The creation of masquerading artifacts like masks, hats, stilts, flywhisks, African bells with ring strikers (castanets), and costumes from the inception of the culture in Ghana has been a matter of strict philosophical discourse, especially within the conceptualization of forms in a blend of mostly European and, rather less, from African perspectives. To date, the masquerade artists and the leaders of Winneba have maintained a blend of European and African frames of reference in conceptualizing their ideas and costumes. The Effutu Municipal Assembly notes that Winneba was traditionally known as “Simpa, ” “which was derived from the name of the leader of the Effutus, Osimpa’, who led the Effutus of the Guan ethnic stock from the Northern part of Ghana to the present location” (2015: 3). The name “Winneba” originated from European sailors, who were often aided by the favorable wind to sail along the bay; the constant use of the words “windy bay” turned into the name Winneba. The town was one of the first communities in the country to meet European traders; it served as a port where foreign goods were discharged and transported to the interior and to major commercial areas such as Agona Swedru and Akim-Oda. Because of its role as a harbor town and a place of early European settlement, it became the administrative capital of the then Central Province of the Gold Coast (Ghana). The cocoa boom in forestry areas led to the relocation of major trading companies in the 1940s to Agona Swedru, and this affected the growth of Winneba. The township incurred even greater loss when the port of Tema was completed and port activities in Winneba were thus shut down. With this, most commercial activities also shifted from Winneba to Tema and Accra (Effutu Municipal Assembly 2015). Winneba is primarily a fishing community that uses dinghies for fishing. The Effutu people in Winneba have rich cultures, including the Kakamotobi masquerading festival, Aboakyer deer hunt, and others. The fishing community is gradually turning into a cosmopolitan area, which has taken a toll on the citizens (Micah 2014). Davies (2010), discussing Phyllis Galembos fascination with masquerades in Ghana, reveals that the Kakamotobi masquerading festival began as a party. Galembo's masquerade photographs support the historic antecedents of Effutu's masquerade culture:This historical background has been opposed whenever it has been raised, with various informants indicating that even if that particular event ocurred, it did not survive. Kwesi Arkoful, the father of the No. 3 Club, first attempted the planting of the festival in Winneba in 1911. Mr. Arkoful, a fisherman and boatman who was illiterate, lacked the experience to publicize his innovation. The natives, therefore, could not patronize and give it due recognition. By 1918, Mr. Abraham and some other natives of Winneba had become friends and discussed his plans and the possibility of enlisting them as members. They welcomed the decision and offered their membership. They also assured him of any assistance he might need. They spent the Christmas of 1918 and New Year of 1919 at Cape Coast; after that they invited the Cape Coast club to help them inaugurate theirs. They fixed Wednesday, February 12, 1919 for the arrival of the Cape Coast club and Thursday the 13th for the inauguration of the Winneba members. With this, even the date shows that the masquerade culture was already in existence before the 1920s (Micah 2014; Mills 2014; Davies 2010).However, the ideas of masquerade are held in high esteem for the physical force needed to balance the community in all spheres of human endeavor: psychological, spiritual, religious, economic, social, moral, and in matters of good governance. The masquerades affect both families and the community. The rendering of these artifacts as a visual language has been a matter of importance concerning the role and responsibilities of the masquerades. It is believed that tradition emerges from the kinds of choices people make with respect to their social, political, religious, and artistic modes of expression (Abiodun 2001: 17). In describing the adaptation of ideas from the European settlers, the website Effutustate (2018: 1) expresses that “the western masquerade as an art form was introduced into the Gold Coast in the early twentieth century by the Dutch. This involved the use of masks to disguise their identity during evening parties and other festive ceremonies, often using expensive, elegant, historical or fanciful costumes. ” This assertion further emphasizes that wearing masks also enabled people to flirt with anyone without being recognized. The first point of contact was Saltpond and its environs. Artisans from Winneba who were working in and around Saltpond eventually copied the fashionable costumes but without any amorous intentions. They then introduced this to their kinsmen in Winneba. The people who initially patronized the masquerade in Winneba were artisans and fisherfolks (Effutustate 2018). The Effutu masquerade artists, leaders, and federation behind these visual histories follow philosophies of personality where the federation has a lot of power to control the masquerading organization and its events. The federation tells what the groups do, as it seemed in the Egyptian philosophy of form that gives prominence to kings, followed by queens, and down to subjects and slaves in their compositions (Mullahy 2016; Sesanti 2018).The people (Effutu) of Winneba have celebrated the