The Preservation of Yoruba Tradition through Hunters' Funeral Dirges

Author(s): Bade Ajuwn

Source: Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 50, No. 1 (1980), pp. 66-72
Published by: Edinburgh University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1158643
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Africa,50(1), 1980

THE PRESERVATION OF YORUBA TRADITION

THROUGH HUNTERS' FUNERAL DIRGES
BadeAjuwon

The performanceof Yorubahunters' funeraldirges is of great human interest. As an

indispensablerite at all the majorcrises that may affect membersof the hunters'guild,
it is evidently a means of emotionaloutlet. These dirges are known as iremoje,a name
which Yoruba mythology claims was coined by Ifa, the god of wisdom and of
divination,to denote this type of lament. These songs are creditedwith a divine origin,
and are demandedby the god Ogun to be performedby his followersas partof a rite of
passagefor deceasedhunters from earth to heaven. Ogun himself was said to have set
the model of the performanceof iremojefor his followersto emulate.The observanceof
the ritual is seen by Ogun devotees as an act of worship, of propitiatingtheir god, of
communicatingwith the departedhunters, and of making a thoroughappraisalof the
successes and failures of deceased hunters in their professionalcareeron earth. The
task of making an oral evaluation of a man's career is always difficult. The device
of artistswho are vested in Yorubahistoryand folkloreuse, however,is to dwell on the
lineage salutes - salutes which normallyembody significanthistoricalpoints relating
to ancestorsof the deceased.It is to be observed,however,that these singersof iremoje
laments, as is the case with rdra' chanters,usually emphasizethe victories and heroic
deeds of the deceasedand carefullygloss over his failures;this is only to be expected
since it is his fame that artists are gathered to celebrate. Thus they praise his fine
character, his kind heart, his professional skills and techniques, commend his
memorabledeeds as a hunter, or at least the courage with which he faced ordeals in
life.
Let us first review briefly those forces that have adverselyaffected the culturaland
social life of the Yorubapeople. With the arrivalof Christianmissionariesin 1843, the
performanceof the iremoje ritual, and other Yoruba traditional practices such as
ancestor worship, came under serious attack. As a result of the counter-pressureof
Islam, these attacks intensified, as adherents of both religious faiths mounted a
vigorous offensive against the observanceof traditionalYoruba rituals and religion,
considered to be 'heathen' and 'unholy'. The missionaries of both faiths partly
succeededin their campaign,as observedby Fadipe:
The adherents succeeded in part in creating differences within the hitherto
homogeneous society. For instance, during the annual worship of ancestors, the
sincereMuslim convertwould find himself unable to join the membersof the rest of
his extended family for collective worship. All the importantoccasionsof family reunion in which the oracle Ifa figures would, for that reason, be taboo to the good
Muslim. (1970:321).

THE PRESERVATIONOF YORUBU TRADITION

67

In spite of persistentattacks,die-hardbearersof the Yorubatraditionalreligion and its

ritualssurvived. Even those who were takenas slaves to the New World also took their
traditional religion with them, and today, in Brazil and Cuba, for example, and
amongst the Krio who returned to Sierra Leone, there is abundant evidence of the
Yoruba culture in diaspora. In a paper on Yoruba religion in Brazil, Abimb6ol
commentedon the Egungun ceremonyas he witnessedit at Itaparicain Brazil:
The Egungun there bear differentnames symbolic of their functions just as in West
Africa. They also wear the most colourful and expensive materialssuch as velvet in
the same fashionas it exists in West Africa.Most of the Egungun could muttera few
words of Yoruba blessings and the congregationwas made to respond with salutes
and pleas regardingtheir personalproblems.(1976a:6).
In Nigeria itself, the bearersof Yorubatraditionpicked up the gauntlet thrown down
by Muslims and Christians. One of the rituals that has survived is irem.ojeand the
observanceof iremojetraditionhas been carriedon by successive generationsin such a
way that every individualinvolved has contributedtowardsits perpetuation.
The salute to Yorubalineages is the axis aroundwhich other basic themes in irem.je'
and applied poetic genres revolve. The lineages are the various lines of descent from
the initial group of the Yoruba ancestors. Babalolarightly refers to lineages as Orile
(grouporigin, i.e. group progenitor)(1966:23). The huntersview the theme of lineages
as being of great significance in the performanceof funeral dirges. The lineages are
patrilinealin character,each having its own totem. The totem may sometimes be a
particular animal or an object believed to have had some close relation with the
particularlineage in the remote past. Crocodilesand lizardsare typical examples, and
the eating of such animals is often strictly forbidden to all members of the lineage
concerned.
Whether or not the first place of settlement of the lineage is still in existence, all
membersof the lineage regardtheir common place of origin as of high significancein
their culturalhistory.2The people's desire to know their origin becomes sharpenedas
they think of the various forces that have over the centuries scatteredmost of their
settlements.War has been a majorfactor,as illustratedby the following accountof the
fate of old Qyo in the earlynineteenthcentury:
. . . The collapse and suppression of Qyq opens with the outbreakin 1813 of the
Owu war, the first of the civil wars. This was followed by the revolt at Ilorin against
the Alafin by Afonja, his Kakanfo, which gave the Fulani their foothold in
Yorubaland,the overthrowof Qyo by the Fulani, and then the southwardmove of
the Oyo people into the forest. The period closes with the building by emigrantsof
new towns, notably Ibadan(c.1830), the enlargementof older towns like Ijaye, and
the founding of a new capital in the south at Ago-oja,renamedOyo (c. 1837). (Ajayi
and Smith 1964:10).
The Fulani incursion into the Yoruba Kingdom from the north and the western

