
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
Viable Monetary Tips to Advance Your Monetary Circumstance - 2
Senegal limits foreign trips for officials as the fallout from Iran war deepens - 3
10 Activities to Lift Your Consume and Bust Your Stomach - 4
Six Flags Opens the Tallest, Fastest and Longest Roller Coaster in the World - 5
Russian drone slams into block of flats in deadly wave of strikes across Kyiv
NMG signs new graphite supply deal with Canadian Government
‘Democratizing space’ is more than just adding new players – it comes with questions around sustainability and sovereignty
2024 Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy over Israel's participation
Putting resources into Yourself: Self-awareness Techniques
The Force of Care: Living with Goal
'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Season 3 premieres tomorrow. Here's what you need to know to catch up.
Figuring out Significant Regulations and Guidelines for Organizations
7 Methods for further developing Rest Quality
Wonderful Sea shores All over the Planet











