Gelede is a celebration that is part of the “liminal” stage of the “rites of passage” in Arnold van Gennep's epoch Les Rites De Passage and also depicts gender roles and social stereotypes. This can be seen in how the festival openly displays the powers of “our mothers” as bipolar—constructive (related to fertility, knowledge of lives secrets) and destructive (power, witchcraft) (Austin-Broose 2003: 19). This bipolar representation is best reflected by the Gelede headdresses - a lower mask and upper superstructure. The lower mask symbolizes a woman's face and expresses qualities of calmness and patience; the superstructure design is diverse and intended to please the mothers by openly showing their inner powers for all to see. Additionally, the celebration has an initiation ritual that is purposely very public, taking place in the market place. It is interpreted that the marketplace serves as a useful metaphor for the world where mortals and spirits meet. Nigeria 's marketplace has historically been a feminine cultural powerhouse since females regulate trading, therefore the balance of power ( Rozen 2004: 2) . Gelede allows both spectators and actors to get highly how involved within the celebration and makes them want to participate more (Oral Heritage of Gelede 1). The Gelede festival does not emphasize the symbolism of birth, maturation, and death, but the celebration uses colorful masks, costumes, and instruments instead (Turner and Tuner 203). The community seems to renew themselves at the source of the festivals joy, having purified themselves in the festivals warmth ( McNamara 2002: 16 ). Also in the liminal stage, the communication of the sacra is mentioned where a scholar Jane Harrison divided the sacra into three parts where one part the “exhibition” related to the Gelede celebration in many ways (Turner and Turner 204). In the Gelede celebration, the Yoruba use drums to perform the celebrations with the masks, the interpretation of the drums can be seen as the observers in many ways. Finally, Gelede uses Greek dramata, which are dramatic performances performed during rituals (Turner and Turner 204). The drama is connected with dance and throughout the Gelede performances there are dances that use intricate dance steps to give rhythm to the performance.

  The cultural significance of Gelede, on a multiple cultural realm is economic. Gelede is a celebration where rituals are performed to ensure of fertile soil and good harvesting throughout the year and is performed in a time of drought. The Yoruba obviously perform this ceremony to have a good economy because without crops, the community will fail, leaving the Yoruba in poverty. Gelede expresses the surrounding of the “great mother earth” and to show that women in the community are treasured for all of their talents (Gelede 2). The Yoruba express that they have respect for everyone within the community and through the celebration Gelede; it is shown in various ways.