DYNAMICS OF SPRIRTUALITY IN INSTRUMENTAL TECHNOLOGY AND PERFOMANCE OF BẸ̀ MBÉ̩ MUSIC IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Drums are diverse and are used in a variety of contexts in Yorùbá culture. Bẹ̀ mbé̩ , an outer-faced cylindrical membrane drum nuanced by its symbolic spiritual identity, enlivens Yoruba religious and semi-religious soundscapes in the Southwest Nigeria and other Yorùbá-populated regions across the Atlantic. Previous studies on the bẹ̀ mbé̩ focused largely on the parameters of its distribution, categorisation and functions among the Yorùbá, with little attention paid to the spiritual interconnection and apparent transformation of its instrumental technology and performance as a musical art. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate the intersection of spirituality, instrumental technology, and performance practice of bẹ̀ mbẹ́ drum music in Oyo State, Nigeria. Structural Functionalist and Political Ecology theories served as the framework for this ethnomusicological study. Purposive sampling was used to select Ibadan (urban) and two rural towns: Basi and Tapa, in Oyo State of Nigeria, where bẹ̀mbẹ́ drum construction and performances are prominent. Focus group discussions were held with two designated families that are custodians of the ìgunnu(kó) and Òòsà Tapa ritual worship traditions in Basi and Tapa towns, respectively. Key informant interviews were conducted with five leaders of bẹ̀ mbé̩ music ensembles, two wood traders, two chief priests, three clerics of African indigenous church denomination, three choir leaders, two bẹ̀ mbé̩ drum makers, and one instrumental technologist. Data on construction processes and performances were generated through participant observation techniques. The data were subjected to content and musicological analyses. Spiritual nuances were shaped by what bẹ̀ mbé̩ musicians and drum makers chose to emphasise as sacred and authentic in the light of agential and neoliberal paradigms. Although the bẹ̀ mbé̩ was prominently used as a sacred drum in the rural areas, its social evolution, particularly its technology, resulted in modern adaptation and appropriation to contemporary religious contexts in the urban area. To this end, an "Instru- spiritual evolution" emerged based on bẹ̀ mbé̩ 's new outward-facing production. Despite accepting the new technological ideals, seasoned drum makers in Ibadan steadfastly upheld the spiritual belief and practices regarding the indigenous technology of the bẹ̀ mbé̩ . Neoliberal activities of the Basi people aimed towards commercialising and propagating the social aspects of the ìgunnu cult influenced the shift in the embodied spiritual significance of the bẹ̀ mbé̩ . Nonetheless, spiritual nuances persisted in bẹ̀ mbé̩ music performance and construction processes not only within ìgunnukó and Òòsà Tapa rituals, but also in African indigenous church settings. Ambivalent rural and urban engagements expressed in the intersection of instrumental technology and performance practice of bẹ̀mbé̩ drum music in Oyo State, Nigeria reflect continuity and shifts within spiritual space. Bẹ̀ mbé̩ musicology draws on the nuanced technological shift in an experimental narrative and transformation mainly propelled by alternative materials and influenced by ecological crisis, and an acceleration towards market expansion.