Osueke, N. O.

Examining the Role of the Talking Drum as a Traditional Communication Tool in Yoruba Land

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF THE TALKING DRUM AS A TRADITIONAL

COMMUNICATION TOOL IN YORUBA LAND

Ngozi O. Osueke
Mass Communication Department,
Bowen University Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria.
Ngozi.osueke@bowen.edu.ng

Abstract

This study examined the talking drum as an effective tool of communication in the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria.
The work is based on the premise that the traditional media of communication which should be the most efficient
means of communicating with the rural populace is being eroded by the modern media of communication. A survey
of 155 respondents drawn from three rural communities in Kwara State was engaged for the study. Simple
percentages, tables, frequencies and charts were used to analyze the data, while the Z-test statistics was used in
testing the hypotheses, using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software the results show that talking drums is a
known communication tool among the Yoruba ethnic group, however it is more profoundly recognized as an
instrument of entertainment. Results show that various types of talking drums are used for particular events or
occasions, however, the use of talking drums as a communication mechanism in Yoruba society today is minimal.
This research recommends the deliberate use and sustenance of using the talking drum as a veritable communication
tool and more importantly the education of the rhymes and sounds of the talking drum among the rural populace for
better understanding and communication process.

Keywords: Communication, Talking Drum, Yorubaland, Oyo Empire, Traditional media

Introduction

In the western Nigerian hemisphere, Oyo precisely is said to be the place where the civilization of the
Yoruba people commenced. It is generally believed that the talking drum plays a vital role in the history
of the Yoruba ethnicity. The talking drum is very important to the indigenous Yoruba people because of
its ability to imitate vocal words effectively, was able to relay information and messages of important
events such as the coronation of Obas, deaths of a prominent person in the society, and the celebration of
festivals and war. The drum was used as a means of communication between villages in the olden days,
(Olatunji 1984; Engestroem, 2010). According to Ajiboye (2011), talking drums have mystical connotations
and are linked to deities and gods; and are used for prayers to bless the community or an individual. A
Nigerian movie has demonstrated the power of one of such drums in a movie known as "Saworo Ide" in
which a mystical power was attached to a talking drum which when it was beaten, invited the drum
anchor from another village to beat the drum. On arrival, the anchor beat the drum which sounded in the
ear of a ruler who was not initiated into the cult. The sound of the mysterious drum had an adverse effect
on the ruler. (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011; Olatunji 1984; Oluga & Babalola, 2012).

In the Yoruba Land, when drumbeats sound, many will dance to the tune. But, beneath such a tune are
other coded messages. The art of drumming is an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Yoruba
ethnic group. Drums are used to entertain people on special occasions, festivals, carnivals, and
ceremonies and also for communication in rural towns. Drums can be differentiated by how they sound;
what they are produced from; how they have been produced, their history, and the appearance in which

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they are statured. For Yoruba people, ceremonies dictate the kind of drums to use. Above all, the drum is
associated with the people's religion, music and other cultural activities. There are different kinds of
drums for different functions in society.

Among Nigerians, especially the Yoruba, the drum is more than an instrument for entertainment. It is
also one of the media through which people send vital and sometimes coded messages. As a form of the
demonstrative ways of traditional communication drums is deployed to pass classified messages as a
strategy to overrun the enemies in times of war (Mattern 1998). Among the drums used by the Yoruba
people are Omele, Gangan, Bata, Gbedu and Saworoide. Information transfer through some means of
communication is inevitable in the human environment. The means could be either verbal or non-verbal
form, traditional or modern form, however, the whole essence is to effectively transmit information to the
target audience, (Sorsa, Merkkiniemi, Endrissat, Islam, 2018; Engestroem et al., 2010; Keita, 1997; Laniran
and Clements, 2003). Gerson & Gerson (2012) noted that transferring information or messages to the
audience constitutes the major aim of communication. Talking drum is therefore a very reliable
information dissemination tool that could be used to communicate values, norms and other important
information to persons who can decode the messages passed through them. For example, the tune "Kaabo
se daa daa lo de" meaning "You are welcome, hope you have arrived safely" is usually used to alert any
expectant audience that the visitor has arrived and also to welcome the guest.

Oluga & Babalola (2012) coined the term "drummunication" from the words "drum" and
"communication" to emphasize the idiophonic nature of drums and their significance to the Yoruba
society. The idea of drummunication, is simply a process that engages the art of drumbeats to
systematically broadcast conceived ideas, that are correctly coded or articulated in meaningful and
comprehensible sound rhymes that can be decoded or understood or interpreted by the proposed target
audience who also respond to the message of the drumbeat in a systematised or correlated reaction,
(Sorsa, Merkkiniemi, Endrissat, Islam, 2018; Berthoin Antal, Taylor, & Ladkin, 2014; Berthoin Antal, 2013
Oluga & Babalola 2012; Meisiek & Hatch, 2008; Eric, 1996).