68

THE PRESERVATION
OFYORUBUTRADITION

invasion by the Dahomeans caused people in old Qyo to flee and build new
settlements.Apart from war, famine or epidemics sometimes drove people from their
initial settlement to seek their fortunes elsewhere, and consequently to become
detachedfrom the other membersof their lineage.
Thus a once peacefully settled people could find themselves emigrating to new
placesin searchof their means of livelihood. As a result of this dispersal,the exponents
of Yorubaverbal art were also scatteredin such a way that they lost adequatecontact
with each other. The gods, too, were little attended to as most of the central
institutionsof worship had been sackedand scattered.The institution of kingship, for
which the Yoruba were famous, was underminedby the invaders, and there was no
longer any firm centralauthorityto hold the people together. The resultanteffect was
that Yoruba people became less informed about the customs, traditional skills,
techniques,and life style of their ancestors.
In contrast,chantersof iremojepoetryregularlyreferto past Yorubarituals,customs,
and ancestralskills in their performances.By making these references,they provide
their audience with oral informationbringing their cultural heritage once more into
the limelight, as exemplifiedby the followingextractfrom dirge:3
Nijo 01ofa a r'Oyoo 'le,
Aluk6s6Ql6fa egbeje,
Aludiundin 16ofa
egbefa,
Ki irinjingbinQl6fa egberindinl6gfin,
Ofa maafa mi
Kemi naa6 fa 6.
E je a jo bo abee 'e1kolofin,
je
j a jo fa 'run abe araawa.
A-jii-mo-fani 'run Ofa,
Eeyanti o ba fa 'run 6ohn 6 daa.
When o16fa
(king of Ofa)was going to old Qyo,
His kdsddrummersnumberedone thousandfour hundred.
His dundandrummersnumberedone thousandtwo hundred.
His kiinrtnjingbin(cymbal)players,one thousandsix hundred.
Let Ofa pull me,
So that I pull him backin return.
Let us go to the darkcornerof a house,
To pull our pubic hair.
Since Ofa hair is usually pulled together,
Whoeverfails to pull such hair is a bad person.

10

10

This dirge is a humorouschant for which the Qlofa lineage is very famous. The chant
also reflectsthe artist'screativepower in using the syllablefa to producevaryinglevels
of meanings. The extract deserves attention, however, because it allows us a deeper
insight into the past social life of a one time ruler of Ofa. We learn that the ruler's
favouritemusic includes koso, dindun, and kiinrinjingbin.These are ancient forms of
music enjoyed by chiefs and the wealthy. Unfortunately,apartfrom dundun,they are
no longer in popularusage in Yorubalandtoday, and apartfrom relics in museums the

THE PRESERVATIONOF YORUBU TRADITION

69

presentday generationhas no means even of seeing the instrumentsused. The chanter

