David W. Ames - Igbo and Hausa Musicians (A Comparative Examination)

Igbo and Hausa Musicians: A Comparative Examination
Author(s): David W. Ames

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 17, No. 2 (May, 1973), pp. 250-278
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for Ethnomusicology
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IGBO AND HAUSA MUSICIANS:
A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION1
David W. Ames
INTRODUCTION
uch more is known about the structure of West African
musics-i.e.,
the
organization
of
sonorities, rhythms
and the like-than is known
about the
performers
of such
music, despite
the fact that it has
long
been
recognized
that musicians
play
an
important part
in the social life of West
African societies. The
following comparison
of musicians
among
the
Igbo
of
Obimo and the Hausa of Zaria illustrates and directs attention to the
following:
1)
There are enormous contrasts in the social
organization
of musical
life
among
the
peoples
of West
Africa, reflecting major
differences in
historical
experience,
social structure and
psychological
orientation.
And
by extension,
as
Schapera (1953:353-361) suggested many years
ago,
it would seem advisable to make intensive studies in
geo-
graphically
restricted areas of
major populations
before
making
broader
comparisons
and
generalizations.
2) Complexity
in the social
organization
of musical life reflects societal
complexity,
as
exemplified by
musicians in the Hausa
city-state
of
Zaria,
where one encounters
professionalization,
full-time
specializa-
tion,
master-apprentice relationships,
and the
development
of a
distinctive
occupational
micro-culture.
3)
Marked differences in the rank of the musician in Obimo and Zaria
may
be ascribed to both
qualitative
differences in the social structure
and different histories of culture contacts. The
question
of the rank
of musicians as a distinct
group
of
specialists
has far less
significance
among
the
villagers
of
Obimo,
with their
"equalitarian"
outlook,
than
among
the
exceptionally
rank-conscious inhabitants of the
city-state
of Zaria. On the other
hand,
the
exceedingly
low rank
assigned
to
professional
musicians in Zaria
appears
to
stem,
in
part
at
least,
from the influence of Islam.
It is
probable
that further research will reveal
regional patters reflecting
similar historical
experiences
and
comparable
levels of sociocultural
integra-
tion. For
example,
it seems that there are far
greater
similarities in the
position
of the musician
(degree
of
professionalization,
low
rank, etc.) among
250
AMES: IGBO AND HAUSA MUSICIANS
widely separated
Muslim societies located in Herskovits'
(1962:57)
Western
Sudan culture area
(e.g.,
the Wolof, Mandinko, Sonrai, Hausa and
Kanuri)
than
among
the much more
closely
situated
Igbo
of eastern
Nigeria
and Hausa
of northern
Nigeria. Yet,
before
outlining
social
patterns
in the musical life of
the
large-scale
Islamic societies of the Western
Sudan,
one would need more
information about the
"pagan" groups
sandwiched between the Muslims.
In our
comparison
of the musical life of Obimo and
Zaria,
we will
examine the
following:
social contexts of music;
status of musicians and
degree
of
professionalization;
motivations of
musicians; occupational
inheri-
tance;
musical
training;
social rank and social distance; alleged
character
attributes of musicians;
and a historical
interpretation
of the low rank
assigned
to musicians
among
the Hausa.
THE CULTURAL SETTINGS
Although separated by
fewer than five hundred miles of
Nigerian
countryside,
the societies of the Hausa of Zaria and the
Igbo
of Obimo are
distinctly
different and,
in some
ways, poles apart.
In
general,
the social
structures of the
Igbo
of Obimo
may
be described as small in scale and
relatively undifferentiated,
those of the Hausa of Zaria as
large
in scale and
highly
differentiated.
Before
continuing
our
comparison,
it should be stated that our
descrip-
tions of the Hausa of Zaria and the
Igbo
of Obimo do not
necessarily
represent
all Hausa and
Igbo
groups, though, undoubtedly,
most of them have
much in common. The
Igbo,
particularly,
exhibit considerable
regional
cultural
variation.
Obimo is a cluster of
villages
in the Nsukka District north of
Enugu
in
eastern
Nigeria,
and its
Igbo
residents are
mostly
subsistence farmers, culti-
vating yams,
cassava and
cocoyams
for food.
Except
in some new and modern
occupations,
full-time
specialization
of labor is rare. While wood
carving-
particularly
of ceremonial masks-is
competently
done and
artistically
im-
pressive,
crafts which are common in
many parts
of
Nigeria-such
as leather-
working, weaving
and
dyeing,
basketry
and
pottery-making-are
either absent
or of inferior
quality (Forde
and Jones
1950:15).
A
lively
trade in which
women dominate is carried on in small rural markets.
By contrast, Zaria
(Zazzau)
in northwestern
Nigeria
is a
large
and
complex city-state
that cannot be construed as tribal in either the technical or
popular
sense.
Here,
one is struck
by
the
degree
and
variety
of
occupational
specialization
and
by
the
intensity
and
range
of commerce.
Heterogeneity
is
seen in urban-rural and
commercial-peasant
contrasts and in social stratifica-
tion.
Although
the
society
of Zaria is too
complex
to be
neatly defined,
the
Hausa themselves
distinguish
three or four social strata based on
occupational
status and rank, with
high
officials (masu sarauta), wealthy
merchants
(attajirai)
and Muslim scholars in the
upper range
and a
large
number and
251
wide
variety
of
occupation groups-including
musicians and butchers-at the
bottom
(Smith 1959:248-251).
The absence of social stratification in Obimo
corresponds
to the absence
of a
high
degree
of division of
labor,
but it is also
pertinent
that the
Igbo
as a
whole are known to be
relatively "equalitarian" (Uchendu 1965:19)
and
individualistic.
Today, only
"slaves" dedicated to the
gods (osu)-few
in
number-have
very
low rank and are not married
by
the freeborn.
With the Hausa of
Zaria,
a
person's
rank in
society
is tied to his
occupation
and ethnic status.
Occupational
status is
ideally
ascribed at
birth,
though many actually
leave their father's work for another. The Hausa lexicon
contains
surprisingly
exact
equivalents
of the
sociological
terms,
ascribed
status and achieved status:
gado,
the inheritance of a social
position;
and
haye,
an
acquired (literally "mounted") position. Haye
has a
pejorative
connotation since
many Hausa-particularly elderly persons
and rural folk-still
believe
strongly
that a son should
adopt
his father's
occupation.
A
person
failing
to do so is
likely
to be called worthless or wicked
(literally
"satanic,"
shedanci),
and the act is often
symbolized
as
bastardy (shege).
Sometimes it is
argued
that a son should follow his father's trade even if it is
thievery!
There would
appear
to be more achieved statuses
(haye)
in the
city
than
in the
village.
In a
village sample
of 293 Hausa
individuals,
72
per
cent
(or
211)
followed their fathers'
occupations;
but in a
city sample
of 288
persons,
only
50
per
cent followed their fathers'
occupations.
In both
village
and
city
samples, blacksmiths, butchers, dyers, leatherworkers,
tailors
(hand sewers),
weavers,
and tanners were the most
stable,
in that
very
few with fathers in
these
occupations
shifted to another. The most "unstable"
occupations
were
trading, farming,
and Muslim
scholarship.
The
prevalence
of ascribed status
among
the Hausa contrasts with a
comparatively large
number of achieved statuses
among
the
Igbo
of Obimo.
Although
the Obimo
villagers
have no social
stratification, they
do
recognize
individual differences in rank. The
acquisition
of wealth stands out
among
the
Obimo
Igbo
as the means of
attaining high
rank.
Although
the
possession
of
wealth
per
se is an
important symbol
of
rank,
the
heavy expenditure
of
wealth
appears
to be even more
highly valued, e.g.,
it is the
principal
means
for
obtaining highly
valued
titles, though
the character of the candidate and
his
family background
are also taken into consideration.
The
following positions
are viewed as
having high
rank
(okwa):
"chiefs"
(a
non-traditional
position)
and
lineage
heads; title-holders, especially
of the
ozo title or the female
equivalent, lolo-anyi;
and traditional
priests.
The ozo
title-holders are the most numerous of these.
They
are not
only wealthy,
but
also
collectively
involved in the administration of the affairs of the com-
munity-working
with the chief who acts as their
spokesman-and adjudicating
important disputes,
such as those
concerning
land.
Despite
individual differences in
rank,
the
"equalitarian"
social outlook
prevails and,
in
general,
there is much less
ascription
of status at birth and far
more social
mobility among
the Obimo
Igbo
than
among
the Zaria Hausa.
This
may
be related to the absence of extensive
occupational specialization
252
and division of labor and the absence of
large
urban centers of
commerce,
but
it is also notable that Obimo has no
major
ethnic
cleavage
of
"conquerors"
and
"conquered",
such as the Zaria Hausa have. Neither are there marked
group
differences in the control of land and other
strategic
economic
resources,
as in Zaria.
In the emirate of
Zaria, political authority-as might
be
expected-is
arranged along
strict hierarchical
lines,
with all
important governing positions
in the central and district
governments being
filled
by
certain
lineages
of the
prestigious
"town" Fulani. In
Obimo,
on the other
hand,
the
Igbo
have a kind
of direct "town
meeting" style
of
democracy
in which all adult males
may
participate, although
the ozo titleholders
play
an
especially important
role in
political
affairs and are more influential. In former
times,
the Eze from
OmoEkwa was the title holder with the most
prestige,
and the titular
head,
at
least,
of all Obimo.
Now,
the head is the "Chief' of
Obimo,
selected from a
patrilineage residing
in
Umuayiko.
Islamic beliefs and
practices
are dominant
among
the Hausa of
Zaria,2
while Obimo is
split
between Christian
(Catholic
and
Anglican) church-goers
and those active in the traditional
religion
with its
pantheon
of
spirits
and
emphasis
on
public worship
and rites.
