The Preservation of Yoruba Tradition Through Hunters' Funeral Dirges
The Preservation of Yoruba Tradition Through Hunters' Funeral Dirges
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The Egungun there bear differentnames symbolic of their functions just as in West
Africa. They also wear the most colourful and expensive materialssuch as velvet in
the same fashionas it exists in West Africa.Most of the Egungun could muttera few
words of Yoruba blessings and the congregationwas made to respond with salutes
and pleas regardingtheir personalproblems.(1976a:6).
. . . The collapse and suppression of Qyq opens with the outbreakin 1813 of the
Owu war, the first of the civil wars. This was followed by the revolt at Ilorin against
the Alafin by Afonja, his Kakanfo, which gave the Fulani their foothold in
Yorubaland,the overthrowof Qyo by the Fulani, and then the southwardmove of
the Oyo people into the forest. The period closes with the building by emigrantsof
new towns, notably Ibadan(c.1830), the enlargementof older towns like Ijaye, and
the founding of a new capital in the south at Ago-oja,renamedOyo (c. 1837). (Ajayi
and Smith 1964:10).
The Fulani incursion into the Yoruba Kingdom from the north and the western
invasion by the Dahomeans caused people in old Qyo to flee and build new
settlements.Apart from war, famine or epidemics sometimes drove people from their
initial settlement to seek their fortunes elsewhere, and consequently to become
detachedfrom the other membersof their lineage.
Thus a once peacefully settled people could find themselves emigrating to new
placesin searchof their means of livelihood. As a result of this dispersal,the exponents
of Yorubaverbal art were also scatteredin such a way that they lost adequatecontact
with each other. The gods, too, were little attended to as most of the central
institutionsof worship had been sackedand scattered.The institution of kingship, for
which the Yoruba were famous, was underminedby the invaders, and there was no
longer any firm centralauthorityto hold the people together. The resultanteffect was
that Yoruba people became less informed about the customs, traditional skills,
techniques,and life style of their ancestors.
In contrast,chantersof iremojepoetryregularlyreferto past Yorubarituals,customs,
and ancestralskills in their performances.By making these references,they provide
their audience with oral informationbringing their cultural heritage once more into
the limelight, as exemplifiedby the followingextractfrom dirge:3
This dirge is a humorouschant for which the Qlofa lineage is very famous. The chant
also reflectsthe artist'screativepower in using the syllablefa to producevaryinglevels
of meanings. The extract deserves attention, however, because it allows us a deeper
insight into the past social life of a one time ruler of Ofa. We learn that the ruler's
favouritemusic includes koso, dindun, and kiinrinjingbin.These are ancient forms of
music enjoyed by chiefs and the wealthy. Unfortunately,apartfrom dundun,they are
no longer in popularusage in Yorubalandtoday, and apartfrom relics in museums the
Since the Yorubapeople areanxiousto know their past, both culturaland otherwise,in
anticipation of the future, they often turn up in large numbers to attend the
performanceof hunters'funeraldirges. The above excerptsuggeststhat an appreciable
level of dramaticand acrobaticdance tradition,involving named folk dramatists,once
existed amongstthe Yoruba.To the artists,the height of the performanceoccurs when
they are repeatinga ritual dramathat formeda majorsource of entertainmentfor their
ancestors.We may indeed be justified in consideringthe current emergenceof many
folk dramaticgroups and acrobaticdancers,now often featuredon television, as being
inspiredby traditionaldramalike iremoje.
Birth, like death, occupies a prominent place in the folklore of the Yoruba people,
with many associatedbeliefs and rituals. The event normally affects all members of
any Yoruba extended family, and some primary rituals are performedto initiate the
new entrant into the social relationshipsalready in existence. The baby's transition
from orun (sky, heaven) to aye (world, earth) is marked by the performance of
traditionalrites. On the ninth or seventh day afterbirth, Yorubatraditiondemandsthe
performance of naming rituals for male and female babies respectively. Ritual
materials,to mention only the importantones, consist of edibles:kolanut,red palm-oil,
honey, sugar-cane,alligator-pepper,salt, dried fish, water and alcohol. The ceremony
is ordinarilyheld early in the morning when all relatives of the baby's parents, their
friends and neighbours, gather in the central passage of the house to watch. The
assembled audience, a symbolic guard of honour welcoming a respected guest,
ascertainsthe completeness of the ritual materialsand judges the correctnessof the
performance. The initiator, usually an elderly woman versed in Yoruba custom,
awakensthe inner 'souls' of the ritualmaterialsby chantingincantatorysalutesin their
praise. She formallywelcomes the baby among humans, and makesthe baby, together
with the assembled audience, taste all the ritual items, one by one. This common
tasting symbolicallyratifiesthe union of the baby with the group he comes to join on
earth. Unfortunately, the observance of this traditional custom is becoming less
common in contemporarytimes and, even where it is observed,both the form and the
ritualitems have largelylost their meaning.
On the other hand, since irem.ojesingers are concerned with the whole life of the
deceased, including his religious and ritual life, their examination of his biography
must commence with his birth. As they eulogize the deceased, their allusion to birth
rites is very necessary,since two majorceremonies- at birth and death - are due to
every individual,to allow full entry into the group of ancestors,and a public testimony
of their observancemust be properlymade. It is this testimonythat an iremojoesinger is
makingin this extract:
the hunters, the act of performing the rite is no mere play-acting, nor is it a dramatic device
to fill an idle hour. Most people at such performances believe religiously in the ritual, and
are convinced that their own welfare depends on the success of its performance.
NOTES
Rdra:a type of Yorubapraisepoetryusuallychantedby men andwomento saluterecognizedindividualsat
ceremonies.
2 With the
sack of Old Oyo in 1830, most of the Yorubainitial settlementswere deserted,and are now in
ruins.Oraltraditionoften refersto Ika,Iseke,Akeetan,to mentiona few, whosesitesarestill to be foundnearOld
Oyo today.
3 Chanted
by Laniyanat the funeraldirgeperformancefor Ogfindokunon September2, 1975, at Oyo.
4 Esa:Yoruba
poetrynormallychantedby ancestor-worshippers.
5 Chanted
by Laniyanat the funeraldirgeperformancefor Ogfinleruiat Apaara,Oyo, on July 7, 1975.
6 Chantedby Laniyanat the funeraldirge performance for Ogindele at Gfidigbfi, Qyo, on July 14, 1976.
REFERENCES
Resume
Les chantsfunebres
des chasseursYorubaet leur role dans le maintien
et le renouveaudes traditionsculturelles
Les hymnes funebres des chasseurs Yoruba, designes par le terme de iremoje,sont des complaintes de
composition po6tique: chantes par les chasseurs, ils forment une partie d'un rite de passage pour leurs
confreres defunts. Bien qu'evoquant surtout la douleur des chanteurs pour les disparus, ces hymnes
font souvent allusion aux concepts traditionnels sur lesquels reposent les us et coutumes Yoruba, a
savoir les outils habituels, les divers travaux et metiers, les types vestimentaires, les danses, les moeurs
et les normes de la societe. Comme le texte de chaque hymne est tire essentiellement de sources trad-
itionnelles, chaque c6ermonie d'iremojeest pour la g6enration pr6sente un rappel du passe servant de
gouverne pour l'avenir: c'est cette fonction didactique de l'iremojequi en constitue l'un des aspects les
plus importants.