Cultural and musical values of Àdàmò traditional music in Ìjèsàland

Abstract

Àdàmò traditional music practice in Ìjèsàland has been part of the culture from the inception, as history says that Ìjèsà people brought the art with them to Ìjèsàland from Ile Ife. Owing to this assertion, it is then obvious that Àdàmò traditional music is a traditional heritage of Ìjèsà people both home and abroad. This paper seeks to view the cultural and musical value of Àdàmò traditional music in Ìjèsàland, how important is this genre of music to the Ìjèsà sons and daughters within Ìjèsàland. To achieve these, information for this write-up was gathered through in-depth interviews with seven (7) of its exponents and four (4) community dwellers across the land. In addition, discography, books, journals, and internet constitute the secondary source for this write-up. It was found out that in spite of the over bearing influence of modern musical practices and several musical genres in Ìjèsàland, Àdàmò traditional music has its place in the day to day activities of Ìjèsà people, especially the role it plays during the major traditional festival of Ìjèsàland called Ìwúde Oba, that the festival will not be concluded until Àdàmò traditional music is performed. This study therefore concludes that, this genre should be explored by the musicologists and attention should be given by all and sundry in Ìjèsàland for better placement, relevance and developments among the contemporaries in Nigeria music scene.