However, many
who are
Christians,
including many prominent elders, simultaneously
hold traditional beliefs and
may participate
in the traditional
rites, despite
the
objections
of Christian
priests.
The
Anglican
Youth Choristers of Obimo were observed
parading
through
the
village
behind a
group
of non-Christians at a second burial
ceremony, singing
their
hymns
in a
vigorous polyrhythmic fashion,
quite
the
opposite
of the
lugubrious "European"
manner in which
they sang
the same
songs
in church. I also heard
caroling
late Christmas Eve in front of the homes
of members of the Christ
Apostolic
Church of
Nsukka,
which was
similarly
vigorous
and
partly
traditional in character.
THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN OBIMO
Music enters into
many aspects
of the lives of the
people
of Obimo.
There are
songs
of social comment
sung by
the
youth
on
moonlight nights,3
which both entertain and function as an
important
mechanism of social
control. There are
songs
of
group
and individual labor. There are
xylophone
rhythms
and
songs played
for
wrestling. Songs
of
praise
are
sung
for
persons
who have
acquired important titles,
and at funerals the dead are
eulogized
in
song. Marriage, childbirth,
and
naming
ceremonies are marked
by songs.
There
are
lullabies,
war
songs,
and even incantations
sung by priest-diviners
for their
clients
(Echezona 1965:46).
There are the
songs
of different
types
of
girls'
clubs and
songs interspersed
with the
telling
of folktales.
G. I. Jones
(personal communication)
notes that
special
tusk horns and
special
drums are
part
of the
regalia
of
chiefly
office
among
the
Igbo
of Nri
Awka.
Similarly,
the
people
of
Obimo,
unlike most
acephalous Igbo
societies,
had an Eze or
priest-ruler
in former times like the
people
of Nri Awka
(Forde
253
and Jones
1950:39),
and
special
music was
performed
for him
by
non-
professional
musician-farmers on
special
iron
gongs
and
drums,
which
may
be
still found in the hamlet of Omoekwa
today.
At the
present time,
the
non-traditional chiefs of Obimo have no musical instruments as
regalia
of
office,
nor do
they
have their own court musicians.
The most valued music and the most
frequently
heard is traditional
sacred
music-played
at second burial ceremonies and
important
annual
religious
festivals
(both
Christian and
traditional).
This music is
played by
various kinds of instrumental ensembles associated with the male-dominated
secret societies which
are, themselves, religious
organizations.
The
part played
by
music in
Igbo religion
has been
cogently
outlined
by
W. W. C. Echezona:
Music,
vocal or
instrumental, plays
a
large part
at initiation ceremonies of
youths
to manhood or to the tribal
mysteries.
Dances and
songs
of a
religious
or ceremonious nature
play
a
large part
in
religion
where
they
constitute acts of
worship
or
accompaniments
to such acts. The ex-
temporized
words of
songs,
the swell of the
music, rhythmic
motions of the
dance and the
gregarious feeling
that
everybody
is
taking part
in the same
action
heighten
the
religious
sentiment. Other acts of a ritual
nature,
such as
processions
around the town before the actual burial
processions,
are
largely
musical
(1965:46).
Of
course,
as mentioned
above, hymn singing
makes
up
a
large portion
of the
ritual of Christian churches of the district.
Since
music,
in the
society
of
Obimo,
is
much-indeed, mostly-involved
in or derived from
religious
life,
some
description
of the traditional
religion
may prove
useful and
justify
a
digression.
The
Igbo
of
Obimo,
like other
Igbo,
believe in a
lofty paramount deity,
Cukwu,
who created
everything
(Uchendu 1965:94-95), including
all lesser
gods
or
spirits (alosi)
to
whom,
as
Horton
(1956:18) says,
"He
delegated
the
power
to control the various
aspects
of nature and the activities of men."
Anyanwu
is the sun
god,
and
most traditional households are said to have a shrine to him
(Meek 1937:25).
However,
the earth
goddess
of the
Igbo,
called Ani in Obimo and Nike
(Horton 1956:18),
is the most
prominent
of the
pantheon
of lesser
gods.
Her
shrine is located in Ekabani
village,
the inhabitants of which are referred to as
"the owners of the land." She is
closely
associated with ancestral
worship
as
the ruler of the underworld and the dead. Because she is also viewed as the
major
source of
fertility, persons
from the other
villages annually bring
a
sacrifice of one cow and several
goats
to her shrine. In this
way,
as Meek
(1937:25) observed,
her shrine
helps
to
integrate
the
villages
of the Obimo
group.
Ani also serves as an
important
sanction of the moral and
legal
code.
Incidentally,
the
spirit
of Ekabani
village
is considered so
strong
and
danger-
ous that
persons
from other
villages
refuse to
marry
its inhabitants or eat their
food.
The ancestral
spirits, particularly
those of the
original
settlers,
are
important
in economics as well as in
religion.
In
fact,
the more "universal" or
more
widely recognized Igbo spirits
of Ani and of the Amaba cult are held to
be kin of the
founding
ancestors in the settlement
myth
which validates the
254
villagers'
claim to their land4 and their
right
to
govern
it. Horton
(1956:23-26) reports
a rather similar
parochialization
of the "universal" Ani
in the
neighbouring
Nike
group.
This
pattern
is not
surprising
since Ani is not
only
a
major
sanction but also a
key symbolic
link between land and
polity
in
the Obimo
cosmological system.
According
to the
mythological
charter,
the
spirit
of an
early settler,
Ezugwu,
is the most
powerful
of all.5 There is a shrine with a
priest
for
Ezugwu
in the
village
of IhikwErE
where, according
to
myth,
he settled.
Semi-annually, people
from the other
villages bring
two cows to sacrifice at
his
shrine,
and
villagers go
there
regularly
to deal with serious illnesses or to
swear an oath on him. His name is also called
upon
to
protect people
in
greetings.
Ani and another
important spirit, Adada,
are sisters of
Ezugwu,
and
Ekwe is his son. Amaba is said to be the son of Adada.
They
all have shrines
with the
exception
of
Ekwe, who,
in the form of a masked
dancer,
acts as a
representative
of
Ezugwu
in
public
rites
every
other
year.
A sacrifice is offered
at
Ezugwu's
shrine when the
people
desire Ekwe to
appear
in
public.
A
young
man of Obimo
may join
one of several secret societies. These
clubs or societies are named after one of the
spirits
in the
village pantheon,
e.g.,
Amaba,
Ekwe or Ikorodo. From the
membership
of a
society,
an
instrumental ensemble-a band-is assembled to
play
at
public
ceremonies and
festivals in honour of the
society's
namesake. Bands that
play
music for
Amaba and Ikorodo are found in all but a few
villages,
and those for Ekwe
are found in about half. Ikorodo bands are
especially popular
in the
villages
of
Obimo and can be heard
year
around at second
burials, public festivals,
and
on the occasion of a visit
by
a minister of state or some other
important
dignitary. (Ikorodo
is the famous maiden
spirit
of the mmo
cult,
who
represents
her
mother, Ani,
as a dancer
wearing
a
strikingly
beautiful white
mask with an elaborate
headdress,
carved in
wood,
and a costume covered
with
brightly
colored
appliqued
cloth
designs.)
There is another
society,
with
bands in about half the
villages,
called
Okobonyi.
Ani was said to have had two other
daughters: Onanugbo
and
Arigo,
and
Adada also has a
daughter
called
Odenigbo. Elderly
informants
reported
belonging
to musical
groups
associated with societies centered around these
"daughters,"
which
apparently
no
longer
exist
today.
As has been
said,
these secret
society
bands
provide
the most
frequently
heard music in Obimo.
Music, then,
is set in a
religious
matrix.
Some of the more common instruments observed in Obimo6 were a
simple xylophone
of several slabs of wood rested on the
thighs
while the
musician is seated with
legs outstretched,
the "thumb
piano,"
and the raft
zither. Other
idiophones
are metal
gongs-double
and
single,
small and
large-
small
cymbals
made of
tin,
and rattles made of
baskets, calabash,
and tin.
There were several sizes of slit drums made of hollowed
logs,
wooden
troughlike gongs,
and a ceramic
pot-drum
beaten
alternately
with a leather
paddle
and a bare hand. There were also several kinds of
membranophones
or
"true" drums.
Among
the wind instruments there were several sizes of
calabash horns
played
in ensemble for Ikorodo
music, elephant
tusk
horns,
and wooden notched flutes.
255
THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN ZARIA
The Hausa of Zaria
play
a
greater
number of musical instruments
(Ames
1965b:62)-about fifty membranophones, idiophones, aerophones
and
chordophones
were counted-than do the
Igbo
of Obimo
and, although
the
range
of musical
expression
is
similarly wide,
the
content, emphases
and
organization
of music and musical
activity
are often
radically
different. Unlike
the
Igbo,
the Hausa consider
musicanship
to be one of
many
traditional
occupations
or crafts
(sana'a),
like
blacksmithing
or
weaving.
A
great majority
of Hausa musical instruments are
played only by professional
musicians, many
of whom derive all or a
major portion
of their income from this
pursuit.
One
hundred and
twenty-four
or 81
percent
of a
sample
of 153 musicians derived
most or all of their income from music
and,
not
surprisingly,
urban musicians
were more often full-time
specialists
than were rural musicians.
Another fundamental difference is that Zaria Hausa music is
performed
mainly
in secular
contexts, performances
with musical instruments
being
notable for their absence from Islamic rites and
mosques.7 Only
in the Bori
spirit-possession
cult are music and dance used
regularly
as an
integral part
of
the ritual. Bori
very likely represents,
in
reinterpreted form,
the
pre-Islamic
religion
of the Hausa and thus is the nearest
equivalent
to the traditional
religion
of the
people
of Obimo.
