Èdè Àyàn: the Language of Drum in Yorùbá Religious and Cultural Practices, Particularly in Egúngún Performances in Òkè-Igbó

Abstract

Abstract In Yorùbá traditional religious beliefs and practices, the role of Àyàn (Drummers) cannot be overstated. For that reason, as scholars of Yoruba art studies, to deny the relevance of Ìlù (Drums) as an indispensable component of Yoruba art and religion is to threaten its deeper understanding. Language is also a vital approach to a deeper understanding of African art. Yoruba art, for instance, is the primary medium through which the Yorùbá philosophy, cultural values, and history are stored and verbally expressed. Thus, a proficiency or nearly competency in the reading, writing, and speaking of the language of the African people whose art we study is vital to a deeper understanding of African art. Also fundamental to a deeper understanding of Yorùbá art is to recognize its unique context that usually embraces a variety of verbal and nonverbal components, which in themselves are works of art. The language of the drum in the Yorùbá Egúngún performative context is a good example. As a native speaker and culture bearer, who is fully aware of the fundamental importance of language in African art studies, the author examines the interconnection of Àyàn and Egúngún from the vantage point of Yorùbá language. The study delves into the root of Egúngún within the Yorùbá cultural context in which the people concretize and validate their thought system in visual and verbal forms. The study provides an overview of Yorùbá drums and their ritual contexts as well as the Yorùbá ontological concept of Egúngún, one of the most valued patrons of Àyàn as an important form of Yorùbá religious beliefs and practices. Using the Egúngún performance in Òkè-Igbó as a case study, the study argues that dance and drum performances can and should be analyzed as a “third dimension” of oríkì, in addition to verbal and the visual of Abiodun’s theoretical framework as demonstrated in his timeless book, Yoruba Art and Language – Seeking the African in African Art (Cambridge University Press, 2014).