THE DRUM COMMUNICATION OF IGALA PEOPLE

THE DRUM COMMUNICATION OF IGALA PEOPLE

Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another. In Igala, there are different items used for Communication apart from the mouth, eyes, head, toe and even body language. Gong, flute, trumpet, even coughing or sneezing are ways of communication when there is need for one. Drum is very important. It has a wider use. Drum Communication is used in War, Community announcement, message to the king, feast of the gods, burial and some traditional rites, entertainment.

In war, it tells the warriors the situation of things and the steps or actions to take. It is an encoded information, and only the trained warriors or concerned people can understand it. In Community announcement, it can be for the entire town to gather for an emergency meeting, or that a king had arrived from journey or even traveling out of the palace or that an elder or important person in the community has joined the ancestors . In the message to the king use, the King like Attah as we have in the Igala adage has nine ears. He hears everything including the messages from God almighty and the ancestors.

There are some information that the King needed to get urgently, but he might be busy and not accessible to the person to pass the information. This can be in a gathering, and problem or soldiers are taking battle to the community. The drummer can use the drum to communicate with the King and he will ask for the details of the information im mediately before the event can continue.

In feast of the gods, different feats have different drum sounds and sizes. While some involve the use of smaller drums and with braveness and fearful songs, some have ordinary songs. In burial, the drum sound is sacred and the song is not sang at home on ordinary days when there is no burial. It causes death. It is called Obele in Igala. To dance to the drum sound here, you must be a trained expert especially when it comes to the technical aspects. You will need to remember the various sounds and languages combined for over some minutes. Many people fail it.

In some traditional rites or cultural event, the sound of the drum is different too. There are some times that every sound is to greet the leader like the King or traditional rulers. In some, the sound rever the King, etc. In entertainment, drums make different sounds too. Some could be formed from the popular song the drummer heard such one sound used to be … you go de denge denge denge, you go de denge denge you go pose…

In Igala language, bigger or cylindrical drum is called Okaga. While the talking drum which is in form of figure 8 is called Okelegu.