Nevertheless,
while one
religion may
remind
us of the
other,
there are substantial differences between them. The tra-
ditional
religion
of Obimo is
simply
not subordinated to
Christianity
to the
extent that Bori is to Islam. The
worship
of the traditional
gods
and
spirits
in
Obimo has
many
more initiates and adherents than the Bori cult of
Zaria,
and
it
plays
a far more
prominent
and
respected part
in
public
ceremonial life
throughout
the
year.
Obimo traditional sacred music is
performed
for the
initiation of the
youth,
for
funerals,
and for various
religious
festivals-for
example,
the
important
annual
yam
festival. It is not
only frequently
heard
and
regarded by
all with
pride
(p. 254),
but it involves a much
larger
percentage
of the musicians of the
community
than does Bori.
Moreover,
the
performers
of this music in Obimo are
widely respected,
whereas the
professional
Bori musicians
enjoy very
low rank
compared
with other
musicians in Zaria.
Although
music is
normally
not an
integral part
of Islamic
religious
rites
per se,
there are a few occasions where it is
loosely
associated with them. For
example, praises
are sometimes blown on the
long trumpet (kakaki) by
a
musician
accompanying
the Emir as he walks back to his
palace
from the
mosque
each
Friday.
Court musicians also
accompany
their
patrons
as
they
ride on horseback to and from the
praying grounds
outside the
city
walls
during
the annual feasts of Id-el-Maulaud and Id-el-Fitr. Of
course, they
do
not
play
for the
praying
itself. It should be mentioned that
religious poems
are chanted
unaccompanied,
in a
sing-song fashion, by
Koranic scholars and
blind
beggars,
as are the secular verses of modem
poets
like M. Salihu
Kontagora
of Zaria and M. Na'ibi S. Wali of Kaduna.
(See
Arnott
1968;
King
and
Mukoshey 1968). Occasionally
one also hears Muslim
hymns being
chanted
by
members of the
Tijaniyya
sect.8
256
Music of the Professionals
As has been
said,
the
primary
source of music in Zaria is the
professional
musician. The
major categories
for "musicians"
(maroka)
of the
Hausa are masu kida
("drummers"
of
string
instruments,
as well as
percussion),
masu busa
("blowers"),
mawaka
("singers"),
marokan baki
("ac-
clamators"),
and
'yan
magana ("talkers"-i.e.,
users of fast metric
speech).
In
a recent
study (Ames
and
King 1971), seventy specific
classes of
performers
were identified for the
kingdoms
of Zaria and Katsina alone.
However,
the
role of music
may
best be indicated
by
classification of these
professionals
according
to their
patrons
and to the social
settings
in which
they usually
perform.
1)
The Musicians
of Occupational
Classes. Musical
groups
tied
by
tradition to one of the
following
who act as their
patrons-butchers,
black-
smiths,
hunters and farmers. Musicians themselves have a
special
class of
low-ranking
musicians
(karen maroka)
tied to them.
2)
Musicians in Political
Life.
There are
(a) ordinary
court musicians of
the Emir and
high
officials
residing
in the
capital city
of
Zaria,
and District
heads; (b)
famous
singers
and their bands
(often
court
musicians),
who travel
through
the emirates of northern
Nigeria;
and
(c)
musicians who
primarily
play-or did,
at
least,
until
recently-for
functions of modern
political parties.
In
addition,
among
the Hausa of
Zaria,
the use of seven kinds of mem-
branophones,
four kinds of
aerophones
and an iron
gong
were restricted to
the
ruling nobility
and served as
important symbols
of
political
office. The
most
prestigious
of these were the
tambura,
special kettle-shaped royal drums,
which are
part
of the exclusive
regalia
of the Emir's office
(Ames
1965:74-77). By contrast,
Obimo
Igbo
chiefs have neither court musicians nor
instruments
symbolic
of their
office,
although
a few oza titleholders are said
to own a
ufle,
a
type
of
hollow-log,
slit
drum,
which is
played
in their
honor,
although
this is not
passed
on from one titleholder to another in the
way
that
the tambura are inherited
by
each
person succeeding
to the office of Emir.
Special
instruments and
songs
were
played formerly
for the Eze titleholder
and ruler of
Obimo, but,
unlike the officials of the
kingdom
of
Zaria,
he did
not
support professional
court
musicians, many
of whom were full-time
specialists.
3)
Musicians
of
Recreational Music. In this
group may
be found
many
kinds of free-lance musicians who
play
for the
general public, including
famous
singers (see above)
and their bands who
perform primarily
for the titled
nobility, high officeholders,
and
wealthy
merchants. Others concentrate on
drumming
for secular
activities,
such as
dancing, boxing, wrestling
and
play-associations
of the
young.
Still
others, chiefly single-stringed
fiddle
players
or
lutanists,
often
play
in harlots'
houses, hotels,
and in
gambling
places.
Obimo
folk,
of
course,
have
drumming
for
dancing,
but much of it is
done
during religious rites; and,
unlike the
Hausa,
both
sexes,
old and
young
alike,
take interest in all kinds of musical
performances (Madumere 1953:63)
and have been observed
dancing
in
public. Ignoring
the differences in musical
257
instruments,
there are
parallels
in
drumming
for
wrestling, although
the
Igbo
"drummer"
(xylophonist)
is not a
professional,
as is the Hausa.
4)
Musician-Entertainers. This
group
is made
up
of itinerant entertainers
and comedians of various
sorts,
who
perform
with musical
accompaniment
in
market
places
and at other
large public gatherings. Again,
there is no
equivalent among
the
Igbo.
5)
Musicians
for
the Bori
Spirit-Possession
Cult. As has
already
been
indicated,
these are the
only professional
Hausa musicians who
regularly play
music as an
integral part
of a
religious ceremony.
Some of the Bori
musicians-lutanists
(masu
garaya)
and fiddlers
(masu goge)-also perform
at
naming
and
marriage ceremonies,
and the latter
performed
often for modern
political party
functions until
they
were outlawed in
January
1965.
The
songs sung by professional
musicians stress their
patrons' positions,
ranks, titles, ancestry, powerful friends,
virtuous character attributes
(e.g.,
generosity)
and the excellence of their
products
or wares if
they
are craftsmen
or traders
(Ames, Gregersen, Neugebauer 1971:22).
The
praise
is often
exaggerated
since the musician's
primary
aim is to make the
patron
reward
him
generously.
These
songs
serve not
only
to validate an individual's status
but to
support
and maintain the whole social order.
Music of the
Non-professionals
Non-professional
music
among
the Hausa of Zaria is
chiefly produced by
women and
children, although young
unmarried men
occasionally play,
primarily
for their own
amusement,
flutes made of Guinea-corn stalks or
"lutes" made from sardine tins. Koranic school children
sing special songs
for
alms,
and there are children's
game songs
and
songs
of ridicule.
Village youth
perform
an unusual dance (rawan Gane or rawan
takai), accompanied by
professional
musicians, during
the month of Gane
(third
month of the Muslim
calendar),
in which
transgressors
of
important
mores are abused and ridiculed
openly
in
song.
Married
women,
who are often in some form of
purdah, sing
while
grinding
corn and
play
several kinds of calabash "drums" in the
privacy
of the inner
compound
where the wives reside.
Except
for
professional
musicians and
entertainers,
married
persons
do
not dance in
public
and it is considered shameful for them to do so.
Unmarried
boys
dance less
frequently
than unmarried
girls, particularly
in the
larger
towns.
Moreover, they
do not dance when the
girls
are
dancing;
in fact
they usually
act as
spectators
of the
girls' dancing.
Married men are
rarely
seen
among
the
spectators.
STATUS OF THE MUSICIAN IN OBIMO SOCIETY
Although
music and
expert musicanship
are
highly
valued
by
the
Igbo
of
Obimo,
none of the 158 inhabitants interviewed-musicians and nonmusicians
258
alike-viewed
village
musicians as an
occupational
class or
profession.
In
fact,
questions
about this were often met with an incredulous look and remarks
such as: "Music will not
give
us our
food";
"It is no one's
occupation
but if
someone
dies,
a
village
man will
stop farming
awhile to
play
for the second
burial
ceremony."
None of the 136
persons
interviewed who
play (or
had
played)
some
musical instrument or
performed
as a lead
singer
or
dancer,
identified his
occupation
as such. Most referred to themselves as farmers
(66 percent) plus
six who listed
farming
as a
secondary occupation.
The
remainder, mostly
farmers
also,
were scattered
among
the
following occupations (most
of which
are
non-traditional): traders, housewives, seamstresses,
carpenters, laborers,
a
messenger
for the local
government,
a
chief,
a
winetapper,
a
mason,
a
bicycle
repairman,
a
tailor,
a motor
driver,
and a teacher.
Onuora Nzekwu
similarly
concludes that dancers
among
the
Igbo
are not
professionals:
Dancing enjoyed
immense
popularity among
the Ibo
essentially
because
their culture made no
provision
for
"professional"
and "amateur" dancers.
Everyone
danced whether one was an
accomplished
dancer or not. In
fact,
dancing
was a field in which
every
able-bodied individual wanted to
acquit
himself
creditably
since on certain occasions in one's
life-time,
one
just
had
to dance.
None,
not even the most
accomplished dancer,
dreamt of
turning
professional
for that would as soon reduce him to an
object
of ridicule as
would the confession: I can't
dance,
I do not know how to dance
(1962:35).
Musicians of
Obimo, then,
are not
collectively recognized
as an
occupa-
tional status
group; however,
as we shall see
below,
the
villagers certainly
recognize
differences in musical
ability,
and the talented
performer enjoys
considerable
personal prestige.
