Major Importance of traditional music in Yoruba land
by Ogundijo Mojisola
TRADITIONAL music occupies a critical position in the life of the Yoruba; in the early hours of the day, traditional music is used to announce the dawn of a new day, with Yoruba sons and daughters chanting the praises of their orisas.
Traders, warriors, hunters, and farmers, among others, chant incantations for bumper gains and protection.
The Yoruba language makes it possible to hear music in every spoken word; when a child wakes up, he greets his father, “Baba mi, e ka a ro,” meaning, “Good morning, my father.”
The father then responds by chanting the ‘oriki’ (praises) of the child with the family lineage. With this, one will see that music is also taken from greetings.
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The Yoruba are ancestor and hero worshippers; each ancestor or hero has their peculiar music, which the devotees render and dance to.
For this reason, religious obeisance is not complete without music. A good example is ‘iyere,’ which is the chanting of praise of Ifa Ijala in praise of Ogun.
Esa chanting praises egungun (masquerade), while orisa pipe chanting praises orisas.
Also, in music, there are dances aided by musical instruments, particularly the mother drum of ‘Dundun,’ which directs the dancer’s movements. During dances, the drum also corrects the dancer on the wrong steps they have taken or on the steps to take.
For each traditional music, there are unique drums to accompany it; apart from ‘Dundun,’ there are other drums for traditional music like ‘gangan,’ ‘Agere,’ ‘Agbo’ or ‘Enbedu,’ ‘Sekere’ and ‘aro,’ among others.
Therefore, Yoruba land is rich in traditional music, which further positively projects our culture.
Ogundijo is the Assistant Chief Museum Education Officer at the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan.
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