Yoruba-Musik
– gestern, heute, morgen
This paper attempts to give a historical overview of the music of the Yoruba people in Nigeria. It starts with what may be considered to be representative of traditional Yoruba music, and traces the development of this music through a number of intermediary stages to current tendencies. The emphasis has been on describing the music within their cultural matrix. Forms like the "Upe" and "Lagha-Logho" employed in the worship of Ogun, and "Ojigbo" and "Ijigi" used in the worship of Sango and other deities, and examples of Gangan music illustrate those types of Yoruba music that may be considered to be relatively free of foreign influence. The modern church music represents a new form of musical synthesis that is still in the experimental stage. Finally, "Juju" and the music of Fela Ransome-Kuti, with its origin in the so-called "Highlife" music, offer insights into development tendencies in the sphere of popular music among the Yoruba today. The paper was presented together with examples of the music discussed and slides of the musicians and their instruments.
A copy of the musical examples used for this study may be obtained by sending a 5'' tape, or 60 min. compact cassette, or öS 60,-- (or its currency equivalent) to: Institut für Jazzforschung, Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz, Leonhardstraße 15, A-8010 Graz, Austria, Europe.