Reasons for
Playing
Music
The
non-professional
character of
Igbo musicanship
was also revealed in
the answers of musicians when asked
simply, "Why
do
you play
music?"
By
far the
greatest
number of musicians were
consciously against
change, stressing
that
they played
out of
respect
for traditional customs and
the desire to maintain them
(see
Table I
below), i.e.,
for funerals and annual
and biannual
religious
rituals. This not
only
reflects the extent to which music
is
thoroughly
embedded in
religious
life and
recognition
of its
indispensability
in
carrying
out
religious ceremonies,
but also shows the
importance
of music
as a
symbol
of contra-acculturation for a considerable
segment
of the
population
of Obimo.
Playing
for
pleasure
ran a
fairly
close second to
playing
for
tradition,
followed
by
the
expectation
of
receiving gifts.
Several of the
expert
musicians
in Obimo were
proud
of their skill and
obviously enjoyed
the warm audience
response
to their
playing.
In this
vein,
an older man who still
plays
the sanza
259
(ogwume),
said he
enjoys having
the children flock around him while
playing
a la the
pied piper.
It should be noted that
gifts
were never named as a
primary
reason for
playing
and most often as the least
important
reason.
TABLE I
Reasons Given for
Playing
Number
Volunteering*
Each
Reason and Rank Order**
Primary
Secondary Tertiary
1.
Respect
for traditional
religion
and music 47 4 1
2. Pleasure 15 23 1
3. Gifts
-
12 16
*These choices were not
specified
to the musicians
questioned.
**Not all informants offered a
secondary and/or
a third reason.
Although
the
Igbo
musicians of Obimo admit that
they readily
and
happily
accept
gifts, they repeatedly
stress that these should not be construed as
payment.
In
explanation,
an informant
stated,
"I
prize
the
gifts,
not for their
value but for the
giving
of them."
Another,
while
stating
that he
goes
out to
play
for
pleasure
rather than for
payment,
added that he will
accept gifts
like
kolanuts and
palm
wine,
"which can be done with on the
spot."
And
Echezona
(1965:4647) writes,
"The Ibos love to
share;
the
drummers,
harpists,
or flautists
sprinkle
some blood from a chicken often
presented
to
them as food when
they
are
performing."
Obimo musicians sometimes ridicule
penurious persons
in
song, though many
musicians
alleged
that it was not the
victims'
stinginess
but
general
lack of
respect
for them that
provoked
ridicule.
Some contended that a
person
who showed
appreciation
of their music was
not ridiculed for
failing
to offer
gifts, particularly
if
they
realized that he did
not have the means to do so. The
following
statement
by
a man in his thirties
who
plays
in his
age group's
Ikorodo band summarizes this
viewpoint:
If the
person
loves our music but cannot make
gifts,
we don't ridicule him.
If a
person
is not interested in
us,
we don't even
approach
him even
though
he is
wealthy,
but if we did
play
at his home and he
gave
us
money,
we
wouldn't value it much and he would still stand a chance of
being
ridiculed.
We value one's interest in our
doings
more than one's
money.
Observation of actual
performances
and examination of some
song
texts
suggest
that the musicians'
self-descriptions
are somewhat idealized. For
example,
some stated that musicians
accept only gifts
in kind and not in
money,
whereas at several ceremonies
gifts
of
money
to
outstanding singers,
dancers,
and musicians were observed.
260
Although
I did not encounter
any
of them
myself,
there are said to be a
few itinerant
praise-singers
left who travel
throughout
Iboland with their
bands, playing
for
important village elders,
and
they
are
probably
the
only
full-time traditional musicians
among
the rural
Igbo.9
The
adoption
of Western values was evidenced
by
a
mambo-playing,
highlife
orchestra, recently
formed
by
ten of the
youth
of
Obimo,
which
charged
the flat rate of four
pounds sterling
for
playing
for an occasional
weekend dance.
However, they play
most often in or near
Nsukka,
the
large
trading
center. Of
course,
in the
big
cities and towns there are
many
non-traditional,
highlife
orchestras made
up
of full-time musicians who earn
comparatively large
sums of
money.
Rivalry Among
Bands
The bands of Obimo exhibit a collective
pride
in their
musicianship,
combined with a
lively inter-village and,
to a lesser
extent,
intra-village rivalry.
For
example,
in one of the
songs
of the Ikorodo band of the
village
of
Aguleze
(called
eme
Ogudi Ezike), they
boast that their
songs surpass
those
of the bands of the
neighbouring villages.
Sometimes the
young
men of one
village
contribute to a common fund to hire a musician of another
village
to
teach them a
highly popular
new
style
of music. Ikorodo music is said to have
been diffused in this fashion.
The old men concur that Ikorodo moved from
one
village group
to
another, e.g.,
it is said to have
originated
in
Enugu
Ezike,
from where it
spread
to Edem and
finally
to the
villages
of
Obimo,
and within
Obimo it
spread
from
Ihikwere,
the
AguluczE, Ono-Egbo, Otobo,
Uwali-
Ogbodu
and
Amokpc, respectively.
There is also
intra-village competition
between bands to win the
people's
admiration. Newer
groups
made
up chiefly
of
younger persons
often hasten
the
replacement
of older
groups by learning
new kinds of
music, creating
new
forms,
or
modifying
in
part
the music
copied
from their seniors.
Attitude Toward Inheritance of
Musicanship
Little
thought
is
given
to inheritance of
musicanship
from the father
(or
any
other
kinsman) by
the son. Nineteen of the Obimo musicians did not
play
their fathers'
instruments, nor,
if father was a solo
singer,
did
they
act in this
capacity.
Eleven
played
their fathers'
instruments; however,
in three of these
cases,
the son could
play only
one of several instruments
played by
the
father,
and in one case the son
played
the same instrument but a different kind of
music.10
Perhaps
it is more
significant
that
twenty-one
of the Obimo
musicians stated that
they
failed to ask their fathers or could not
remember,
for one reason or
another,
what sort of musical
activity
their fathers were
involved
in, although they usually
took it for
granted
that
they
had
performed
in some
way.
To be
ignorant
of this social fact would be unheard of
among
261
the
Hausa,
whose music is a
profession
and
among
whom one's status and
rank are
very
much based on one's father's
occupation.
But what about selection from within certain
patrilineages
or
villages,
rather than direct inheritance?
Although
Simon
Ottenberg
(in
a
personal
communication)
has informed me that this is the case with certain
occupa-
tional
groups, e.g.,
diviners
among
the
Afikpo Igbo,
and so
forth,
this
question
cannot be answered
fully
because I was unable to make a
complete population
census. A review of the names of musicians and non-musicians interviewed in
this
study
indicates that musicians are
represented
in all of the
principal
lineages
of
Obimo, including
those of the chief and the
Eze; however,
a
larger
percentage may
come from some than from others. In
any case,
it will be
recalled that the
performance
of music is not viewed as an
occupation, and,
as
we shall
see,
social rank has little to do with
becoming
a musician.
In
sum,
the status of musician is not inherited.
Instead,
one
simply
becomes a musician
by showing
interest in
playing
an instrument and
by
exhibiting
talent. Of
course,
there are some restrictions on who can
perform
in certain instrumental
ensembles;
for
example,
women can not
play
in
Ikorodo bands because
they
are excluded from the secret
society.
It should
also be noted that music itself
may
be inherited-for
example,
one
village
had
the sole
right
to
play
music for the
position
of
Eze,
because
they
had had a
kinsman who had achieved this
costly
title and
they
continued to exercise this
right
even
though
he was dead.
Instruction of Musicians and
Headship
of Bands
Most Obimo
Igbo
musicians received no formal instruction. For
purposes
of this
study,
formal instruction is defined as conscious
instruction, involving
demonstration
by
the
instructor,
and observation and correction of the
learner. Most Obimo
Igbo
musicians learned
solely by imitation-listening
and
watching
on their own initiative
and, often, going
off to
practice
in
private.
A
drummer of a
large
slit drum for
Okobonyi
funeral music stated
typically,
"Anyone
can learn to
play.
A
person
who is interested tries his own hand
after
experts play."
He
explained
further that he learned in this casual
way
without
help
from his
father, though
his father could
play
the slit
drum,
too.
However,
some formal instruction was
reported, usually
in connection
with Ikorodo bands. The
comparatively large
size of Ikorodo bands and the
complexity
of their ensemble
performances
would seem to
require
the
direction of a
person
who is both a
gifted organizer
and a
gifted
musician.
The teacher and leader of the ten members of the best Ikorodo band in
Obimo was such a
person.
He
appeared
to have a natural
ability
and a
consuming
interest in
music,
which one
villager
called "a
gift
from God." He
plays
all of the nine Ikorodo instruments
expertlyll
and two other instru-
ments in other musical
groups.
His band's
present reputation,
as the finest in
Obimo and even
among neighbouring
village
groups,
can be attributed in
large
part
to his skill as a
musician,
teacher and
organizer,
as well as to his ambition
262
to
improve
his band. On his own
initiative,
he studied the music of the best
bands in other
villages-making many trips
to do so-before
training
his own
band. Now
persons
from other
villages
come to
study
his
band,
and the band
has been invited to visit the
village groups
of Aku and
Lejja
to teach the
people
there.
Most instructors are local
persons, though usually
not close kin.
Typically,
a drummer in an Ikorodo band told how he was
given
instruction
by
a former drummer in his father's band
and, conversely,
of how his father
gave
instruction in horn
blowing
to one of the drummer's
companions
in his
own band.
Only
two musicians were
taught by
their
fathers,
and the
only
other close kin
specified
were an elder
brother,
a
parallel
cousin and a
cross-cousin on the father's side.
