Scholarly Works
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/773
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Item Gendered space transgressors: a study of two Yorùbá female dùndún drummers(International Library of African Music, 2018) Samuel, K.The contemporary Nigerian musical landscape occasionally becomes a site for contesting and negotiating the established ideology of Yoruba patriarchy. These movements are evident in many women’s decisions to venture into drumming, an age-old male dominated musical profession. Informed by the theory of spatial trialectics, this article investigates gendered space in relation to dundun drumming with a view to understanding the changing nuances of gender relations among the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. Ethnographic techniques were used to generate data on Ara and Ayanbinrin, two well-known urban popular female dundun performers whose aspirations and career trajectories reside outside the Ayan lineage and spiritual tradition. Biographical accounts and lived experiences of both artists suggest that women’s agency in Yoruba drumming is hedged by different, prevailing socioeconomic contexts, including a determination to challenge limitations to a career path and economic progress. By describing how female dundun drumming may be regarded as a response to social and musical change, and discussing how issues of masculinity and femininity are constructed, negotiated and contested, I argue that the belief forbidding women from playing Yoruba drums is not strictly applicable to the dundun because the dundun ensemble is more connected to social than religious performances.Item Philosophical elements in àgídìgbo music and their didactic values for promoting effective educational system for Africa([Fresno Calif.]: California Institute of Pan African Studies, 2018-04) Samuel, K.; Adekola, O. E.This work suggests that there is a decline in the moral values and cultural ethos among the African populace, largely attributed to a combination of leadership capital deficit and decadence in the school system. Hence, there is a need to dig into Africa’s enduring indigenous knowledge system, including philosophical-based traditional music genres, was recommended as part of sustainable home-grown solutions. Àgídìgbo music among the Yorùbá of Nigeria is one of such vocal-based traditional forms, and in this context, this exercise explores Yorùbá philosophical nuances embedded in àgídìgbo music with a view to understanding their educational values. Qualitative research methodology was adopted, acknowledging that Àgídìgbo compositions are rooted in proverbs, aphorisms and parables; presented in symbols of skilled language using figures of speech, imagery and other poetic elements with moral values projected in the music based upon the Yorùbá philosophy of ọmọlúàbí, whose attributes include ìjúbà (paying of homage), ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ (gentleness), ìtẹpámọ́ṣẹ́ (hard work), àforítì (endurance) among others. Thus, as an enculturative traditional African music, àgídìgbo music is a valuable genre for correcting social ills and reinforcing cultural values, as its musical excerpts are also veritable didactic repertories for promoting cognitive and affective development.Item Male attitudes to female dundun drumming in western Nigeria(2014) Samuel, K.Although dundun drumming has been a stereotypically male-dominated profession, female dundun drumming is emerging as an established musical art form among the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria. This paper examines the perception and attitude of Yoruba male drummers to this relatively new development. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data from dundun master drummers in selected Yoruba towns and cities. Two divergent viewpoints were expressed by the male drummers. The liberal ones have not only accepted change, but have also given due recognition to female dundun drummers as colleagues and partners in progress. The other group — hardliners and sustainers of stereotypical traditional roles — however cited spiritual and physical reasons, such as taboos and the non-admittance of women into arenas where cultic activities take place, as well as physical inadequacy and lack of stamina due to the rigorous nature of drumming for their nonrecognition of female drummers. Besides the fact that the physiological make up of women makes the carriage and playing position of the drum inconvenient, this paper argues that drumming is a profession for both men and women. Also, the success stories of some popular female dundun artistes appear to mirror the shifting paradigm in the societal perception of professions in relation to gender.Item Dùndún drumming in Yorubaland(School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Accra, 2012) Samuel, K.The dundun, a double-headed hourglass tension drums the most popular and widely performed of all Yoruba drums used for both religious and social ceremonies. This paper examines the place of dundun music in Yoruba culture. Using in-depth interviews (IDI) and participant-observation methods, a collection of data aided by an audio tape recorder and digital/still camera was embarked upon during a fieldwork carried out in selected prominent Yoruba communities. The mode of skill acquisition on dundun is based on the social learning theory, since the learner follows set examples of a model through an apprenticeship system. The paper, thereafter, advocates for the utilization of the effective traditional system of education in teaching music in Africa's institutions of learning due to its potentials for making music learning more culturally relevant to students at different levels.Item The chequered history of music education in Nigeria(Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, 2015) Samuel, K.Musical arts education has remained a veritable and enculturative medium in African society. Its inclusion in Nigeria’s school curriculum by the policy makers is a testimony of the recognition of its potential for optimal realization and utilization of human resources; not only in terms of norms, customs and folklore of the people in general but also as an important tool for national development. This paper attempts a chequered history of music education in Nigeria from the pre-colonial era to date: It also appraises government's recent negative policy in further annihilating music as a subject from the nation’s school curriculum and suggests strategies by which pro-active musical arts educators could effectively the present cultural and creative arts programme in order to bring about the desired results.