of the above salute at least succeeds in bringing to our knowledgesome significantfolk
music types enjoyedby past Yorubarulersand their subjects.
A significanttraditionalcustom that is often reactivatedduring iremnojeperformances
is the Ogun ritual dance. The performanceof the hunters' funeral dirges has now
become so much a matter of entertainmentand enjoyment that it is, at first, very
difficult to realize its serious purposes. Although dancing may usually be a means of
socialization and relaxation, it has both a religious and a social overtone in iremonje
performance.The type of bdtdmusic which normallyaccompaniesthese performances
is fast, and its dance-step semi-acrobaticin character.The dance is unique and its
masteryis acquiredonly through formaltraining.The god Ogun himself is claimed to
have invented the style, either for worship or social dancing. When skilful dancers
performit today they resurrectan otherwiseforgottendance-formto the enjoymentof
all present. What interests the dancersmost, however, is the hope that their dance is
pleasingin the sight of Ogun, whom they arehonouringby it.
Dirge performancein its traditionalstyle is characterizedby strong competition in
verbal art among the alternatingartists;as in the parallelcompetitionof Esa4 poetic
performance.The dramaticessence of irem.jge,however, lies in the extensive use of
gestures to act out the ideas. This use of improviseddramain the performancerecalls
past actorheroeswhose fame is itself preservedin oral tradition,as in the dirge:5
Lebe 16ni 'j6,
Eyeba16l6kiti,
Aj6feeb616lere a-se-d6la.
Lebe is the masterof dances,
Eyeba is the masterof acrobaticdisplays,
Aj6feeb6is the masterof entertainmentthat lasts till day break.
Since the Yorubapeople areanxiousto know their past, both culturaland otherwise,in
anticipation of the future, they often turn up in large numbers to attend the
performanceof hunters'funeraldirges. The above excerptsuggeststhat an appreciable
level of dramaticand acrobaticdance tradition,involving named folk dramatists,once
existed amongstthe Yoruba.To the artists,the height of the performanceoccurs when
they are repeatinga ritual dramathat formeda majorsource of entertainmentfor their
ancestors.We may indeed be justified in consideringthe current emergenceof many
folk dramaticgroups and acrobaticdancers,now often featuredon television, as being
inspiredby traditionaldramalike iremoje.
Birth, like death, occupies a prominent place in the folklore of the Yoruba people,
with many associatedbeliefs and rituals. The event normally affects all members of
any Yoruba extended family, and some primary rituals are performedto initiate the
new entrant into the social relationshipsalready in existence. The baby's transition
from orun (sky, heaven) to aye (world, earth) is marked by the performance of
traditionalrites. On the ninth or seventh day afterbirth, Yorubatraditiondemandsthe
performance of naming rituals for male and female babies respectively. Ritual
materials,to mention only the importantones, consist of edibles:kolanut,red palm-oil,
honey, sugar-cane,alligator-pepper,salt, dried fish, water and alcohol. The ceremony

70

THE PRESERVATION OF YORUBU TRADITION

is ordinarilyheld early in the morning when all relatives of the baby's parents, their
friends and neighbours, gather in the central passage of the house to watch. The
assembled audience, a symbolic guard of honour welcoming a respected guest,
ascertainsthe completeness of the ritual materialsand judges the correctnessof the
performance. The initiator, usually an elderly woman versed in Yoruba custom,
awakensthe inner 'souls' of the ritualmaterialsby chantingincantatorysalutesin their
praise. She formallywelcomes the baby among humans, and makesthe baby, together
with the assembled audience, taste all the ritual items, one by one. This common
tasting symbolicallyratifiesthe union of the baby with the group he comes to join on
earth. Unfortunately, the observance of this traditional custom is becoming less
common in contemporarytimes and, even where it is observed,both the form and the
ritualitems have largelylost their meaning.
On the other hand, since irem.ojesingers are concerned with the whole life of the
deceased, including his religious and ritual life, their examination of his biography
must commence with his birth. As they eulogize the deceased, their allusion to birth
rites is very necessary,since two majorceremonies- at birth and death - are due to
every individual,to allow full entry into the group of ancestors,and a public testimony
of their observancemust be properlymade. It is this testimonythat an iremojoesinger is
makingin this extract:
Lakok6 oj6, ojoun,
Ti babaode diw6-disesikun 'yee re,
Onik wa di kewaani babaode wale aye oo.
Bi babaode ti dele aye, omi ni'6n k6 t6 si babalenu.
Ako ni, n babo awon 'o m6,
Won gbenawomo nidii,
Won si ri p'6kiinrinsi ni,
Ode ni 6 see.
Ojfum ti m6, isan wole de,
E je a sor6 k6mo 6 le baa fararo.
W6n ni e t6juu iyoo,
E t6jfuuepo,
Oyin ado fi be fie, n 6 ri i,
Atareomo,
Obi ifin, obi ipa,
Eja aroa-bi-wegbada.
Omi ni be 'kf, omi naa ni b'arun.
Eni oti e e tii.
Ile ni mo te-te-tee.
Ohun or6 ti pe tabi kee pee?
Kan-kan-kanlolee wuire.
Iw6n ni'yan gb6namo laisoka.
Oro ni e ba ni se f6mo tuntun.
Long, long ago,
When our hunter-fatherwas in his mother'swomb,
At nine months plus, our hunter-fatherwas born.

