In Yoruba land, the talking drum is a percussion to which people can rhythmically dance, but the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi says the cultural significance of the Yoruba talking drum goes beyond mere its entertainment value.
“The talking drum is an important cultural evaluation of the Yoruba people and it was given leap and pioneered by the Oyo Yoruba,” explains, the Alaafin, a royal father and custodian of Yoruba heritage. “When people hear of the talking drum, they believe it is just an instrument to be drummed for people to dance but it is not so, we can use it as a means of conveying a message.”
One can convey messages in diverse forms, one can convey messages in a long or short distance, depending on the situation. As an Oba or a prominent traditional ruler like the Alaafin of Oyo, the palace would not be complete without the talking drum. The talking drum wakes up the Alaafin early in the morning from 5.00 am and starts with the reciting of the Oriki (panegyrics) of the past Alaafins, telling the incumbent Alaafin the challenges they faced, how they overcome the challenges and problems as well as the methods, they used so the talking drum serves as an important instrument of history. The drum goes on to talk about particular songs, dance steps or mannerisms of a past Alaafin to enable the incumbent Alaafin to know the history of his predecessors. And that is why in Yoruba land, especially in Oyo, every Alaafin is the representative of all his ancestors. And it is important that he knows all their history.
“Our history and oral traditions were handed down to us by purely non-literate people. So, the talking drum is an important source of history. Other sources aside the talking drums are poetry or what we call chants. Almost all the established Oyo families, compounds, lineages, can recite their Orikis (family praise/panegyrics), and these are done with the talking drum. The Oriki can’t be complete without the Sekere and talking drums. The Oyo empire which comprised the Bashorun, the Oyo mesi, the Agbaakin, Samo, Alapini, Lagelu, Akininiku and Asipa, etc.” Oba Adeyemi adds.
This class order is sub-divided into smaller units, and the drummers can identify each lineage through its traditional praise song. Nobody in Africa or Nigeria has been able to do an in-depth study of this aspect of our tradition/culture and put down the praise songs of each family lineage, but the drummers can do it.
This means that once you are crowned the Alaafin, you have very little private life of your own, your entire life would be centred on the service of your people, rain or sunshine, the drummers are always there till they close at close to 7pm on a daily basis. They also know the visitors who come to the palace and they always let me know if I want to see a visitor or not. In war, they use drums to energise, encourage and motivate the soldiers and in time of sorrow, they use it to console the people.”
Historically, the talking drum of the Yoruba originated from Oyo. It was first assembled for the Alaafin, as his musical outfit whenever he goes to war. He used it to motivate his army. Today, it is celebrated because it is one of the things the Africans, the Oyo people and Yoruba gave to the world and which cannot be done by any other. Talking drum masters could actually send messages to others.
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Talking drummers play significant roles as the rhythm of drums’ performances, the dancers’ steps are dictated by the rhythm of the drum. Also, before you are crowned Alaafin, you are taken to the shrines of your forefathers and you are made to learn as you are made to learn the intricacies of the dance steps of your ancestors. And all the dance steps you see me displaying are mostly the dance steps of my predecessors, and the Alaafin would not be complete if he cannot display rich culture of his Yoruba people through dance, music, Oriki and so on.
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