
Semiotics is the theory of the production of interpretation and meaning. Its basic principle is that, meaning is made by the deployment of acts and objects which function as “signs” in relation to the other signs. Beyond the most basic definition, semiotics is not only concerned with (intentional) communication but also with ascription of significance to anything in the world (Chandler, 2014). Semiotics is a field of study
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involving many theoretical stances and methodological tools. One of the broadest definitions, according to Chandler (2014), is that of Umberto Eco, who states that semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) and Charles Sander Pierce (1839- 1914) were respectively the pathfinders in the field of semiotics. Major semiotic structuralists include Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) in anthropology and Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) in psychoanalysis. Structuralists engage in a search for „deep structures‟ underlying the „surface features‟ of phenomena.Though Saussure was actually acclaimed the founding father of semiotics, Pierce offered it a broader scope (Chandler, 2014). Whilst for Saussure, „Semiology‟ was a science which studies the role of signs as part of social life; for Pierce „Semiotics‟ it was the „formal doctrine of „signs‟ which was closely related to logic.For him „a sign‟ is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. Semiotics beganto become a major approach to cultural studies in the late 1960s, partly as a result of the work of Roland Barthes (1915-1980) titled “Mythologies” (Chandler, 2014). Barthes, declared that „Semiology aims to take any system of Sign, whatever their substance and limit; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment‟. These, Barthes claimed, constitute if not languages, at least systems of signification (Chandler, 2014). Contemporary semioticians study signs not in isolation but as a part of semiotic sign system (such as medium and genre), they study how meanings are made: as such, being concerned not only with communication but also with construction and manitainance of reality.
Chandler (2014) advises that “in view of the divergence of views in the application of “semiotic theory what individual scholars have to assess, of course, is
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whether and how semiotic may be useful in shedding light on the aspect of their concerns”.“Rural Tourism Morpholoy: An Examination of Masquerades and Artistic Elements in the Rivers State Carnival” will adopt Saussure Semotics which offers two part models of the sign and their relationship as reflected in the diagramme below.
Figure 4: Semiotics for Beginners (Signs), Daniel Chandler (2014),
Source:http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Document/S4B/sem02.html. Retrieved on June 20, 2015, p.1 Saussure (1857-1913) defined sign as being composed of: the signifier and signified.The „sign‟ being the whole that results from the association of the signifier with the signified; the „signifier‟ as the form which the sign takes. The „signified‟ as the concept or content it represents, while the relationship between the „signifier‟ and the „signified‟ is refered to as „signification‟which is represented in the Saussure‟s diagramme above by the arrows. The signifier, signified and signification as applied to this study will mean; the form, contents and significance or interpretation of Carnival Rivers. This will help to indicate the distinction which seperates one from the other; as each triggers the other (Saussure in Chandler, 2014).
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In order to carry out this study Feldman‟s (1970) approach to art appreciation was used. The researcher described, analysed, interpreted and evaluated the masquerades and Artistic Elements in the Rivers State Carnival documented.
Research Limitations
Based on the field work experience, the following limitations were encountered:
a. There was inadequate knowledge of the history and names of the masquerades by the Local Government Coordinators, Leaders or Representatives of the masquerade groups interviewed. These were inimical to the research relating to the retrieval of comprehensive and accurate significant information.
b. For financial reasons, most masquerade groups did not have the opportunity of participating with the full complement of their masquerades.
c. Some of the masquerade groups did not make use of the assigned venue (Carniriv Village at the Elekaehia Liberation Stadium) for their dressing up or preparation. This, perhaps, can be attributed to the reason of secrecy in order not to identify the masker.
d. Unsuccessful efforts to interview the Director General of the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency and the initiator of the Carnival, Alabo Tonye Oyibo Graham-Douglas robbed this study of vital information.
e. In view of the fact that some masquerade groups did not make use of their designated points for dressing, the researcher was only able to interview masquerade group leaders and coordinators from thirteen LGAs out of twenty three LGAs.
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