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The author was educated in Nigeria and the United States. His
first love is fine art. Oyeniyi is an advocate of a strong
relationship between purposeful development and culture. He
is an author on diverse subjects ranging from art, library
science, biography, public affairs, Nigerian oil and gas and
development studies.
In the course of his career he has attended many international
conferences and seminars at which he presented papers. This
book is a testimony to his deep cultural conviction as a Yoruba
man.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my late mother, !y2nn8iw[n !gb4k6
_][nd8n1 who more than deserved my gratitude. She was the
epitome of !y1n tradition. I am proud of the heritage that she
gave me.
Oyeniyi Osundina
DQND{N
THE TALKING DRUM OF THE
YORQB@ PEOPLE
OF SOUTH WEST NIGERIA
Acknowledgements
This book took four years to accomplish with the cooperation
of many people. I am not sure that my friend, Stephen L2w1n7,
would have chosen to do a book on this subject, but he was
persistent about his encouragement on the phone and whenever
we discussed progress on his work. I owe him many thanks
because, without continuous constructive reminders and
urging, no one, however serious minded, will complete a book
of this nature.
I thank my field assistant, F>l2k6, for accompanying me on
some field trips to (]ogbo and _y= where she assisted me in
my voice recordings.
Ronk6 worked patiently on the computer over several
months to achieve my goal. I must have been a troublesome
client, but Ronk6 is characteristically good natured as I am
aware that I am very demanding on quality. I thank Ronk6 for
struggling with my Yorqb2 poems, proverbs and difficult
folklores which I had to use.
I owe Ad4b=d[n, my younger brother who lives in
London, many thanks for his support and contributions when
he hosted me during my prolonged stays in his house for my
literature search in the British Library. When he was very busy
on his own graduate studies, he would download documents
from the internet which he considered useful for my work on
this book and another project. His support was unquantifiable
in my estimation. I am a regular user of the British Library but
this book was made possible more as a result of the assistance
of several friendly staff of the Humanities floor which I used
over a period of two years. I could not have succeeded in my
literature search without their rich collection and their
Contents
Prologue
Introduction
HistoryandTradition
SignificanceoftheDrum
TheEnsembleTradition
WhenDqnd[nMusicisUsed
HowDqnd[nisemployed
&y21lqinSpeechPerformance
TheRelationshipbetweenTextandMusicStyle
Dqnd[nPerformanceisDrama
!yanLearningTradition
PlayingtheDqnd[nSet
DimensionsofthedrumsinDqnd[n ensemble
TheskilloftheDrummer
Theinfluenceofindividuality
MakingtheDrums
MaintainingtheDrums
TheSocialperspective
TheInfluenceof&y2 7lqinSocialBehaviour
Dqnd[n DrummingisaCompleteArt
List of Illustrations
G[d[g[d[
<m>le tied
<m>le untied and 7y27lq
G2ngan
A full ensemble
!k[b1
&y27lq
Igi &lq (Wooden body)
&y27lq and g[d[g[d[ drummer
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Prologue
One of my friends sent an email to me which revealed
astonishing facts in the history of civilization. I was
overwhelmed by the significance of the historical facts in the
email, yet many scholars may not be familiar with the facts.
The email drew me back to tears as I pondered on how much
mankind has lost in history and culture. The facts in the email
reminded me specifically of how much of the past, indeed
recent past, has been lost as a result of disregard for and
ignorance about Nigerian folklore, art, music, custom and
language.
This reminder gladdens my heart in the sense that
something like that activated my consciousness to the need for
this book four years ago. The objective here is to produce a
book which speaks outside the realm of western musicology. It
therefore deals with the ramifications of dqnd[n drumming as
an integral part of community life, encompassing the tradition,
the training, the art, the uses and the relationship between
dqnd[n musical form and the people's social life. The talking
drum of Yorqb2 people is more than the maker of a good
music, since it speaks eloquently for the culture of the people.
The speech text and drama in dqnd[n drumming are what
mark the instrument out as unique.
To put it very mildly, the tradition and culture of dqnd[n
drumming are fading among the people of Southwest Nigeria
today. This is worrisome because it is not easy to arrest the
trend any longer. For instance, two dqnd[n exponents among
the &gb0m7n1 people of Kwara and _]un States who were
deeply rooted in the !y1n tradition passed away in the last two
years. They were among the maestros who held the flag very
high among dqnd[n 7y2 7lq drummers. With their deaths, their
music and talents died. This is regrettable. The same trend is
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