Egungun

egungun English Noun en noun form en Egun Yoruba thumb|right|Egúngún yo:Òrìṣà Egúngún Alternative forms yo Egígún Èkìtì yo Eégún Etymology Folk etymology from the Odù Ifá (corpus of the Yoruba religion), specifically yo Ọ̀wọ́nrinṣẹ́ (Odu #105), states it comes from yo e- gún gún agent creating prefix to arrive, to land to align, to straighten, to put in order the ones who arrive to put (the world) in order. Said to be associated with the phrase yo sayégún One who aligns the world. Cognate with nqg egoúngoún, igl égwú, igl Égwú. In Igala, the term in its noun form means corpse or dead body. This suggests that it comes from the same root as igl ògwú killer instinct, spirit associated with killing, in which the root gwú, likely means to kill or die. Thus, this term is proposed to be derived from yo alv-yrd-pro *é-gwṹ, ultimately deriving from yo alv-yrd-pro *gwú to die. This is the same root that the term yo Ògún is believed to come from, thus making this a yo Ògún. The root gwú in term is almost certainly from the same root as yo kú to die, see alv-yrd-pro *kú for its relation to other languages. Pronunciation Egúngún Noun Egúngún A Yoruba masked or costumed figure (consisting of a human wearing an yo ẹ̀kú), representing the physical manifestation of the spirit of an ancestor and regarded as a Yoruba orisha. Often mistranslated as en masquerade. A performer who wears a costume to entertain. (See yo aláàrìnjó.) Related terms yo ọ̀jẹ̀ Egungun worshipper yo ẹ̀kú Egungun costume yo Religion Yoruba religion