Adumu is one of the water-people (owuamapu) danced by the Ekine society, a spirit of the serpent and the python. In his masquerade the coiling of the snake is figured in carved posts and staves and echoed in the whirling movement of the dance performed in his honour. Like the other owu he belongs to the order of nature-spirits held to govern the rivers and creeks, invited into the town as an honoured guest for his festival within the fixed cycle of plays.