Song texts, theme and roles of vocal music in egungun traditional festival in Akesan, Awori land of Lagos State

Abstract

Music plays vital roles in various aspects of celebrations among societies in Nigeria. In traditional festivals for example, music is an expression of the culture of the people. Akesan which is a town in Alimosho local Government Area of Lagos State is blessed with rich musical heritage. This paper examined the theme and content of music used in traditional festivals in Akesan, and the roles of song texts in the festival. The study relies on primary data collected through oral interviews conducted with indigenes, Egungun devotees, singers and drummers from Akesan in Lagos, south west Nigeria as well as music recordings and their transcriptions collected through participant observation method. While, we found that traditional festivals in this community has been buffeted by modernity through acculturation, the role and contextual performance of various song texts and their themes in this community provides some evidence that traditional festivals are still religiously observed and they are an integral part of the Awori community in Akeasn land.