
Elaborate costumes, blaring music and vibrant processions took over Nigeria's Lagos Island on Monday as the annual Fanti Carnival hit the streets.
The festivities have lit up Lagos' financial hub for more than two centuries, celebrating the legacy of the Afro-Brazilian returnees who once settled in the city.
This year's carnival featured musical performances, bedazzled horses, huge dragons and dancing stilt walkers.
In the 1800s, some formerly enslaved Africans and their descendants migrated back to the continent from countries like Brazil and Cuba.
Many Afro-Brazilians settled on Lagos Island, bringing with them new customs.
These customs fused with those of Nigeria's Yoruba people, leading to creations like the Fanti Carnival.
On Monday, carnival attendee Glamour Sandra told the AP news agency that she loved "the energy, the artistic splendour, the creativity" of the event.
"It is important that we preserve this, so that... generation after generation everybody will get to understand the importance of this and how Brazilians and Lagos came to be," carnival-goer Ademola Oduyebo told AP.
Youngsters appear to be heeding this message - several children and teenagers participated in the Monday's parades, decked out in creative costumes.
The celebration is sustained by seven historic associations, which are rooted in different areas of Lagos Island. One carnival-goer wore an eye-catching outfit, bearing each of the associations' names.
Each community can be distinguished by its signature colours - members of the Lafiaji association always wear red and white.
The carnival's organisers are immensly proud of the event, which will return again next April.
They describe it as "neither wholly Brazilian nor wholly Yoruba, but entirely its own".
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
BBC Africa podcasts
latest_posts
- 1
Vote In favor of Your Favored Pet Consideration Administration - 2
Netflix's 'Lord of the Flies' show blends 'Adolescence' and 'Yellowjackets' - 3
Horses really can smell our fear, new study finds - 4
Sources: IDF does not actually know how many ballistic missiles Iran has left - 5
Crime boss Steven Lyons set to be deported from Bali to Spain
Vote In favor of Your Favored Kind Of Attire
Burger King launches 'SpongeBob' menu ahead of film's release. A look at the Bikini Bottom-inspired meal, plus what taste testers are saying.
How to avoid or deal with an outrageous medical bill
Old photos misrepresented as aftermath of political party supporters' brawl in Bangladesh
Whale stranded off Germany for days is stuck again
Forget 'Outer Banks.' These Gen Z-ers just want to watch 'M*A*S*H*' and 'Gilmore Girls.'
What are the health benefits of whole milk for kids?
75% of Arab Israelis support Arab party joining government coalition post-war, survey reveals
'An incredible privilege and responsibility': Artemis 2's Christina Koch is ready to become the 1st woman to fly around the moon












