FunDrum in Nigeria

In Spring of 2008 I had the pleasure of traveling to Nigeria, West Africa with my good friend Ayodapo Oyelana.  Ayo is a masterful talking drum player and he had been teaching me about the Yoruba talking drum for several years.  He comes from a family of drummers in Gbongan in Osun State.  


During my two week stay with his family, I had a wonderful time.  Traveling to Africa had been a dream of mine since I was a child and it was a thrill just to be there.  I really enjoyed meeting so many nice people whenever we travelled around.  I was always amazed that within 5 minutes of arriving at someone's home, everyone would be singing and playing instruments.  This happened so many times during my trip.  Music is so much a part of Nigerian culture.  


See an informative video I made on talking drums called "Talking Drum Safari".  

A big thrill for me was being able to study with my teacher Akintunde Gbeminiyi Adewole 'Ayanladun'.  Gbemi would come to Ayo's sister's house and teach me for as long as I could stand it, usually 3-4 hours.  My 'private' lessons would often have several family members, neighbors and anyone who was passing by the house watching.  It must have been very entertaining for them to see the 'oyibo' (white man) trying to play talking drum.  Because the nature of the drum is tonal and it is played to mimic the tonal sounds of the Yoruba Language, what I was learning was more of a linguistics lesson than a music lesson.  Gbemi was teaching me traditional phrases on the drum that were used for greetings.  When I would play the phrase correctly, all the spectators and passers by would affirm my phrase and cheer me on.  When I would get the phrase wrong, I would hear silence.  Deafening.     

I had purchased two talking drums from the best drum maker in Ile-Ife, Baba Onilu (father/respected drummer).  One was a small drum called an adamo, and the other the largest size, called an Iyalu (mother drum).  In the Yoruba talking drum ensemble the largest (deepest) drum does the soloing and the majority of the 'talking'.  The drums I purchased both sound amazing and were coveted by several other drummers there.  Talking drums are made from a hollow, hourglass-shaped wood shell that is covered on both ends with goat skin and is braced by lacings of deer skin that run up and down the length of the drum.  When these side bracings are squeezed or pulled on, the pitch of the drum will change when struck with the mallet.  Talking drums are the main instrument of the Yoruba people and play an important part not only in making music, but also in communication.  Anything that can be said verbally in Yoruba can be played on the talking drum and understood by the listeners.  


See a video of a really good young talking drum player named Segun Adeyemo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkAF_7IItFY

One day Ayo, Gbemi, Ayo's nephews Kayode and Tolu, and I went to a nearby town called Oyo.  Oyo was once a very important center of the Yoruba empire, and is famous for its drum makers.  There is a King in Oyo who lives in a palace.  We went to the palace and were lucky to be allowed in as there was a big meeting of all the local chiefs who report to the king.  When we arrived outside th palace, we were greeted by the court drummers.  I was blown away by what I was hearing and seeing.  Three shekere players were interlocked in an incredible rhythm, that was amazing by themselves, but then come a battery of talking drum players.  There was one who looked to be the oldest, and he was playing the iyalu.  As I centered in on what he was playing, I was stunned, I was being welcomed with the same pattern I was learning from Gbemi.  I could pick up on a small piece of it, but I got it.  I was hearing " E'kaabo. Se daradara lo de.  Atinree tinre. (mi do do, mi mi re mi re re mi.  re mi re mi re).  "Welcome! How was your journey?  We have been expecting you."  According to Ayo he was also asking about my wife and my children (don't have) and asking me why I have come there and how much money was I going to give him, all on the Iyalu, in rhythm along with the rest of the ensemble.  It was so cool!  We got to go into the palace and meet the second in command next to the king.  We were toured around by the chamberlain and shown the 200 year old tortoise and the king's boxing punching bag and his collection of old cars (some seriously old!).  


We took another trip to find the village of Ajido, home of Babatunde Olatunji.  Ajido is situated near the coast close to Badagry.  It took finding a friend of a friend of Kayode's before we could locate the family compound and gravesite of Baba.  I was really surprised to learn that Baba is virtually unknown in his own country, even his own village!  He left when he was young and came to America and lived most of his life here, so people back home didn't know much about him.  They just knew there was a big funeral with a lot of drummers, but that was about it.  When I would sing several of the baba songs I know, people would start to really stop and ask me about who this 'baba' was.  How was this oyibo singing these Yoruba folksongs?!  He had obvoiusly made enough of an impact on me that I wanted to go way out to find his village and his grave.  Baba's tombstone is a large concrete slab that has these words etched on it, "Died 6 April 2003, Buried 10th May, 2003; In memory of our beloved father, Pa Michael B. Olatunji."  I was told I was the first foreigner to come there to visit his grave.  I paid my respects and thanked Baba for helping our society become rhythmically enabled.  We played talking drums and sang songs for Baba.  I think he would have liked that.


Traveling around was not for the faint of heart.  The roadways in Nigeria are really rough and there are virtually no traffic rules.  Accidents are common, as are robberies, and you can't really be sure about the man in uniform pulling you over with a gun could easily be a bandit in disguise.  If there was a traffic jam, and there often was, cars would cross over the median and drive into oncoming traffic.  You really had to be on your toes.  It was pretty scary sometimes, but luckily Ayo's nephews were all excellent drivers for Nigeria.  The family car we were driving around in was in perpetual need of some kind of mechanical attention: radiator, tires, exhaust, battery.  There was always something to fix.  Luckily it held up and we were able to get around to the places we needed to, albeit sometimes only after a sizable delay.  Once a 2 hour drive took us 10 hours because of breakdowns.  What an adventure!  


E'Se!
O'Dabo!