The speech competence varies from one drum to another. Some have limited speech competence while
some have unlimited speech competence (Branscombe, Chandler, Little, 2017). The dundun drum is
known as the straightforward Yoruba talking drum while the bata drum is known as a stammering
talking drum that uses a dialect of the language it mimics (Oluga & Babalola 2012). Most of the time these
are the drums that readily come to mind when people hear the expression "talking drum". Aside from
the straightforward real talking drumset called the "dundun set" or "dundun talking drum" family there
is also a dialect-speaking stammering talking drum known as the bata, and others such as Sakara, Apinti,
Batakoto, Ipese, Agere, Gbedu, Igbin etc. (Oluga & Babalola 2012, Sorsa, Merkkiniemi, Endrissat, Islam,
2018). According to Laoye,(2005) the Yoruba drums are classified into omele-ako bata, dundun kerikeri,
gangan drumset, iya-ilu dundun, gudugudu, bata, iya-ilu bata, isaaju, kannango, omele-abo bata, kudi
bata. The talking drum could be used by the drummer to say whatever message he has for his audience in
any particular situation. Talking drums are not limited to traditional people alone, Juju and Fuji
musicians also engage them for a social function.

Studies have shown that there is more emphasis on the study of modern media by communication
scholars while little attention has been paid to the traditional channels especially the idiophones
(Famadou and Thomas, 1997). These traditional means of communication which should be an effective
tool for communication among rural dwellers are not exploited in reaching the people in rural areas. The
Talking Drum serves as an important channel of traditional communication in most African
communities. It is one of the most efficient means of traditional communication among rural dwellers
and a vital tool for grassroots mobilization for society's development. Talking drum has the lure of
bringing people together and creating fun among people, especially during ceremonies such as naming

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ceremonies, wedding/marriage ceremonies, housewarming ceremonies and burial ceremonies (Sorsa,

Merkkiniemi, Endrissat, Islam, 2018; Nishimura, 2016).

The effectiveness of the traditional media of communication, especially the talking drum, undoubtedly
remains questionable in the face of the remarkable contributions of mass media and social media to the
development of communication (Sorsa, Merkkiniemi, Endrissat, Islam, 2018; (Baumeister & Bushman,
2011; Oluga & Babalola 2012). The talking drum, however, as a demonstrative mode of traditional
communication is one of the oldest social heritage and the most important tool of social changes in the
old Oyo Empire that is believed to not just produce music as a medium of entertainment but a vehicle to
spread ideas, doctrines and mobilize the people. It contributed in no small measure to the development of
the traditional communities in which they were used and are being used. Sadly, these traditional media
especially the talking drum, seems to have lost their relevance to technology and gradually going into
extinction even in the traditional communities, thereby stalling developments in the rural communities,
since no meaningful development can occur without efficient communication

This research work aims at determining the effectiveness of the talking drum and properly champion its
continuous use as a viable channel of communication. This will help to ascertain if the talking drum can
be used as an effective tool for communication in the rural area, identify the traditional media tools in the
Yoruba kingdom and determine if the talking drum can be deployed to reach the rural dweller in Yoruba
communities.

A pilot survey in which 25 research questionnaires were administered randomly to the Oba's council,
market and village heads in three villages in the Irepodun local government area of Kwara state.
However, of the 25 questions administered, 22 were properly filled while the rest was not returned. The
researcher applied Freund and Williams's model of sample size determination, calculated at a 95%
confidence level of significance and 5% standard error, the formula is

2 2  pq
n
52
Where:

n = Sample size

p = Percentage of positive response

q = Percentage of negative response

e = Normal variant for the desired level of confidence

22
p  100%
25
3
q  100%
25

1.96 2  88.12
n
25
 162.3
 170

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Both questionnaire and interviews were carried out within two weeks. Structured questionnaires and
interview schedules were administered to the respondents, through a direct contact approach.

Out of the 170 copies of the randomly administered questionnaire across three selected areas, 155 (91%)
copies were successfully filled and returned as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Successfully and unsuccessfully filled out questionnaires

Successfully filled and Unsuccessfully filled

Area Administered (%)
returned (%) and returned (%)

Omu-Aran 40(100) 37(92) 3(8)

60(100) 54(90) 6(10)

Ilofa

Ipetu 70(100) 64(91) 6(9)

Total 170(100) 155(91) 15(9)

Fig. 1 shows the sex distribution of respondents. The study consists of 69 (45.52%) males and 86 (55.48%)
females. This implies that there are more females than males.