Masquerade festival for decades. Their masquerade is an annual event celebrated on Christmas Day. They are the only indigenous people mostly credited with popular masquerading culture in Ghana. Effutu events such as the Masquerade festival have come to stay, registered in Winneba's festival calendar and adhered to religiously. The masquerade events attract a lot of foreigners, dignitaries, and indigenes of Winneba. Masqueraders in Winneba display artifacts that are bought from stores or made by themselves to fit the occasion. The Effutu masqueraders in their “Fancy Dress” display characters like an old man, a ship captain, a stilt dancer, and animals like dogs, monkeys, and birds. “Fancy Dress” is “a lively secular masquerade performed throughout coastal Ghana, mainly compris[ing] young men and women who identify themselves as Fante, an Akan subgroup dominating the Central Region” (Micots 2014: 30). This masquerade performance in Winneba is accompanied by a brass band borrowed from the European styles of the 1700s and 1800s (Micah 2014). The masqueraders perform actively to the tune of the brass band amid cheers and chanting from the audience. Victor Micah has traced and discussed the historical context of masquerading at Winneba. He identifies and categorizes Winneba's masquerading groups as Group No. 1 (Nobles), Group No. 2 (Egyaa), Group No. 3 (Tumus), and Group No. 4 (Red Cross). The Winneba Masquerade Federation was created to oversee the groups and competition. Masqueraders parade through town in their old costumes for Christmas to collect funds for the New Year's Day Masquefest competition and then parade the streets again the day after the competition in their costumes for the coming year (Micah 2014; Micots 2014).Micots (2021: 6) points out that “Fancy Dress” is a vital creative expression of the lower classes; it is both comedic entertainment and a necessary regenerative force in Ghanaian culture. In performance, Effutu masqueraders from the various masquerading groups make an open demonstration of richly adorned visual artifacts that are spiritually infused for performance. The performance of these masquerading groups brings entertainment to the community. Artifacts of Effutu masquerade are symbolic objects that are physically made for personal adornment to portray the traditional beliefs and practices during the festive performances on Christmas. Siefkes (2012: 2) argues, “Artifacts play a central role in all cultures existing today; therefore, material culture is an important category of culture theory. ” In a convincing way, the artifacts showcase the beliefs of the various masquerade groups who perform Effutu masquerade, focusing on symbolic representations (social, religious, cultural, and economic contexts) as driving forces behind the cultural development of the Effutu people. The holitic view of artifacts within Effutu masquerade culture is performed to fulfil a certain function. The artifacts are used to demonstrate each distinctive element of Effutu's masquerade activities that transform and support their masquerade culture. It is apparently easy to overlook the beauty of these artifacts, believing that they are insignificant. Yet their artistry encapsulates philosophies of personality that illustrate the aesthetic concepts and values of Effutu traits. In identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the aesthetic content of Effutu masquerade artifacts and their performance since the Winneba land was settled by both indigenes and Europeans, however, these artifacts often indicate a deeper meaning that requires decoding.There has not been enough scholarly writing on some of these visual artifacts of the Effutu masquerade. The visual composition of Effutu masquerading artifacts blends African and Western aesthetic concepts. They are exquisite depictions of the masquerade activities performed by men, women, and children. Effutu masqueraders’ use of assorted artifacts in their performance enables a unique demonstration of visual display. From this perspective, Clarke (2016) argues that objects created by African artists, even when made for practical purposes, also embody aesthetic preferences and can be admired for their shape and composition. This study, therefore, establishes the symbolic attributes of these masquerade artifacts and takes interest in some of their visual functions in terms of their philosophical interpretations and figurative representations of the sustainability of the Effutu masquerading culture.The artifacts of Effutu masquerade are special objects possessed with traditional beliefs from social, religious, cultural, and economic contexts. The following collection of images illustrating the aesthetics of Winneba masquerade objects—what might be termed an aesthetic album of artifacts—is based on symbolic interaction of Effutu masquerade culture as their performance on beliefs and practices is identified by the Winneba masquerade groups (Micah 2014). The study establishes the sociological paradigm of artifacts on Effutu masquerade performance through a symbolic relationship among these masquerading groups within Winneba society. The symbolic relationship of these artifacts is believed to be the way in which the Effutu people make their social world of masquerading meaningful to the world (Lumen Learning 2019).Kofi Bortsie1 attests that the Effutu masquerade performance brings life to Winneba society and its environs, and it has been practiced since the early 1900s. The performance