10

15

20

THE PRESERVATION
OFYORUBUTRADITION
The new baby was made to taste waterfirst.
People were curiousas to its sex
They used light to check its sex,
And it was a baby-boy,
Whose professionwould be game-hunting.
It is the ninth day of birth,
Let us performbirth rites so as to put the baby in peace.
Let us get readytable-salt,
Get readyred palm-oil,
Get readyhoney,
The baby's alligator-pepper,
The baby'sbrown and light kolanuts,
A good arbfish.
To appeasedeath and illness, wateris often used.
Alcohol puts humansin good form.
Get readysoil on which I alwaysstep.
I hope all ritualmaterialsarecomplete?
Thieves are characteristicallyquick.
Ratherthan hot like stirredyam flour, poundedyam is good if moderatelyhot.
Let us performthe ritualfor the new baby.

71

10

15

20

The chanter is making a poetic presentationof the Yorubatraditionalbirth rites in a

nutshell. The ritual materialsare enumeratedin an order that suits the artist's poetic
expression,and not in any orderof importance.It should not be surprisingthat iremoje'
artistsbring to our attentionthe theme of birth when they are lamentingthe death of a
hunter, since birth and death characterizethe opposing forcesin the life of man.
The age of industrialrevolutionand of technology has induced most Yorubapeople
to give up their traditional way of life and to seek their fortune in cities. Such
traditional professions as big-game hunting, blacksmithing, weaving, etc. have
progressivelylost recruits and significance in the economic life of the Yoruba. The
occasionof a hunters'funeralis thereforeoften seized by artiststo give dignity to these
professions which are now so little practised. The hunting profession is often
representedby them as second to none. At dirge performances,there are customarily
intermittentgun salutes,firstto identifyhuntersas men of action,andsecondlyto present
them as protectorsof their society.Hunters'wisdomand theircurativeknowledge,in the
poetic world of iremoje'artists, sustain human society. Nor is this all. Hunters give
direction and leadership to their community, as well as administering order and
justice. Thus an elevated place is preserved for them in the mind of the Yoruba
community, and an otherwise declining profession is enhanced in value. The artists'
effort to interestthe individualin the hunting professionhas severalclear purposes:to
ensure the continuity of the profession, to make hunters feel proud of their heritage,
and to exalt hunters as sustainers of the economic and social well-being of Yoruba
society.
No doubt, funeral dirges are intended primarilyto celebratethe loss and fame of a
particulardepartedhunter. The height of the performance,however, is when the past
is poetically brought to life again in the present, and the present projected into the
future. This function is one of the most significant merits of iremo.jeperformance.To

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THE PRESERVATIONOF YORUBU TRADITION

the hunters, the act of performing the rite is no mere play-acting, nor is it a dramatic device
to fill an idle hour. Most people at such performances believe religiously in the ritual, and
are convinced that their own welfare depends on the success of its performance.

NOTES
Rdra:a type of Yorubapraisepoetryusuallychantedby men andwomento saluterecognizedindividualsat
ceremonies.
2 With the
sack of Old Oyo in 1830, most of the Yorubainitial settlementswere deserted,and are now in
ruins.Oraltraditionoften refersto Ika,Iseke,Akeetan,to mentiona few, whosesitesarestill to be foundnearOld
Oyo today.
3 Chanted
by Laniyanat the funeraldirgeperformancefor Ogfindokunon September2, 1975, at Oyo.
4 Esa:Yoruba
poetrynormallychantedby ancestor-worshippers.
5 Chanted
by Laniyanat the funeraldirgeperformancefor Ogfinleruiat Apaara,Oyo, on July 7, 1975.
6 Chantedby Laniyanat the funeraldirge performance
for Ogindele at Gfidigbfi, Qyo, on July 14, 1976.

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Resume

Les chantsfunebres
des chasseursYorubaet leur role dans le maintien
et le renouveaudes traditionsculturelles
Les hymnes funebres des chasseurs Yoruba, designes par le terme de iremoje,sont des complaintes de
composition po6tique: chantes par les chasseurs, ils forment une partie d'un rite de passage pour leurs
confreres defunts. Bien qu'evoquant surtout la douleur des chanteurs pour les disparus, ces hymnes
font souvent allusion aux concepts traditionnels sur lesquels reposent les us et coutumes Yoruba, a
savoir les outils habituels, les divers travaux et metiers, les types vestimentaires, les danses, les moeurs
et les normes de la societe. Comme le texte de chaque hymne est tire essentiellement de sources traditionnelles, chaque c6ermonie d'iremojeest pour la g6enration pr6sente un rappel du passe servant de
gouverne pour l'avenir: c'est cette fonction didactique de l'iremojequi en constitue l'un des aspects les
plus importants.