YORUBA speaking people are found predominantly in the South Western part of Nigeria. They equally share cultural affinity with some Yoruba found in Benin Republic. They are culturally rich as demonstrated by the famous Ile-Ife and Owo art civilization.People believe there is one God (Olorun) who created heaven and the earth as expressed in their mythology of creation of the world. The language spoken by the people is Yoruba though interlaced with many dialects.Drums are indigenous musical instrument widely used traditionally in Nigeria. Some drums are linked to royalty. But the well-known talking drum plays a significant role in the dissemination of information by traditional rulers to their subjects.The use of drums cuts across every ethnic group in Nigeria. Most traditional rulers have a set of drums peculiar to their ethnic group. In this category of drums are the Gbedu or Dundun of the Yoruba; the Ikoro drum of the Igbo; and the Tambari used by the emir in the Northern part of the country.OriginThe talking drums have strong presence in all aspects of African life especially the Yorubas. The Yoruba talking drum originated from Oyo. It was first assembled for the use of Alaafin of Oyo as his musical outfit whenever he goes to war. He used it to motivate his army.The Yoruba talking drum, as the name suggests, is closely tied to the Yoruba language of South Western Nigeria; it is one of the cultural instruments that has endured and survived many generations. The drum is thought to minimise language by closely initiating the rhythm and intonation of the spoken word, that is, the talking drum speaks in tones that are adopted with leather cords that run the length of the drum's body.One of the unique features of the instrument is the ability to closely imitate the rhythms and intonations of the spoken language.In the hands of skilled performers, drum can produce the sounds of proverbs or praise songs, while acknowledgeable Yoruba audience can easily decode the dialogue. The drums vary in size and name between different cultures but tend to be fairly small. For instance, among the Yoruba, the smallest type of talking drum is called Gangan and the longest is called Dundun; meaning sweat sound.The head at either end of the drum's wooden body is made from animal hide, wrapped around both hoops. It's held under the left or right arm when playing and the sound produced by hitting the drum with a bent stick in addition to squeezing the leather cords. This process makes drum's heads to tighten and emit a high pitch. The act of squeezing the drum changes the pitch and generates various notes. The harder the drum is squeezed the higher the note will be.The drum's wooden body is made from the tree called Imo. It can be found in large quantity at the northern part of Oyo state in such areas as, Saki, Ago- are and Sepeteri.In these days, Imo tree can only be cut by those that belong to Agah's (goddess of dundun drum) family. Also, it is only the people from this particular family that can assemble talking drums. In addition, the cutting down of the tree requires certain ritual process that must be performed.Talking drum plays a fundamental role in the cultural life of the Yoruba.In ancient times, talking drum was used for a variety of purposes from being a musical instrument during celebrations to a sort of telegram for relaying messages even during war, announcing the arrival of visitors etc.Furthermore, it is used to praise gods, human beings, chiefs, kings to mention a few. It is used also, to invoke the spirit of ancestors and deities. It corrects the errors of the societies, generates conversational proverbs in order to allow people to communicate with their elders. Drums are used during festivals, installation of Obas or chiefs, naming ceremonies, marriage or burial ceremonies, rites of passage, healing, storytelling, warrior rites and initiationIn addition, talking drum wakes up the king early in the morning. It starts with the recitation of the praises of past kings, telling the incumbent king the challenges they faced and how they overcame these challenges, while also reminding the king of the day's responsibilities.For example: 'Kabiesi, dide kobo si koto enikan kii fise igbese ran omo eni, dide bo si koto', meaning 'Kabiesi, wake-up and gather your loins, the responsibility that tradition assigns to you cannot be delegated to your son.'It is interesting to note that the use of talking drum was banned by the early slave merchants during the slave trade era because of the perceived potential of talking drum to speak in a tongue unknown to them and thus to incite rebellion amongst the people against them.Drumming is known to be hereditary in the sense that most of the drummers learnt the act from their fathers or grandfathers and also pass it to their own children because there is a sense of pride in being a drummer.Ayan is said to be the goodness of dundun drums, therefore, ayan is always prefixed to the names of children born into the family of dundun drummers.Other talking drums of crucial or tubular construction exist round Africa, but they are rather known by their particular name instead of the term talking drum, such as:Akan-doudo; Twi-doudo; Hausa-kalangu; Soughai-doudo; Igbo-ekwe among others.Indeed, playing a talking drum is regarded as an introductory step to African music. The drum is easy to pick up and great for beginner musicians. It is a musical instrument that greatly complements any music type.' Ezekiel Olajide discussed this topic with the National Museum Study Group, Port Harcourt, recently
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