of Effutu masquerade culture with the adornment of fanciful artifacts began with Dutch and British traders at the Winneha seaport, and the festival began in the early twentieth century. Incorporating aesthetic artifacts for the masquerade performance and festival with local custom has been traditional belief and practice. Artifacts ranging from costumes, masks, hats, stilts, flywhisks, and African bells with ring strikers (castanets) identify the focused groups of Effutu masquerade performance differently. The symbolic context of Effutu masquerade artifacts is the traditional beliefs and practices associated with masquerade performance. In view of this, the artifacts fulfil important aspects of their masquerade purposes by providing historical precedents between the past, the present, and through the future. The artifacts provide clues to protect and project traditional art forms by strengthening the culture of the Winneba people. This notwithstanding, the artifacts also serve as components of the ethnocultural life of the Winneba people, who live together by adopting a similar set of norms. The masquerade culture of Winneba people is a unique way that people living in a group or a community react to different performances by displaying a range of diverse potentials that thrill the community with its visual arts, performing arts, and possibly graphical symbols that speak volumes. Sculpture (masks, stilts, and hats), painting, and textile works constitute the main form of the masquerade artifacts and contain the philosophy of the various masquerade groups of the Winneba traditional area.Masks and Hats. Wingo (1998) believes that a mask is a sacred object from our mens secret society, used mainly in masquerade rituals to link the world of the living with that of the ancestors and bridge the gap between life and death. Jansen (2016) supports Wingo's assertion that masking is one of the oldest and most widespread cultural practices in the world. Whether at ancient Greek bacchanalia and Roman saturnia, at rituals and ceremonies in Igbo and Edo cultures in western Africa, and elsewhere throughout the world, masks have been used, paradoxically, to evoke the inner spiritual self and to communicate with animals, nature, or supernatural beings. The masks and hats in Effutu masquerade are the centerpiece of a costume, often with props, that the wearer carries during a masquerade. Some masks are worn for ritual ceremonies performed before a community. Some masquerades are entertainment—a parade, for example, or a dance that reinforces the cultural identity of a community. Others remain embedded in religious or social rituals (Mills 2014: 2). Picton (1990, cited in Rea 2019) discussed how masks had become, in popular perception, a diagnostic object defining regional categories. Picton's meditation on “what's in a mask” and the diversity of forms and ideas that he had noticed in western Nigeria also highlighted the uniqueness of the masks that are worn in Effutu masquerade performance and the functionality of these masks in Winneba. Hersak (2020) points out that a mask could be used for different purposes, as it could be danced by young people for entertainment or it could be worn by elders when magic was called for. Bravmann (1979: 51) adds that “Ghanaian art forms are a product of several important historical and cultural streams and not merely the legacy of Akan societies. These Manding and Gur peoples have brought the mask to this modern nation-state and have thereby enriched it immeasurably. ” According to the Manding and Gur peoples, these masks are carved for masquerade and they are used in the Manding population for spiritual reasons and ritual procedures (Bravmann 1979).According to Kojo Lawson,2 “most of the Effutu masquerades traditionally prepare two hats for the culture especially the leaders, as the hat you wear for matching [a procession known as a match pass] and inspection are different from the one you wear for dancing. ” For the inspection, the hat needs to be imposing to display the group's design capabilities, while the simple hat is needed to do better dancing, as expected of masquerades. The women in the group mostly carry these extra, imposing hats to the park until they are needed. The artist carefully creates a clay hat form the size of the head, painstakingly applies pieces of starched paper as far as he can and then adds sticks and cane to make them even taller. The artist then wraps the hat with starched paper until the desired result is achieved. The artist applies foam to the mask to make it more comfortable when worn—these masks represent many symbols, including politicians, movie characters, animals, other important symbols in society, and finally, some represent the human face. Most times, the masks are very frightening but yet appealing to see. The primary purpose of the mask is to cover the face of the masquerade to prevent people from recognizing the members of the group. At this stage, fanciful wrappers are made and supplied to the masqueraders. Some of the masqueraders also buy ready-made hats for use. Effutu masqueraders are particular about their hats, which help conceal their identity and further enhance their beauty to draw people to them.Figures 2a-c illustrate how these imported masks are produced from a very flexible material presumed to be rubber. On the other hand, local artisans use wire mesh, which is modelled on a prototyped human face then painted to match the costume. At one point in the