Figure 1. Sex distribution of the Respondents

About 19.4% of the respondent were between ages 19 – 29, 29.0% were between ages 30 - 39, 37.4% were
between ages 40 – 49 and 14.2% were above age 49. This shows that the respondents were more of ages 40
- 49 while respondents above ages 50 were the least. Based on the categories of the respondents, 30.3%
were single, 51.0% were married, 5.8% were divorced or separated from their spouse and 12.9% were
widowers. Most of the respondents (about 41.9%) are senior secondary school certificate holders,
followed by 25.2% with primary school basic education, 19.4% with no formal education, and 7.1% with
either OND or NCE, 4.5% with HND or BSc while only 1.9% of the respondent holds a post-graduate
degree. This can be seen in Table 2.

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Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Variable Frequency Percentage Cumulative Percentage

Age

19-29 30 19.4 19.4

30-39 45 29.0 48.4

40-49 58 37.4 85.8

50 and Above 22 14.2 100.0

Total 155 100.0

Marital Status

Single 47 30.3 30.3

Married 79 51.0 81.3

Divorced 9 5.8 87.1

Widowed 20 12.9 100.0

Total 155 100.0

Education

No Formal 30 19.4 19.4

FSLC 39 25.2 44.5

SSCE 65 41.9 86.5

OND/NCE 11 7.1 93.5

HND/BSC 7 4.5 98.1

PG 3 1.9 100.0

Total 155 100.0

It can be observed from Table 3 that all the respondents are aware of what the traditional media is all
about and so can appropriately participate in the study. The respondents are also aware of the talking
drum. All of the respondents are familiar with the Ganga, 96.77% were each familiar with the Bata and
Gidugudu, 67.74% knew about the Gbedu, 51.61% knew about the Sakera, 45.16% knew about the Omele
Akobata, 38.71% and 32.26% knew about the Saworo Ide and Asluko drum respectively as shown in
Figure 2.

Table 3. Knowledge of Traditional Media and Awareness of Talking Drum

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Variables Frequency Per cent Cumulative Percent

Knowledge of Traditional Media

Yes 155 100.0 100.0

Awareness of Talking Drum

Yes 155 100.0 100.0

Figure 2. Knowledge of Available Talking Drum in the Yoruba Ethnic Group

It can be observed from Table 4 that 89.0% of the respondents agreed to the use of talking drums for rural
communication while 3.9% disagrees and the rest are not sure. 56.1% of the respondents considered the
talking drum to be a very effective communication tool, 38.1% considered it to be effective and 5.2% of
the respondents considered it to be ineffective.

Table 4. Use and Effectiveness of Talking Drum as a Communication Tool

Variables Frequency Per cent Cumulative Percent

Use of Talking Drum for Communication

Yes 138 89.0 89.0

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No 6 3.9 92.9

Not Sure 11 7.1 100.0

Total 155 100.0

Effectiveness of Talking Drum as a Communication Tool

Very Effective 87 56.1 56.1

Effective 60 38.7 94.8

Not Effective 8 5.2 100.0

Total 155 100.0

Figure 3 shows the knowledge of available Talking Drums in the Yoruba Ethnic Group across
Respondents’ Qualifications. More of the respondents with no formal education considered Omele
Akobata as the available talking drum for communication, the primary school certificate holders
considered the Asluko, the secondary school certificate holders considered either Asluko or Gbedu, the
OND/NCE, HND/BSc and Postgraduate degree holders considered the Omele Akobata as the available
talking drum for communication as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Knowledge of Available Talking Drums in the Yoruba Ethnic Group across Respondents’
Qualification

In Fig. 4, more of the respondents between the ages 19 - 29 considered Gangan and Gbedu as the
available talking drum for communication, those between the age of 30 – 39 considered the Sakera and
Gbedu, those between the age of 30 – 39 considered the Omele Akobata while respondents above age 49
considered that Asluko as the available talking drum for communication.

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Figure 4. Knowledge of Available Talking Drums in the Yoruba Ethnic Group across Respondents’
Age

Table 5. Relationship Test between Respondent’s Qualification and Type of Drum for
Communication

Pearson Chi-Square Correlation

Drum
Value df p-value Value p-value

Asluko 10.702 5 0.058 -0.049 0.543

Saworo Ide 4.292 5 0.508 0.119 0.140

Ganga - - - - -

Omele Akobata 12.165 5 0.033 -0.065 0.423

Sakera 1.715 5 0.887 0.018 0.827

Bata 2.554 5 0.768 -0.003 0.969

Gudugudu 1.158 5 0.949 0.062 0.447

Gbedu 4.786 5 0.443 0.000 0.996

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A Pearson chi-square test of independence was conducted to test the relationship between the
respondents' characteristics (Qualification – Table 5 and Age – Table 6) and their knowledge about the
available talking drum in the Yoruba ethnic group for communication. The tests show that the responses
of the respondents were independent of their qualifications and ages at p-value < 0.05. This can also be
observed from the insignificant correlations between the variables except for the case of the Asluko and
the respondents' Age which possesses a significant positive but weak correlation at p-value < 0.05.