Often instructors are members of a senior
age group
who,
as some
youths explained, "taught
us because we all live
together
and make sacrifices
to
OmejE,"
an
important spirit
with its own shrine in this
village.
An old
man,
who still had a keen interest in music even
though
the band of his own
age
set had
disbanded, gave
some instruction to members of the
present
Ikorodo
band of his
village.
In
appreciation,
his
pupils
elected him the "father" of the
group,
an
honorary
name used in
greetings.
There are two of these
honorary
names used for older male and female heads of musical and dance
groups:
nna-anyi-egwu (father
of the
musicians)
and
nne-anyi-egwu (mother
of the
musicians). Ordinarily
the head is of the same sex as the members of the
group, though
I observed one
all-girl
dance
group
with a male
patron;
however,
an older woman
typically
acted as the
group's
dance leader. Heads
are not
necessarily
musicians. These heads often
perform
the role of
wealthy
patron
or
manager, giving
the musicians
gifts
and instruments and
supplying
dancers with
costumes, arranging performances and, sometimes,
even
acting
as
their instructors.
They, too,
receive a share of the
gifts.
Rank of Musicians
Obimo musicians are not
regarded collectively
as
having
either
high
or
low social
rank;
in
fact,
both
high-ranking,
titled
persons
and
low-ranking
"slaves"
(osu)
are members of some bands.
Musicianship
is
simply
not an
index of social rank.
Nonetheless,
individual differences in musical
ability
are
recognized
and a
person
can
enjoy
a considerable measure of
personal prestige
as an
expert;
however,
this has little to do with the
general system
of social
ranking (see
discussion of status and rank
above).
Tabulations of attitudes
expressed
in interviews with musicians and
former musicians
support
the
foregoing. Only
11 of 59 musicians interviewed
considered musicians to be
usually
wealthier
(6)
or
always
wealthier
(5)
than
others.l2 Most stated that some are rich and some are
poor,
but that their
economic condition had little to do with their music. As others
typically
explained,
"How can he
(the musician)
have more wealth when he
only
receives a few
gifts?",
or more
succinctly,
"No one
gets
rich from music!" In
263
addition,
these musicians
unanimously agreed
that
though
some musicians
have
titles,
their musical
ability
had
nothing
to do with their
attaining
them.
Again
in the
opinions expressed by
a
sample
of
persons
who identified
themselves as
"non-musicians,"13
social rank and musical
activity
had little in
common. None of the
fifty persons
in this
sample
indicated that a
reputation
for
being
a musician would in
any way handicap
a
person seeking
to be a
chief or a titleholder. On the
contrary, twenty-two
held that most would
make
good candidates, although
more than half of them added the
proviso
that this was true
only
if
they
met the basic criteria of
eligibility-particularly
wealth,
free-born status and
good
character.
None of the non-musicians interviewed
objected
to the idea of their
daughters' marrying
musicians or their sons'
marrying
musicians'
daughters.
Instead,
the
great majority gave
the
following
criteria
(presented
in their order
of
frequency)
for a suitable mate for a
daughter:
a
residency
in the same
village group
and
wealth;
good family (no osu, etc.)
and
good character;
having things
in common and affection for one another. Criteria for a son's
mate were:
good behavior; good family; residency
in the same
village group;
and affection.
In
striking
contrast to the
obsequious
manner of Hausa
musicians,
none
of this
group
indicated that musicians should
give
non-musicians
greater
respect.
On the
contrary, forty-seven
stated that non-musicians show
greater
respect
for musicians
by
their manner of
greeting
or of
giving gifts, though
many
mentioned that this
happened only
when musicians were
performing.
A
few stated that there was no difference in the
respect shown,
since
everyone
is
equal.
This
positive
view of musicians was often said to be derived from
respect
for their
artistry
and for the
pleasure
their music
gives.
This
respect
is
expressed by
the
way
that
musicians, dancers,
and
singers
of
special
skill and
renown are addressed with
special praise-names,
like
Etu-ugo (best dancer),
dcha-ara
(second
dance
leader), olunagu ojo (best singer
and
song leader),
and
onagu-na-egba-adugu-uma ("the
feast is
incomplete
without
you";
for the best
performer
of
any kind).
Musicians are also envied for their
ability.
Two
highly
educated
young
men,
one a son of a chief and the other of a
wealthy
ozo
titleholder, regretted
that their
schooling prevented
them from
learning
to
play
an instrument
well,
and
they clearly
envied and admired the
experts
of the
village.
W. W. C.
Echezona
(1963:18)
in his
musicological study
of the
Igbo
states:
"People
who
specialize
in
performing
either instrumental or vocal music are held in
high
honor.
They
are
thought
to be
very
clever." These
experts
are known to
all and are
regarded
as
important
assets to the
community, partly
because
music
per
se is
highly
valued.
The
Alleged
Character of Musicians in Obimo
Obimo
people regard
musicians
generally
as
trustworthy
and hard-
working persons, though
more than half of the "non-musicians"
sample
stated
264
that "a few"
weren't,
but the incidence of these was said to be no
higher
than
among
non-musicians in the
village.
In
general,
as with social
rank,
assessments
of
personal
character have little or
nothing
to do with the
performance
of
music.
However,
it is
interesting
to note that musicians in the cities who earn
their
living
from
music, playing
in non-traditional
bands,
are often viewed in
an
altogether
different
light, though many villagers
stated that
they
never had
any
contact with
any
of them and thus were unable to
express
an
opinion.
Those who commented on the character of
city
musicians referred to them as
loose-living, "rowdy,"
and
untrustworthy persons
who
spend extravagantly,
drink
heavily,
and commit
adultery.
One
informant,
who had lived in the
big
city
of
Enugu,
even stated
that,
unlike
village
farmer-musicians, they rely
solely
on music for a
living
because
they
were failures in other kinds of work.
Some informants indicated that
they
wouldn't want their
daughters
to
marry
city musicians;
others indicated that
they
would
investigate
the character of
such a
prospective
son-in-law
closely;
and a few saw no
objection.
I
suspect
that these
negative
attitudes towards the urban musician can
be
explained by
the
following:
1)
the social context of urban music is
despised,
whereas the
opposite
is
true of
village
music;
2) moreover,
this new
way
of life
poses
a threat to the tradition-
oriented
villagers;
3)
the urban musician's
alleged
"untrustworthiness" seems to be
coupled
with the
villager's
lack of information about their social
antecedents, plus
awareness that
they
are free from the social
controls of
village
life.
STATUS OF THE MUSICIAN IN ZARIA SOCIETY
As has been
said,
Hausa musicians in Zaria are most often
professionals.
They may
be classed as
professionals
in terms of the extent of their
commitment to this line of work for the
earning
of their
living,
the
great
dependence
of a
large portion
of the
community upon
them when music is
desired,
and the
recognition
of their
professionalism
in the
community
definition of their work as a traditional craft skill
(sana'a), despite
the fact
that their
product
is
mostly
an
intangible
one.
The musicians themselves tend to have a commercial attitude toward
their
craft, viewing
it
simply
as the means for
earning
a
living.
This craft
mentality
is
quite
evident in the
typical
behavior of the musician. It is
reflected in his habit of
scheduling
annual tours
through
the
countryside just
after the cash
crop
has been marketed and in his
practice
of
consulting
with
local musicians when on
tour,
in order to leain
who, among
the
wealthy,
are
likely
to be
generous givers.
Professionals who did not inherit their
occupa-
tions from their fathers
frequently
stated that
they
became musicians because
they anticipated superior earnings.
Some musicians have been known to
give
265
up playing
one instrument in favor of
another,
more fashionable one in order
to earn more
money.
In another
vein,
a musician often
gets
attached to his
instruments because of his belief that he attracts
bigger
crowds because of its
"sweet" sound or some
expensive
and
powerful magic
in it.
And, too, young
musicians often attach themselves to bands of
popular
musician-leaders in the
expectation
of
making
more
money.
Hausa musicians
joke
about their
"greediness"
without
shame;
for
example,
when a musician with the title "chief of the drummers"
(Sarkin
Makada)
is addressed
by
the
epithet,
"the
great frightening
one" (babban
dodo),
used for emirs and more
important "chiefs,"
he
replies jokingly,
"the
great craving [one]!" (babban kwacfai).
Once I observed one of the
long-
trumpet players
of the Emir of Gobir in front of the
palace
in Zaria about to
salute the Emir within
by blowing praise-words
on his horn.14 I asked him
what had
brought
him so far from
home,
and he
replied
with a
sly smile,
"A
great greedy feeling!"
On another occasion I observed a
frisky seventy-year
old farm drummer
shouting
to a
group
of non-musicians when
taking
leave of
them,
"If I
go
to the
bush,
I must have a
strong
man
[for
a
companion].
If I
go
to the
town,
I must look for a rich man!" Another
aspect
of this behavior
is the musician's role of the
buffoon,
enacted even
by
those who are not of
the musician-entertainer
type.
The Hausa musician
may
be characterized as a sort of "hunter" who is
always looking
for
"game." Shrewdly,
he
selects,
stalks and
literally
studies his
"prey" by learning
his
genealogy, personal history, strength
and weaknesses. If
rebuffed,
this hunter "fires"
away
at his
"prey's"
vulnerable
parts.
There is a lot of indirect as well as direct
urging
to
give generously
in
Hausa
song lyrics.
The "customer" is
particularly
vulnerable if he is
wealthy
because he is
expected
to validate his status in
society by
lavish
giving (Smith
1957a:40;
Ames
1965b:4446;
Ames 1968a and
1969).
It is said that a certain
village
head failed to
appear
in
public
for
many
weeks after
being
shamed for
penury by
a
praise singer
famous for his
ability
to ridicule
artfully.