history of masquerading in Winneba, imported masks were unaffordable, which is what led to the creation of the wire mesh mask painted according to the desire of the masquerade, as shown in Figure 2d.African Bells with Ring Strikers (Castanets) and Flywhisks. The African bell with ring striker is a percussion instrument that consists of two small shells of steel fastened between the thumb and middle finger. Effutu masquerade dancers strike the the shells together with their fingers, like a Spanish castanet, in various ways to produce a percussive rhythm. In the indigenous music of African cultures, castanets are commonly used as phrase referent or metronomic instruments. The quality of sound depends on the material they are made of (Nzewi 2007). In the case of Effutu masquerade, as shown in Figure 3, these castanets are worn tightly around the right fingers, between the thumb and the middle finger of the masquerades. As they dance to the tune of the brass band, they also use the percussive instrument on their fingers to form the rhythm. The artist produces this handcrafted artifact through the metal casting process to bring out these metal pieces together. The sculptors’ view is that, in making these musical instruments, they use techniques and processes with beliefs and practices associated with traditional musical instruments. In every facet of the lives of Africans, there are beliefs and practices associated with them. Music pounds deep in the heart of every African; the purest spiritual essence—a part of a persons social and spiritual being; a vehicle for healing mind, body, spirit, and inseparable from life experience (Primos 2001; Micah 2019).The flywhisk in Figure 4 represents the whisk that is mainly held by Effutu masquerades as they display it during their masquerading performance. Traditionally, many Ghanaian chiefs and fetish priests have used this artifact as a medium for performing their ceremonies. Possessing the flywhisk gives the leader social and spiritual authority. Smithsonian Museum of African Art (2014:1) supports that, “In most of Africa, flywhisks were carried as prestige regalia and during masquerades. They emphasized both gestures and spoken words. ” Flywhisks used or seen in Effutu masquerade are made of cow-tail hair inserted in a wooden handle decorated with leather and cowries. Masqueraders hold this artifact in high esteem in their performance to show leadership skills.Costumes. Effutu masquerades costumes are created in a number of fanciful and distinctive artistic styles to cover the performer during the masquerade. The complex costumes are constructed with lighter fabrics of fancy lace, fluorescent colored fabric, plastic gems, and ornamental tinsel strips to permit twirling, free movement in the performance. Laces and ribbons are carefully interwoven on the surfaces of the costumes with adhesives, hand stitches, and machine stitches (Micah 2014). The bodies of Effutu costumes have most of their designs concentrated on the upper part, leaving the leg areas with less emphasis. The masquerade costume tailors incorporate geometric shapes as a measure of providing decoration on costumes. These decorations are applied to the smooth base material to create texture and visual interest. Invariably, the designs provide another level of aesthetic uniqueness to these costumes. These designs relate to some masquerade festivals around the coastal towns such as Cape Coast and Takoradi but are Europeanized, making them look more foreign than local. New costumes are sewn annually for masqueraders in the belief that masqueraders must forget the past and embrace the New Year with all certainty as they dance around and make merry. The costumes of Effutu masquerade comprise various components that come together to form a coherent whole. Figure 5 is a typical example of Effutu masquerade costume, designed to stick closely to the year's color scheme.The masqueraders showcase their talents in colorful costumes throughout the dance. These talents are what matters most in Effutu masquerade and this informs their costume decision-making. The costumes are made for the masqueraders who dress as Cowboys, Cowgirls, Red Indians, Robin Hoods. Others who do not pick a particular character still dress for the occasion in bright colored costumes, merging the idea and creating dresses based on existing styles and what will appeal to their audience. As indicated, the costumes use the visual appearance of characters in movies or situations as a starting point, but enhance them to reflect the themes of the year's masquerade. The costumes vary in style, as the type of costume agreed upon by the group determines the kind of costume worn by its members. The shirt as part of the costume covers the upper part of the body—it is the main component of the costume, and that is where most of the designs on the costume are placed. Effutu masqueraders believe that the whole costume is vital, and they place emphasis on some part of the body and think it should be that part. The tailors or designers painstakingly stitch or glue the ribbons and laces onto the costume to create those intricate designs, as seen on the costumes in Figure 5.The Cowboys who have guns wear a belt in which the guns and other things needed to guide cows are firmly placed. The belt as part of the costume hangs loosely on the masquerader's buttock. In addition, masqueraders put toy guns and whips in them to check on the audience, who intercept and pave way for the masqueraders during