Table 6. Relationship Test between Respondent’s Age and Type of Drum for Communication

Pearson Chi-Square Correlation

Drum
Value df p-value Value p-value

Asluko 5.532 3 .137 .184 0.022

SaworoIde 2.042 3 .564 .112 0.164

Ganga - - - - -

OmeleAkobata 4.066 3 .254 .061 0.454

Sakera 2.054 3 .561 .079 0.331

Bata 3.408 3 .333 .088 0.274

Gudugudu 2.025 3 .567 .088 0.274

Gbedu 3.837 3 .280 -.026 0.752

Relationship Test between Respondent’s Characteristics and Type of Drum for Communication

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Figure 5. Use of Talking Drum and Its Effectiveness as a Communication Tool across Respondents’
Age

Most of the respondents across all ages agreed to the use of the talking drum and attested to its
effectiveness as a communication tool (Figure 5). The same observation was made from the respondents'
qualifications (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Use of Talking Drum and Its Effectiveness as a Communication Tool across Respondents’
Age

A Pearson chi-square test of independence was conducted to test the relationship between the
respondents' characteristics, the use of the talking drum and its effectiveness as a communication tool as
shown in Table 7. The tests show that the responses of the respondents were independent of their
qualifications and ages at p-value < 0.05. This can also be observed from the insignificant correlations
between the variables at p-value < 0.05.

Table 7. Relationship Test between Respondent’s Demography and the Use of Talking Drum as a
Communication Tool including its Effectiveness.

Pearson Chi-Square Correlation

Variable 1 Variable 2
Value df p-value Value p-value

Uses 4.099 10 0.943 -0.109 0.178

Education
Effectiveness 4.180 10 0.939 -0.030 0.710

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Uses 10.602 6 0.102 0.062 0.441

Age
Effectiveness 5.740 6 0.453 0.031 0.706

The respondents in this study were Muslims and Christians. However, Muslims were more predominant
in the Irepodun local government of Kwara State. Also, more females responded to this study across the
villages. This could be attributed to the areas where the study was carried out such as the market square
being dominated by women.

Itwas revealed from the study that there are various types of talking drums available in Yoruba
communities which are used in different ways as a means of communicating with the people, of the most
prominent is the Gangan drum

The findings of objective one of the study reveal that there is general knowledge of talking drums in the
communities and it is an effective communication tool for information dissemination and grassroots
mobilization. This is predicated on the fact that the local government under study has a more rural
setting where cultural practices still hold sway and so it is a more effective means of reaching and
communicating with the populace. While there is a need for modern mass media, the government should
endeavour to integrate traditional communication channels to preserve our cultural heritage (Slotoroff,
1994, Chude, 2007; Friedman, 2000).).

This work showed the talking drum has the capability of enhancing grassroots information
dissemination. This is however achievable if the drummunicator strategically engages in timely and
accurate dissemination of the information. This study shows that the talking drum is an integral part of
the Yoruba culture and as such has a great influence on the people especially those in rural areas. The
government can engage the drummunicators in their bid to mobilize the grassroots for any inclusive
development to occur among people. This is similar to the findings of Nwabueze (2006, 2007).

Traditional media are an effective and important part of the communication system. These are unique, as
they imitate the day-to-day life pattern of the rural masses. These media are a source of popular
entertainment for the rural audience, in addition to providing instruction and information. Most of the
traditional media have a high effect on creating awareness and influencing the attitude of the audience.

The talking drums are, therefore "linguistically competent" as drums that can display relatively high
communicative competence by mimicking the tones and traits of the Yoruba language. The results of
effective drummunication in the Yoruba society show that drummunication is a vital component of the
cultural or traditional values of the Yoruba people which should be encouraged and preserved and not
allowed to become extinct.

We conclude that although there is high knowledge of talking drums among Yoruba communities, their
use by the government is significantly low. This often results in the loss of valuable information which
most often has negative implications for the communities.

There is, therefore, the need to sustain the awareness and engage the talking drum to promote and
sustain the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people.

Messages and information targeted to the rural populace should be disseminated using the most
appropriate channels to ensure that the goal is achieved.

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There is a need to always engage the talking drum in reaching the rural dwellers in the Yoruba
communities.

It should be noted that this study focused on the use of the talking drum in the Yoruba ethnic group.
Further research is recommended on the use of the talking drum as a communication tool among other
ethnic groups in Nigeria.

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