The
village
head later
brought
the
singer
to court for
"ruining
his name" (bata
suna),
and
the
judge,
who was said to be fearful of the
singer,
in a most unusual decision
required
the
village
head to
provide
for the convicted man's wives and
children while he
spent
some months in
jail.
I can
vividly recall, too,
an
elderly praise-singer
at a rural
naming ceremony who,
when a
gift
from the
father
(a village head)
was slow in
coming, began singing,
"Ina
riga?" (literally,
"Where is the
gown?",
a
gown being
a traditional
symbol
of a
gift).
He
sang
the
question repeatedly
and in a
progressively
louder and
higher
voice until a
gift
arrived. I was in a
position
of
observing
the nervous look of the host
sitting
with his
guests
in an inner
courtyard, and, though
I wasn't the
target,
I
too felt the
pressure.
Generally,
the
bigger
the
gift
received or
expected,
the more
extravagant
the
praise.
Liberties are taken with the "truth." For
example,
if the
person
being praised
in
song
has
low-ranking
kin on his father's
side,
the
singer may
mention
only
a
prestigious
titled
official,
even if but
distantly
related on the
mother's side. Kin substitutes are invented when the
singer
or
praise-shouter
266
doesn't know the
genealogy
of his
client, e.g.,
a Hausa clerk
employed by
a
European
firm
may
be
praised
as can
Ingila (literally,
"the son of
England").
Hausa
professional
musicians tend to be
individually competitive,
either
as band leaders or as "lone wolves" who
perform singly
or in a
variety
of
combinations with others. There is often fierce
competition
between musicians
within the
community
and
even,
in some
instances, rivalry (though
more
covert)
between father and son.
Many spend
considerable sums on
magic
to
increase their audience
appeal,
and most
buy protective
magic
explicitly
to
protect
themselves from their
rivals, who, they assume,
are
trying
to "work
them" with evil
magic (e.g.,
to make a drumhead break in the middle of a
performance
or to make a
singer's
voice or
memory give out). Group
competition
is not
strong.
Non-musician
youths, among
the
Hausa,
are not
organized
in secret societies which include
musicians;
and it would never occur
to them to
identify
themselves with
"lowly"
musicians.
Thus,
bands are not a
focus for
inter-community
identification and
rivalry
as
among
the
youth
of
Obimo.
Reasons for
Being
Musicians
A mixed
group
of urban and rural
professionals
and
non-professionals
were asked to state
why they performed
music
(see
Table
II),
and
by
far the
greatest
number stressed
earning
their
living,
with
pleasure
and
prestige
coming
out a
poor
second and third. It will be recalled that
among
the Obimo
musicians
expectations
of
payment
in cash or kind were rated as the least
important
reasons for
playing.
TABLE II
Primary
Reason for
Playing
Professional
Non-professional
1. Source of income 28 1
2. Pleasure 3 3
3.
Prestige
2*
Total of
Respondents
33 4
*Respondents
were
royal
musicians.
However, pleasure
derived from
composing
and
performing
music is a more
important
motivation than these
figures indicate,
even
though
it is
generally
a
subordinate one. A drummer in Zaria
City
is considered a bit mad
and,
perhaps,
lovable,
because he often drums far into the
night
for the
youth
without
receiving any money,
in contrast to the
average drummer,
who would
simply stop
if no
gift
were
forthcoming.
One-third of the
professionals
indicated in
depth
interviews that
they
would continue to
play
for their own
267
pleasure
if
they
switched to another
profession
and no
longer
received
any
income from music.
Twenty-four
of the
responses
were
negative-all pro-
fessionals-and sixteen were
affirmative; however,
four of the latter were
non-professionals
who
performed occasionally
for their own
enjoyment
and
some small
change given
them
by appreciative
audiences.
Nevertheless,
it should be stressed that the
pragmatic
and commercial
attitude was held
by
two-thirds of the
professional
musicians.
Playing solely
for one's own
pleasure
was often
regarded
as
quite odd,
and most stated
something like,
"What would be the use of it?"
Inheritance of
Musicianship
About 79
percent,
or 202 out of a
sample
of
257,
Hausa
professional
musicians of all classes inherited their
occupation (see above).15
Among
some
of the most common kinds of
musicians-hour-glass
drummers for butchers
and the
youth (masu-kalangu)
and drummers for farmers
(masu-gangan
noma)-the percentages
were
higher:
95 and 90
percent respectively. Among
another
large group, prestigious
court
musicians,
the
percentage
was 80. At
the other
extreme,
musicians with the lowest social rank-various kinds of
musician-entertainers and Bori cult
musicians-uniquely
had more achieved
than ascribed statuses.
Leaving
the Zaria
sample
for the
moment,
it is of
interest that some of the famous musicians in Hausaland have achieved
statuses, e.g., Alhaji
Muhamman
Shata,
Sarkin Tabshin Katsina
Alhaji
Mamman,
and Dan
Maraya (King: personal communication).
It
appears
that
those with "natural" musical
ability
often enter the musical
profession
via the
achieved status route,
although
life histories of such musicians indicate that
they
must be
extraordinarily
determined to do so because of the not
inconsiderable social obstacles
facing
them.
There still
appears
to be a
strong compulsion
to conform to the
prescription
of
accepting
the ascribed
occupation, especially
in rural com-
munities. One man relied
chiefly
on river
fishing
for his
living
but he
continued to drum
though
he earned
very
little at
it,
because he did not want
people
to
say
that he had forsaken his father's
occupation.
The life histories
of several musicians revealed that
they
had to leave their rural homes due to
the verbal and
physical
abuse showered
upon
them because
they
had taken
up
the
profession
of music rather than their father's.
However, nowadays,
an
increasing
number of
parents-many
of them musicians-countenance their
sons'
shifting
to more
profitable
and
prestigious occupations.
Instruction of Musicians
A review of the life histories of
sixty
Hausa musicians of all
types
revealed that three out of four received formal
instruction;
and much
higher
percentages
were recorded for the most numerous
types
of
musicians,
like
268
recreation drummers for the
youth,
court musicians of all kinds and drummers
for farmers.
Only
female
singers (zabiya)
were
self-taught
more often than
not.
About as
many
Hausa musicians were instructed
by
close kin
(the
father
in a
great majority
of the
cases)
as
by
non-kin. Some were first trained
by
their fathers and later received
special training
in a new kind of music from an
expert
who was not related to them.
Although
sometimes
ignored,
an unusual
shame-relationship
exists between
parents
and their first-born child in
par-
ticular,
and the second- and third-born to a lesser
degree (Smith 1965:142-3).
This often results in his
being
sent
away
from home to be
reared,
and for
communication between them to be reduced to a minimum. This was
quite
frequently
offered as the
explanation
for the failure of the eldest son to
become a musician
and/or
to receive instruction from his father.
Some
prefer
to learn from a skilled master
musician,
even if their fathers
are musicians.
Ideally,
these
apprentices
would show
respect
for their fathers
by taking
such instruction outside their home communities. Extended musical
training by
non-kin is based on the
master-apprentice relationship.
The master
is the head and the
principal
instrumentalist or
singer
of a band. In
choosing
a
master, apprentices
often consider his
popularity
and wealth as well as his
musicanship.
Some kola nuts
may
be
given
to a
prospective
master in
asking
him to
take on an
apprentice.
If the master
accepts,
the
apprentice
then becomes his
dependent
and is
usually housed, fed,
and
given
old clothes to wear. The
master's
responsibilities
are not unlike a
father's;
sometimes he will
help
arrange
and
pay
for his
apprentice's wedding
or even
pay
his court fines. For
his
part,
the
apprentice,
called
yaro (boy),
acts as a kind of servant for his
master. He works on his master's farm or
garden,
if he has
one,
and does
sundry
household tasks and
goes
on errands. After a
period
of instruction and
practice
in the master's
household,
he is allowed to
play
in the master's band
where he
may
or
may
not receive a
portion
of the
group's earnings.
As a form
of
payment
and as a mark of
respect, "graduated" apprentices
visit their
former teachers from time to time and
give
them
gowns, money
or other
gifts.
Returning
to our
comparison,
it is clear that the musicians of Zaria are
more often
formally
trained than the musicians of
Obimo; however,
I do not
mean to
imply
that the
performance
of Hausa music
necessarily requires
more
skill and
training.
For
example,
some
Igbo
music is
rapidly disappearing
because the instrument
(e.g.,
the
Igbo
musical
bow, une)
is too difficult to
play
and too
time-consuming
to learn
(Echezona 1965:52;
Okosa
1962:4).
Social
Visibility
and Social Distance
In contrast to Obimo
musicians,
who are not
socially obtrusive,
Hausa
musicians,
in terms of the clothes
they wear,
the deference
they
show to
persons
of
higher rank,
their manner of
speech, etc.,
are
outstanding.
In
Obimo,
a
stranger
could determine whether a
person
were a musician
only by
269
being
told that he was or
by observing
him
performing.
In
Zaria,
the
stranger
encounters no such
difficulty.
Many
Hausa musicians wear articles of
clothing
(often
unmatched)
with
strong designs
and
bright colors,
which make them
easily
identifiable.
And,
too,
those who
play
small
portable
instruments often
carry
them on their
person
in order to be able to
play
and
sing
the
praises
of one of their
patrons
upon
a moment's notice.
They
are visible also in terms of Edwin Hall's
(1959
and
1966) "language
of
space."
For
example,
an
elderly
musician can be
observed
getting
off his
bicycle
and
squatting
before a
patron
who
may
be
younger, walking
behind him while
carrying
some of his
belongings,
or,
when
greeting
a
patron
at his
house, squatting
near the door and never
daring
to sit
in a chair or on one of the woven mats
spread
on the dirt floor.