their performance. Again, the belt adds to the costume to make it a whole piece. Unlike conventional trousers, the masqueraders’ trousers are distinctively decorated to conform to the designed pattern in the costume (Fig. 6).The masqueraders, together with tailors or designers, construct their costumes in such a way that almost every portion of the body is covered. Figure 7 shows the colorful boots that are worn by the masquerades. These have always received a lot of attention from the masquerades and those who understand “Fancy Dress” and follow it. The tailors put a lot of effort into the making of the “Depos”—a word of unknown etymology that means “fanciful decorations. ” Depos are made with lace, ribbons, buttons, gems, and fabric remnants on the masqueraders’ shirts and boots. It helps balance the costume by emphasizing the shirt or the top area and the foot area. This makes the midportion of the costume less elaborate. Making Depos requires a lot of care because, if not well made, it will fall off in the process of dancing. Figures 8-9 show male masquerades dressed up as women, presumably going to take care of cows. Sometimes, men dress as women and women dress like men. The audience could see how the Depos or foot coverings have been elaborated, leaving the legs untended and making the eyes finally rest on the upper part of the body.Generally, related masquerades, such as Cowboys and Cowgirls, are paired in groups of two to five performers each, depending on the choreography that the groups plan to do, as shown in Figures 10-13. The masqueraders perfectly combine suitable colors and direct attention to where they think appropriate. However, masqueraders are not particularly interested in talking about the reason behind their designs; they're more interested in their performance. Kofi Bortsie3 confirms that the philosophical expediency of these Effutu masqueraders is that they believe their ancestors handed down this culture to them and at all cost they should try to maintain and develop it. That is all they are striving to do. The complexity of the masquerading costumes and their accessories are an undeniable fact that they have artistic expression. Most of the accessories or other attachments on the costumes have little twists and turns. Most forms of accessories are pictured in a variety of shapes—straight, complex, smooth, and round—that deviate from domestic design but engage in superfluidity of superficial rendition. Effutu masquerading costumes have most of the design concentrated on the upper part of the costume, leaving the leg area less elaborate; however, more concentration is usually placed on the feet as the masquerades do a lot of manoeuvering with the feet during the performance.The various “homes” [meeting places] associated with these masquerading groups and their creations have remained so until date. These homes are revered in masquerading culture, to the extent that the group always holds meetings concerning its welfare in these homes, with the exception of training. Even with this, masquerades at times do training in their parent homes. Masquerade artists do not rely on local material to create their costumes; instead, they mostly depend on imported materials. In some instances, they buy finished goods and make them part of the costumes. A classic example is a mask.The masquerade costumes are cultural “masterpieces” and community-oriented. The indigenes (Effutu) of Winneba accept and associate wholly with the culture, which comprises social, economic, and religious benefits. The masquerade artists, their prestigious European connoisseurs, and all elite indigenes involved in the promulgation of Western education and culture through the colonial machinery indoctrinated the people of Winneba as second class Europeans. This encounter has now affected the quality of culture practiced by the people of Winneba. The strict mixture of the cultures, concepts, and techniques of production during the era promoted a type of artistic revelation that, until date, has become the hallmark of the indigenes.From another standpoint, Kow Atta4 shares that the Effutu masquerading culture has been part of Christmas festivities where biblical themes are illustrated. The inclusion of biblical, political, and other social images as part of the aesthetic album is germane. Some costumes, mainly representing Europeans, acknowledged them as the originators of the masquerading culture. It is understandable that the European masquerade artists fuse Christianity, social issues, and political representation into the masquerade culture to create a culture that brings into the limelight a perfect marriage between the characters. It is indisputable that the European originators of this masquerading culture used quite different costumes in their performance. They were doing the masquerading culture for fun, so less concentration was on the costumes than on covering their faces to prevent people from recognising them.Stilts. Masquerading stilts are dazzling acts, with beautiful costumes and a repertoire of tunes and choreographies performed by Effutu masqueraders that have charm, style, and talent to entertain their viewers (Entertain OZ 2020). It is fascinating to see masqueraders perform on two thin sticks as tall as fifteen feet. It takes bravery and mastery of the skills to walk on these sticks. In some instances, children at the age of ten or more participate, using shorter stilts (Fig. 14).The stilt dancer shown in Figure 15a stands