Ogoni  traditional music is as old as the race.  It is difficult to trace it from that time, nor any century earlier than the twentieth century.   Nor is it possible to remember extinct song groups.  The initial tradition was to form song groups among peer groups.  The technique helped in socialisaton, dissemination of culture, learning and practising the mores of the people.  The groups became historical time markers which helped uneducated persons to count time and record events  in their memories that were later written down in  books.

The socialisation process engaged people to sing, dance,court, marry and fish;  it also assisted in group participation on farms and other works.  It forstered love and harmony among peer groups  and subsequently, each community.  It was a means of training young people knitting, farming, fishing, palm-wine tapping, cooking, greeting and trading.

Peer groups still form musical groups today, not mandatory as in the past when the need for such cohesion was necessary.  Interested individuals form song groups today, not motivated by age brackets .

They strive towards professionalism; some are educated musicians, others are laymen in the field who are talented singers, dancers and instrumentalists.  They are proefessionals in other fields but depend on music for small sums of money.

Ogoni music is not only the musicality which derives from good qualitative singing and instrumentation, but it incorporates dance which is another art.  Ogoni dance is peculiar to the race: wriggling and skipping. Other styles are hip-dance, relaxation, shoulder dance and, imitation dance which could be any object or subject – an aeroplane bombing a place,weeding, paddling or any other thing.

Patronage is a vital mens of controlling, influencing and mentoring  Ogoni singers.   Ogoni song peer groups are headed by patrons, who have either helped to found the groups or have taken interest in their development.  They support them financially and psychologically.

Recording of songs in Ogoni has been in progress from the time tape-recorders were introduced in the area.  Professional documentation has not been on a large scale; there are few professionals to do so and few music  sponsors of poor local professionals.  There are many song groups in the race;  only one is known to me to have attained international standard in music.  There are few recordings in Ogoni today of songs from song groups in all the local governments or traditional kingdoms which constitute the race.

Instrumentation is divided into three aspects in this essay: ideophones – resonators which are rattles, bells, whistles and xylophones; membranophones –drums which are tonaly divided into treble, tenor drums, alto and bass drums; aerophones – hollow instruments like horns and Indian bamboo hollow stems.  These musical instruments are used by experts which produce various sounds on various musical scales.

Whistles, rattles, bells, xylophones, drums, horns, pots and hollow bamboos produce sounds which pass  through the filter of noise and become melody; sounds blend and harmoinse on any traditional musical scales catalysing into harmony.   Sometimes, sculptural art works evoke values and emotions that are easy to decipher through group-mind, symbolism and connotations; they relate to music.  Dance is another art, but an integral part of Ogoni music; it reinforces theme, expresses emotions and speaks through body language.  These create various traditional rhythms which are not poor copies learned from other cultures but original creations of indigenous minds.

Serele song group was the first to attain sublimity.  It was formed about 1986 in Deeyor  through which period gestation performances were done to select the best performers.   Sub-groups were formed in the villages of Gokana from where they spread to other clans of Ogoni.   The pioneer group performed in many towns and villages until it was presented at FESTAC  in  1977.  The competition was keen, the performers were brilliant and turned out to be outstanding.  The group was  invited to perform in the United States of America.

Anything could form the theme of a song; there are as many themes as song groups: love, feats of heroes, misdemeanor of men, women and youths, maladministration and theft.  The songs convey various emotions which are tied to various themes; some of them are joy, sadness, reflection or meditation and, mixed feelings.

Theme, mood and tone determine the nature of songs –praise, work, abuse, war and any other. Aesthetics or beauty is determined not merely by rendition but the totality of performance: the equal proportions of dance, music and instrumentation.  These are the elements that determine harmony, coherence and melody.  Language and worldview, rhythm, structure and sense give holistic picture.  Orchestration and perfect performance determine quality.

Composers and performers engage the minds of people with serious themes about man in society, his social, political, religious and economical relations, what he should be as opposed to what he is, what he is and should remain in relation to group-mind; these relate to  the aims and goals of society.

The number of traditional artists is increasing. The sunrise has come but the zenith is yet to come.  The data are not available now; there is the need for thorough research to quote the exact number.  It is most likely that number will increase with quality in the years to come because many shall have taken degrees in music.

Modernisation is the major distraction of traditional music.  New forms have arisen from various contacts made with various races.  There are jazz, blues, raggae and other traditional forms of music with different audiences and lovers from the race.   There are emergent professionals of western music from the race. There are a medley of forms by some artists but there are purists who believe in the preservation of each form as it is.

Traditional Ogoni music is battling to keep its breathe in the crowded music atmosphere.  It is necessary for repertoire, orchestration, dance steps and performance to maintain traditional purity.  Musical instruments may be modernised with modern materials as long as they maintain their sounds.  Quality is bound to improve with the new stream of educated artists coming onto the scene.  The guiding principle of production and performance should be the preservation of quality of music and, the culture of the race.

In conclusion, Ogoni people are conscious that their music is unique and different from those of other races.  They are aware of the other forms of music from the West, Niger Delta and other races.  There are some who love traditional music of the race and prefer it to the ones mentioned.  They regard their songs and dances as unique creations worth preserving. The artists and performers are aware that people are eager to patronise their music in modern forms: film, video and CRD.  They anticipate a bountiful renaissance harvest that shall come with the outpourings of songs, singers, performers, musicologists, music teachers and lecturers.

To be continued next Friday.

Ngaage writes from the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State.

Barine Saana Ngaage