In
sharp
contrast with the
Igbo, among
whom a
person
is not
helped
or
hindered in
finding
a mate
by
virtue of
being
a
musician, many
Hausa would
refuse to
marry
musicians
(see
Table
III)
or
persons
in other low-ranked
occupations,
such as
butchery.
Unlike
many Hausa,
an
Igbo
would not
consider it distasteful to eat out of the same bowl with a
person
who
performs
music nor to
lodge
with him nor to count him as best friend. Table
III summarizes the results of two
surveys
of
opinion among
non-musicians of
various
occupations
in both rural and urban Hausa communities. The
sample
size for the
eating
and
lodging survey
is
299;
for the
marriage survey,
315.
Both
samples
consist of
nearly equal
numbers of urban and rural
respondents,
and
they
were
deliberately
selected to reflect
occupational
and
age
differences
in the
general population.
It is
unfortunately
a male-dominated
sample
due to
purdah
restrictions.
TABLE III
Comparison
of the
Percentage
of
Negative Responses
to Musicians with
Respect
to
Eating, Lodging
and
Marriage
Eating Lodging Marriage
% Village City Village
City Village City
45.6 37.3 43.7 42.0 54.2 68.0
From Table III we see that
very
much the same social distance obtains
between the
village sample
and musicians in
general,
and the
city sample
and
musicians in
general. Fdrty-five
and six-tenths
percent
of the
village sample
and 37.3
percent
of the
city sample
would not eat from the same calabash
with
musicians;
43.7
percent
of the
village sample
and 42.0
percent
of the
city sample
would not
accept lodging
in a musician's house.
Thus,
both
city
and
village samples
are
equally
distant from musicians with
respect
to both
eating
and
lodging.
With
respect
to
marriage, however,
both
city
and
village samples
show
themselves to be more distant from musicians: 54.2
percent
of the
village
270
sample
and 68.0
percent
of the
city sample
would not want their
daughters
to
marry musicians,
the
village sample showing
a
significantly
lesser
degree
of
social distance than the
city sample
with
respect
to
marriage. Perhaps,
the
difference in
percentages
here is due to the much
greater variety
of
occupa-
tional
groups represented
in the urban
sample (see
note #16 for a list of
many
of
them).
Alleged
Character of Musicians in Zaria
In
regard
to the character attributed to the
musician,
the attitude of the
Hausa is
again opposed
to that of the
Igbo.
In a
survey
conducted
among
non-musicians,
most Hausa
regarded
musicians as
lazy, guileful, dishonest,
adulterous and
obsequious (Ames 1965a:40-41).
Although
he is sometimes
wealthy
and
famous,
a musician is
always
viewed as a kind of
"beggar."
A
particularly
famous and well-liked musician
like
Alhaji
Muhamman Shata
certainly enjoys
more
personal prestige
than
other
musicians, but,
as indicated
below,
even he cannot
escape
his
general
low social
placement.
Rank of Musicians
Much has
already
been
said,
in
preceding
sections,
that indicates the low
rank of musicians
among
the Hausa of Zaria. In
surveys
of
opinion
made in
urban and rural
Zaria,
non-musicians of various
occupations
were asked to
compare
musicians with
thirty-two
other
occupation groups16
in terms of
rank and wealth. On the
whole,
the
average Hausa,
whether in the
city
or
village,
considers the musician as
poorer
and lower in rank than members of
the
majority
of
occupations
listed.l7
Seventy-five percent
or more of a
city
sample
of 168 considered musicians to have less wealth than
people
in 14 of
the 32 listed
occupations,
and 50
percent
or more considered them less
wealthy
than
people
in 21 of the
occupations. Seventy-five percent
or more of
another
city sample
of 118 considered musicians lower in rank than 25 of the
32
occupations,
and 50
percent
or more considered them lower in rank than
28 of the
occupations.
The
village sample
of 84 shows the same
picture.
As these
percentages suggest,
there is no direct correlation between
attitudes toward rank and wealth. Hausa musicians
are,
rather
surprisingly,
rated
higher
in wealth than
rank,
and
yet
even
wealthy
Hausa musicians who
are
recording
artists and famous
through Hausaland,
cannot
fully escape
their
low
place
in the
society hierarchy.
An
Interpretation
of Differences of Rank
Now let us consider
briefly
the difficult
question
of
why
the musicians
of Obimo and Zaria came to be ranked so
differently.
On the
surface,
at
least,
271
the Obimo situation
appears
to be the easier of the two to
explain.
It will be
recalled that our structural model for Obimo stressed its small scale and
relatively
undifferentiated
character,
with its absence of extensive
occupational
specialization
and social
stratification,
and its
equalitarian
values
accompanied
by
considerable and
complex
diffusion of
political authority.
The
equalitarian
outlook
prevails
in Obimo
despite
individual differences in rank
(e.g.,
title-
holders, etc.) and,
in the same
vein,
individual musicians are often
praised
and
shown
respect
for their
artistry. However,
musicians as a whole are not viewed
as an
occupational group
or rated
"high"
or "low" in the
general system
of
social
ranking.
Zaria
musicians,
on the other
hand, operate
in a social framework of
much
greater magnitude
and
heterogeneity, i.e.,
a centralized
city-state
of
large scale,
with a
high degree
of social differentiation. Zaria
society
exhibits
social classes and numerous
occupations
ranked in hierarchical fashion.
Occupational
status is
usually
ascribed at birth and is a
primary
factor in
reckoning
social rank. Professional musicians are viewed as a traditional
occupational group
and,
as mentioned
earlier,
are found at the bottom of the
status
hierarchy.
Though
the
professionalization
of music in Zaria is
certainly compatible
with these structural
features, they
do not in themselves
explain why
musicians are
assigned
such low rank
compared
with other
occupations.
This
question
also
poses many
other
difficulties,
if one considers
pre-industrial
states as a whole.
First,
such societies do not
invariably assign
such low status
to musicians.
Second,
musicians of different sorts not
infrequently
hold
extremes of rank within the same
society. Third, special
historical factors
must be taken into account-for
example,
the
spread
and influence of Islam
among
the Hausa.
I would like to
explore
the last
point further, though
fuller documenta-
tion of the
impact
of Islam will have to await a
separate publication.
It is
probably
not accidental that musicians are often of
very
low rank in Muslim
societies across the
length
of the western Sudan from
Maidugari
to Dakar.
Islamic authorities have
long
censured
listening
to music
(Farmer 1929:22)
and not
thought
well of the musicians
themselves, though
"the law
concerning
'listening
to music' has been honoured more in the breach than in the
observance"
(Farmer 1929:31).
The social context of music was often more
reprehensible
to the censurers than was the music itself. Dr.
Murray
Last
(in
a
personal communication) stated,
"If music is the occasion for social
gatherings
in which
purdah
isn't
enforced,
music is banned as
part
of the
campaign
for
purdah, i.e.,
it is not music that is banned so much as the inter-sex
gatherings." Similarly,
music
performed
where alcoholic
beverages
were con-
sumed was deemed
wicked;
and
among
the musicians of
Zaria,
those who
performed regularly
for harlots and Bori dancers were held in
especially
low
esteem,
as were drummers for the
risque
dances of the
young girls.
Though
the
king
of Zaria was said to have been converted to Islam
early
in the 16th
century (Smith 1964:351),
some of his successors reverted to
pre-Islamic rites,
and
generally they
and their
subjects
were held to be lax in
272
their observances at the time of their
conquest,
at the turn of the 19th
century,
in the
holy
war lead
by
Shehu Uthman Dan
Fodio,
the famous
Fulani
preacher.
The
Shehu,
probably writing
before the
holy war, complained
of the moral
laxity
at
wedding
feasts "at which women dance in their
finery
in the
presence
of men"
(Hiskett 1962:587). Stronger yet
was his statement
in another
manuscript (Kitab al-Farq)
devoted to criticism of Hausa
(Habe)
customs:
One of the
ways
of their
government
is their
being occupied
with
doing
vain
things
(continuously) by night
or
by day,
without
legal purpose,
such as
beating drums,
and
lutes,
and kettledrums. The Muslims
only
beat the
kettle-drum and similar instruments for
legal purposes
such as to
gather
the
army together,
or to
signify
its
departure,
or the
setting up
of
camp,
and its
arrival,
and as a
sign
for the advent of the
festival,
as the kettle-drum is
beaten for the advent of 'Id
aladha,'
and
they
confine themselves to what
necessity requires (Hiskett 1960:572).
It should be
noted, however,
that
religion
is not the
only
source of the
low valuation of musicians. Non-musicians resent
being constantly
hounded
for
gifts,
and
many (especially
the educated
youth)
find
praise-singing
insincere;
most of all
they
dislike the
feeling
that
they
are
being
coerced to
pay
in order to avoid
being
ridiculed
obliquely
in
song.
The
adoption
of the
"Beggar-Minstrel"
ordinance in all of the Emirates of the North
represents
an
attempt
to curb some of these
alleged
abuses and to reduce the number of
musicians.
SUMMARY
The
principal
differences and similarities in the role of music and the
status of the musician in the societies of the Hausa of Zaria and the
Igbo
of
Obimo are summarized in the
following
table. Of
course,
the relevant sections
above should be consulted for
supporting
evidence and
significant exceptions.
TABLE IV
Zaria Obimo
Music is
performed chiefly by professionals
Music is
performed
almost
exclusively
whose work is reckoned as a traditional
by non-professionals
who
usually
iden-
occupation
and as a source of livelihood.
tify
themselves as
farmers,
and com-
Married
persons (non-professionals)
mercial incentives are not
primary.
It
rarely,
if
ever, perform
music or dance in is
performed
for
pleasure and/or
as a
public
and to do so is deemed shameful.
religious
act which is a
highly
valued
contribution to
ritual,
as are the arts of
the dance and
sculpture.