on two thin planks of wood, mostly spherical with a platform the size of a foot to which his feet are tied with a rope. Another piece of wood extends for about two feet from just below from the foot area, depending on the wearer's height, also tied to the performer's legs with a rope. A piece of fabric is then used to seal the upper portion of the stilt onto the costume neatly to make a whole. As part of the masquerade groups, the stilt dancers wear costumes designed to visually coordinate but mostly do their act in isolation. It is believed that the masquerading groups in Winneba are fearsome and competitive. Stilt dancers keep their thoughts secret. Because of the competitive nature of stilt performances, a stilt dancer does not want to be defeated by falling in public. In exhibiting their skills, these stilt dancers do not normally wear heavy or detailed costumes, as other African masquerading groups do, and in most instances, neither do they wear a mask that covers their entire face, because they might fall if they cannot see properly. Likewise, wearing hats, which is the most fundamental part of the masquerade costume, is usually ignored by stilt dancers—they prefer wearing wigs or anything that simply covers their heads without blocking their vision.Stilt dancers are well noted for their skilful display of movements and antics—some stilt masquerades go to the extent of carrying babies. Dressing up on the stilts is another of their dazzling displays. With all these displays and mastery, Effutu stilt masquerades can stand in one place for a very long time without fear of falling off the stilts. In Figures 15a-b, a stilt dancer wears a traditional cloth on the stilt, and on the left of Figure 15b he is seen bending backwards, to the admiration of the audience.The sensational stilt dancers do many performances defying the dangers the stilts might pose to them and the audience. This and other skilful but dangerous performances are the order of the day, as they all want to display their capabilities as far as the stilts are concerned. The stilt dancers, although not so very particular about their dress as compared to other masquerade members, still put up their best dresses. Kow Atta5 reiterates, “The costume does not matter as people will be more interested in the display. The height of the stilts and I perfectly have all those qualities. ” The stilt dancers either decorate their stilts by wrapping them with cloth that matches the dress or paint them with enamel paint. In addition, they choose bright colors in the belief that they will be conspicuously noticed.The long-held masquerade culture of the Effutu people of Winneba has acquired flair and inspiration from European settlers on the coast of Ghana in colonial times. Acculturation has influenced the Effutu masquerade since its birth in the nineteenth century. The Effutu people have embraced the relevance of masquerade wholeheartedly. Masquerading culture has become part of the Christmas and New Year's calendar as the Effutu people celebrate this festival annually in a grandiose style. Masks, hats, costumes, stilts, flywhisks, and African bells with ring strikers are powerful visual art forms in aesthetic, religious, socioeconomic, and political idealizations that constitute the Effutu masquerade. These idealizations have brought uniqueness to individual masquerading groups. The aesthetic album of these masquerade artifacts uniquely depends on its aesthetics, philosophies, symbolism, and cultural significance, which preserve traditional culture and reenact the fighting spirit and identity of the Effutu people of Winneba. The phenomenal display of masquerade artifacts is an in-depth cultural exposition that establishes the creative power of indigenous artists in their attempt to produce real-life visual documentaries of their achievements and exploits. The showcase of Effutu masquerade artifacts is a dramatic process of masquerading that has progressed from simple individual display to a well-structured group performance. Effutu masquerade performance evolved into a federation that steers the affairs of the group and gives good direction to follow. These displays and directions that the culture has taken over the years culminate in well-defined sculptures (masks, stilts, and hats), paintings, textiles (costumes), and graphical symbols, which invariably constituted the language of the Effutu masquerading culture.It is evident from the aesthetic album that Effutu masquerade culture abounds in masquerade artifacts, which include costumes, masks, hats, stilts, masquerade homes, and traditional drums that have been added to the brass band performance. The attachments of artifacts to the masquerade performance make Effutu culture complete, as these masquerade artifacts find themselves in the homes of individuals who are advocates of masquerading culture. These treasured artifacts are shown to the people of today and tomorrow, and inform and educate people on the activities, exploits, and achievements of the masquerade groups, their leaders, and the homes of the masquerades. The masquerading groups and federation have kept their masquerade artifacts especially; costumes with individual members and officials, while others sell theirs to people who come around to buy. However, putting up a place to display the artifacts of the masquerades or a collection of these masquerade artifacts has a story to tell in the remit of the educational, informational, and cultural expediency of Winneba.