2 - Songs of the King’s Wives: Women, Power and Performance in the Yoruba Public Sphere
Corresponding Author(s) : Bode Omojola
Africa Development,
Vol. 34 No. 2 (2009): Africa Development: Special Issue on The Humanities
Abstract
Indigenous festivals, which rely significantly on music and dance, often constitute the village public sphere and the social arena within which the structures of power are performed and negotiated in tradi- tional African communities. This article discusses two unique musical traditions which feature prominently at annual traditional festivals in Emure-Ekiti, a Yoruba town in Western Nigeria. The musical traditions are orin olori (songs of the king’s wives) and a related ensemble, orin airegbe, a musical tradition associated with female chiefs. Exploring an ethnomusicological approach, this article argues that the complemen- tary relationship between these two all-female musical traditions and the scope of their performance practices draw attention to the ways in which public performance sp aks to the status and agency of women in traditional Yoruba societies.
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- Adegbite, A., 1988, ‘The Drum and its Role in Yoruba Religion’, Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 18, Fasc. 1 (February):15-26.
- Ampene, K., 2005, Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana, Hampshire, England, and Burlington, VT USA: Ashgate Publishing Company.
- Barber, K., 1990, ‘Oriki, Women and the Proliferation and Merging of Orisha’,Africa 60 (3): 313-335.
- Drewal, M.T., 1992, Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play and Agency, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
- Euba, A., 1990, Yoruba Drumming: The Yoruba Tradition. Bayreuth: Bayreuth African Studies: 37-60.
- Locke, D., 2005, ‘Africa’, Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World’s Peoples, ed., Titon, Jeff Todd, Belmont, CA: Schirmer (inc. CDs 1& 2): 78-92.
- Mack, B.B., 2004, Muslim Women Sing: Hausa Popular Song, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
- Monson, I., 2007, Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa, New York: Oxford University Press.
- Muller, C.A., 1999, Rituals of Fertility and the Sacrifice of Desire: Nazarite Women’s Performance in South Africa, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Na nyonga-Tamusuza, S.A., 2005, Baakisimba: Gender in the Music and Dance of the Baganda People of Uganda, New York and London: Routledge.
References
Adegbite, A., 1988, ‘The Drum and its Role in Yoruba Religion’, Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 18, Fasc. 1 (February):15-26.
Ampene, K., 2005, Female Song Tradition and the Akan of Ghana, Hampshire, England, and Burlington, VT USA: Ashgate Publishing Company.
Barber, K., 1990, ‘Oriki, Women and the Proliferation and Merging of Orisha’,Africa 60 (3): 313-335.
Drewal, M.T., 1992, Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play and Agency, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Euba, A., 1990, Yoruba Drumming: The Yoruba Tradition. Bayreuth: Bayreuth African Studies: 37-60.
Locke, D., 2005, ‘Africa’, Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World’s Peoples, ed., Titon, Jeff Todd, Belmont, CA: Schirmer (inc. CDs 1& 2): 78-92.
Mack, B.B., 2004, Muslim Women Sing: Hausa Popular Song, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Monson, I., 2007, Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa, New York: Oxford University Press.
Muller, C.A., 1999, Rituals of Fertility and the Sacrifice of Desire: Nazarite Women’s Performance in South Africa, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Na nyonga-Tamusuza, S.A., 2005, Baakisimba: Gender in the Music and Dance of the Baganda People of Uganda, New York and London: Routledge.