Occupational
status is ascribed at birth There are no
parallels among
the
Igbo
and
adoption
of another
occupation
is of Obimo.
still frowned
upon by many.
273
TABLE IV
(Continued)
Zaria
Musical
production
is
quite specialized
with certain classes of musicians
playing
principally
for
particular patrons, ranging
from full-time court musicians to
"musicians of musicians."
Generally,
the
wealthy among
the
nobility,
merchants and craftsmen are
given
a
disproportionate
amount of attention
due to the musicians' commercial
mentality.
Music and dance are found in Bori cere-
monies but are notable for their absence
in most Islamic rites. In
general,
the
music of Zaria is secular in character.
Zaria Hausa are
particularly
concerned
with distinctions of rank and a
great
deal
of the music is devoted to
exaggerated
praise
which serves not
only
to validate
status but to maintain the whole order
of social relations.
Obimo
Musical
production
is less
specialized
and
non-discriminating
in terms of
audiences. The Obimo chiefs have no
court musicians or musical instruments
as
part
of the
regalia
of office.
Music and dance are an
integral part
of
numerous traditional
religious
rites.
Instrumental music in Obimo is more
often sacred in nature than secular.
Less
emphasis
on
praise songs
and more
instrumental ensemble music for
dancing
of masked dancers
representing spirits,
and for
ordinary
mortals.
Both societies have satirical and derisive
songs
which serve as an
important
mechanism of social
control, though
the
social contexts and
style
of
delivery vary
considerably.
Formal musical
training
is
normal,
and
it is carried out
chiefly by
the father or
a close
kinsman,
or in an institutionalized
master-apprentice relationship.
Though
music is valued
by
the
Hausa,
musicians
collectively enjoy very
low
social rank and are
alleged
to have weak
character. Consistent with their social
placement
and
stereotype, many
non-
musicians refuse to
marry
them or to
have other close social relations with
them.
In
sum,
Hausa musicians have an occu-
pational
micro-culture of their own
or,
as M. G. Smith
(1957b:11)
once
sagely
put it, "They
are in effect an institu-
tionalized
group
of deviants."
Comparatively
little formal musical
training,
and a non-kinsman
usually
does it when it is encountered. How-
ever,
this should not be construed to
mean that
Igbo
musicians are
any
less
skilled or that their
training
is easier or
of shorter duration.
The
Igbo,
unlike the
Hausa,
do not have
a
socially
stratified
society
and assess-
ments of
personal
character and
general
social status have little relation to the
performance
of music. There is no evi-
dence of social distance
involving
musicians as a distinct
group.
Neverthe-
less, outstanding
musicians are
highly
appreciated
and
enjoy
considerable
personal prestige.
Except
when
performing music,
the
behavior of
Igbo
musicians is in no
way
distinctive.
274
Obimo
society
has been
described,
at the outset of this
paper,
as small
in scale and
relatively undifferentiated,
and that of the Hausa of Zaria as
large
in scale and
highly
differentiated. The
major
social,
structural and cultural
differences between the
Igbo
and the Hausa no doubt are reflected in their
organization
of music. The nature of the Obimo musician's craft-its non-
professional status,
and the
part-time
character of musical
specialization-fits
the Obimo social structure. The absence of low social
placement
of Obimo
musicians is also
compatible
with the
equalitarian
values characteristic of their
culture and the honored and vital role that music
plays
in the traditional
religion.
Of
course,
one would not
expect
to find court musicians in a
non-state
political system.
The Emirate of
Zaria,
on the other
hand,
is not unlike a medieval
city-state (with
some modern economic and
political overlay).
There are also
marked urban-rural contrasts in musical life
(Ames 1970). Pre-industrial,
urban
societies exhibit certain structural
regularities;
for
example,
even some of the
earliest known to
archeologists-Pre-Hispanic
Mexican and
Mesopotamian
civilizations-independently
evolved
"stratified, politically organized
societies
based
upon
a new and
complex
division of labor"
(Adams 1966:2),
and
they
were known to have had
specialized palace
musicians.
Ignoring peculiarities
of
cultural
form,
Hausa
Society
exhibits a similar
assemblage
of structural
elements which
appear
to be
historically
associated with the
emergence
of the
professional
musician. It would be
interesting
to determine whether or not
there are associated
regularities
in the
organization
of musical life in all such
societies.
At
any rate,
the Hausa's
high degree
of
specialization
in musical
production,
formal
training
and
apprenticeship,
and the
presence
of an
occupational
sub-culture with its distinctive
ideology
and
behavior,
are all
compatible, surely,
with the
society's extraordinarily complex
division of labor
and
tendency
towards full-time
specialization
in the urban sector of the
economy.
As we have
seen,
the
extremely
low rank of the Hausa musician seems
to have
stemmed,
for the most
part,
from Islamic beliefs and
particularly
from
the
puritanical
doctrines of Shehu Uthman 'Dan Fodio and his Fulani
followers.
FOOTNOTES
1.
Although
most of
my
work was done with the Hausa of Zaria in northern
Nigeria,
I carried out observations and
interviewing
with the
Igbo
of Obimo Town in the
eastern
region during
the months of
December, January,
March and June-months which
included some of the
high points
in the Obimo
Igbo
ceremonial calendar. Mr.
Anthony
Anih of Obimo-a
college
student then-most
kindly
collected much data for me
using
an
interview
guide designed
to elicit
comparable
material. His collections were made
during
his summer
vacation,
from June
through September
of 1964. I am
greatly
indebted to
the Joint Committee on African Studies of the Social Science Research Council and the
American Council of Learned Societies for
making
this field work
possible.
Thanks are
also due to G. I.
Jones, Murray
Last and Simon
Ottenberg
for
commenting
on an earlier
version of this
paper.
275
Portions of this
paper
have been
published
in
African
Arts/Arts
d'Afrique
(1968).
Their
permission
is
gratefully acknowledged.
2. The Bori
spirit
cults of the Hausa are an
exception,
but its
practice
is
usually
subrosa,
and it
clearly
has less influence on a cross section of the Hausa
population
than
has Islam.
3. Madumere
(1953:64-65)
mentions similar
songs
(oro)
in her
general essay
on
Igbo village
music.
4.
According
to Uchendu
(1965:96),
such
validating myths
are
widespread among
the
Igbo.
5.
Though Ezugwu
is considered to be much more
powerful,
the
original
settler
of Obimo was said to be Obimo Asiebere. In one
version,
he is held to be the father of
Ezugwu,
and in
another, Ezugwu
was a sort of
adopted
member of his
family
who was
given
land and shared his children in return for
assisting
Obimo Asiebere.
6. For a detailed
description
of these instruments and how
they
are
played,
see
Okosa
(1962:4-14)
and Echezona
(1965:45-52).
7. It should be
pointed
out that until
recently
most of the Christian sects in
Igboland
have
similarly discouraged
the use of musical instruments in
religious
services
(G.
I. Jones:
personal
communication).
8.
Though
I did not have the
good
fortune of
encountering
them in
Zaria,
Malam
Ibrahim Ahmed
Mukoshey
has informed me that members of the
Kadiriyya
sect
(Bakadire)
roam the streets of Kano and Zaria
beating
a
single
membrane drum while
chanting
the
praises
of the
Prophet during
his
birthday
and in the month of RamadarL
(Personal
communications in
February 1969).
9. A
personal
communication from Dr. W. W. C.
Echezona,
Professor of Music at
the
University
of
Nigeria.
A
Nigerian Broadcasting Company
staff member also
spoke
of
professional singers
of
topical
and traditional
songs
(called obiligbo
music)
who traveled
through
the
villages accompanying
their
songs
with maracas.
10. One woman who became a head
singer
like her mother is included in this
sample.
Women
generally play
far fewer instruments than
men, though they
are often
involved in
singing
and
dancing.
11. An Ikorodo ensemble consists of two kinds of
single
membrane drums beaten
with the
hands,
a wooden slit drum and a kind of wooden
gong
beaten with a
stick,
bottle-shaped
basketwork rattles and four sizes of horns made of
gourds.
12. These were all
very old,
retired musicians who were
presumably referring,
nostalgically
and
possibly inaccurately,
to former times.
13. About half of them stated
they
had
played
music in their
youth
and most of
the others
explained
that
going away
to school interfered with their
learning.
14.
Visiting royal
musicians are
hospitably received,
fed and
lodged
with their
local
equivalents
and,
after a few
days,
sent on their
way
with a handsome
gift
from
the
Emir.
15.
Many
Hausa will
accept
inheritance of
occupation
status
through
the mother's
brother or mother's father
(gado
wa/en
uwa
ne) though
it is considered less desirable than
through
the father. Seven cases out of two hundred and
fifty-seven
were encountered,
although
this result should not be
surprising
since the Hausa have a bilateral descent
system.
16. tailors weavers
traders blacksmiths
clerks calabash menders
Muslim
judges
modern school teachers
Muslim learned men and teachers farmers
housebuilders tanners
carpenters (Hausa) bicycle
mechanics
carpenters (European)
auto mechanics
medicine vendors praise
shouters
rich merchants farm laborers
emirs and
high
officials top
officials
(Provincial Government)
276
leather workers drivers
hunters
dyers
porters
potters
butchers
servants
barbers
policemen.
For another
survey
of
occupational rank,
see Ames
(1965a).
17. It is
interesting
to note that when a mixed
group
of court and
ordinary
musicians were asked to
compare
theirs with these 32
occupations, they
considered
themselves
higher
in rank and wealthier than the non-musicians did. Court musicians
generally
ranked music somewhat
higher
than did
ordinary
musicians.
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David W. Ames - Igbo and Hausa Musicians (A Comparative Examination)

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Igbo and Hausa Musicians: A Comparative Examination

Author(s): David W. Ames

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