University of Nigeria Research Publications SAM, Kenneth Iheanyi Chukwu Author PG/MA/93/14892 Taxonomy of Igbo Musical Instruments: An Organological Case Study of Ihitte-Uboma Title Instrumental Resources Arts Faculty Music Department September, 1999 Date Signature 'TASONORIY OF IcnO Rll!SlC'Al, INS'I'HlIMENI'S: AN ORGAN01,O<;ICAI, CASE ST1ll)Y 017 IIIIT'rE-IIBOMA INSTRIIMEN'I'AL H ESO1 I RCES Salmitted in Partial F~~lfillrnentof the Requirements Far- the Award of the Dcgrce of MASI'ERS OF ARTS (h1.A.) AFRICAN MlJSICO1,OCY (With a Stress in.Organology). DEPARTMENT OF MIJSIC, IINIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSIIKKA SAM KENNE'I'II IIIEANYI CIIIJKWU PWW9/93/ry e?t 1999 APPROVAL PAGE ( SUPERVISOR INTERNAL, EXAMINER ?. llead of Department. 'T'o my late dear father. Nze Okuakaji ltinocent Chr~kwu(1.O.C.) And My beloved mother, Mrs Grace Onyeberechi Chukwu And 'QIIOTES' By lis~eningto the sspcecl~.cries and lau&ter of otlms, we learn what they think and how they feel. (Roger Kamien) Traditional musical instruments are information sources that help to express feelings of a people and the nceded explanations on how these inform, can be effectively diseniinated by the culture- owner. (Sam C hukwu) Table of Contents CONTENTS: PAGE ix X xii .. Xlll xiv xvi xvii xviii xlx XX CHAPTER ONE: Geography, Historical and Socio-cultural background Origin of the lgbo in Ihitte-Uboma : Origin of Ihitte-Uboma Socio-cultural relations in Ihitte-Uboma : Iwa-akwa festival : Mbom-uzo festival : Religion Music activities in Ihitte-Uboma : Samples, types and categories of musical groups : CHAPTER TWO: Literature review : Curt Sachs and Eric Von Hornbostel's classifications: Jaap Kunst's observations : W. W. Echezona's cataloguing: Kwabena Nketia's inventory of African musical instruments: Lo-Bamijoko's classification : Rich Okafor's organological views : Meki Nzewi's classification system : C.T. Nwachukwu's folk system of classification : Mantle Hood's view : CHAPTER TFIREE Cognitive principles in theformulation of folk Terminology for the naming of musical Instruments : # Language structure, semantics and sound phenomena in the naming of musical instruments in Ihitte-IJboma : : 50 C'IlAPTER FOIJR. Basic classificatory principles in the folk taxonomy of musical instrumental resources in Ihitte-Uboma: : 55 1. TIIADITIONALMUSICN. INS'TRI MSNTS IDEN'TIFIEI) ACC( )lIlXNG '1'0 'fllI<MA'I'ISRIAS 1;KOM WIIICI I TI IEY ARE MAIX 56 Odu (Ivory horn or animal horn) : 57 Ogwe or Igba akpukpo (skin drum) : 58 Okpokoro Nnabe (Tortoise shell) : 66 Opi achara (flute bamboo) 68 Opi igwe (metal whistle) 7 1 2 TKN~IIHINAI,M(JSICA1, Ml1SICAI. TNS7UIJW,Nl'S IDT<NTTFIED ACCORDING 7'0 ON( )MATOIY XIC I>EKIVAl'ION: : lchaka or Osha (Beaded gourd or calabash rattle) : Ija (Anklet or Ankle rattle) Kwakakwaka (Stringed rattle) Ogele (Conical clapperless bell) Udu (Musical pot or pot drum) Ngelenge (Xylophone) Mgbirimgba (Conical bell with hanging metal beater) Ekwe (Medium wooden slit drum) : Okwa (Small wooden slit drum) Okwa (Small wooden slit drum) 3. MIJSICAI,INSI'~IJMENI'S IIXNIIFI~~ I~Y1'1 II~ UI'II.ITARIANASSOCIATIONS: Nkuku (Calabash/cup horn) Achara (Bamboo stunt) Udu mmiri (Water pot) 4. MI.JSICAI,INSTRIJMI:Nl'S KNOWN BY 'HJElR ABSTRACT &'l'l<l AI'R INS: lkoro or Nkoro (Large wooden drum) : Oja (Notched flute) 5. TRAIIITI~NAI,MIJSICAI. INS'TRIJMINIX KNOWN RY '11 IEIR MANNER OI~l'lAY: : Ubo aka (Thumb piano): : CIIAPTER FIVE: : Summary : Conclusion : Bibliography : LIST OF MAPS Page 1. Map of lmo State - - - - - - XXI 2 Population Density of Igbos in Nigeria - - - xxii 3 Map of lhitte - Uboma Local Government Area - - xxiii Plate Picture showing "ha - akwa" ceremony : (a& b) Pictures of traditional music groups in Ihitte- Uboma Picture of "Odu" - - - - - lgba Ogologo - - - - - Oke Igba - - - - - - Nne lgba - - - - - - lgba Mmuo - - - - - - "Ese" and "lko" drum rows - - - Okpokoro 'mbe (Tortoise shell) - - - (a b) - Opi Achara - - - - - Picture of "lwa - akwa" celebrant blowing Opi Igwe Picture of "Ichaka" - - - (a & b) Picture of "Ija" and "Ubia" - Picture of "Kwaka kwaka" or "Ekpili" (a & b): Pictures of "Ogele" - - Picture of "lJdu" one mouthed - Picture of "Udu" two-mouthed - Picture of "Ngelenge" instrument - Picture of "Mgbirimgba" - - Picture of "Ekwe" - - - Picture of "Okwa" and a beater - (a & b): Pictures of "Nkuku" - - Picture of two young girls going to the stream with "Udu" Mmiri - 24. Picture of "lkoro" (Nkwukwu -1shi) as housed under a roof - 90 25. Pictures of "Oja" - "V" and 'V shaped - - - - 93 26. Picture of "Ubo - aka" - - - - - - 96 PAGE Samples, types and categories of musical groups - - - Classification of instruments in Ihitte - Uboma - - - Curt Sachs and Eric Hornbostels' classification - - - Vocalization of musical instruments I classification as designed by the researcher - - - - - Instruments and materials used for construction - - - Some types of trees found in lhitte - Uboma I instruments they are condtructed with - - - - - - xiii '1"lie naming and classification of African nir~sical itistr~~~ncntshy ethnomusicologists have hcen an issr~cof concern to Africans in acadcniics. In Nigeria, for example. efforts havc bcrn made by some renowned musicologists, ethnomr~sicologists and music edr~cators. who have come up with diverse systems of classification. The available classificatory svstems seem to be unsatisfactory, when applied to how the people of lhittc-lhma classify instrunient resources. 1 have, therefore, embarked on some detailed descriptions and classifications from the folk classificatory perspectives. Chapter One discrrsses the geographical. historical and the socio-cultural background of thc people of Ihitte-llboma, in line with the relationships and the musical activities that arc 1wc\,alcnt in this area Chapter two discr~ssessome available literature on classification of mt~sicalinstruments, specifically the systems developed by Curt Sachs and Eric liornbostcl, J.H.K. Nketia, 1,o 13an1in.ioko.Rich Okafor. Mcki Nzewi. Omihiyi and C.T. Nwachukwu. ('hapters '1h~cc and Four, concelltratc on the cognitive principles in the formuiation of folk terminology, euplaining the langr~agestructure, semantics/sound phenomena in the naming of these mrrsical iristruments; and elicit the basic principles in the taxonomy of musical instru~nentalresources cruiding the model. Chapter five summarizes the findings and proffers some recommendations for studies. The thesis ends with a coriclr~sior~and hibliograpliy. , ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is with great respect and happiness that I express my sincere and humble gratitude to all those who have contributed immensely to the success of this thesis. A number of persons have really helped in directing my thinking on this project. My thanks, therefore, go to my Project Supervisors, Dr. Meki Nzewi and Dr. Dan. C. C. Agu, my Acting Head of Department. 1 do, really, appreciate your guidance all through this work. My special thanks, also, go to my masters, Prof. Rich Okafor, Director, General Studies Unit, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT); Dr. Joshua {Jzoigwe, Associate Professor of Music and the Head, Department of Music, University of Uyo. Sir Lawrence Emeka retired Director of ECBS, Enugu, who is now a lecturer in the General Studies Unit, ESUT. Indeed, his professional advice all through my post- graduate studies was quite amicable and shall remain indelible 1 am particularly grateful to my wife, Love, and to my children, for their concern over my academic pursuit. To crown it all, I am grateful to all those who in one way or the other contributed to the successful completion of this thesis, especially Messrs. lwuanyanwu IAonginus, Dee Karoaha, Dee Nwachukwu, Mazi Lazarus and Korieocha and a few others whose information on the musical instruments of Ihitte-Uboma, helped in buttressing my research findings. This passage on appreciation will not be complete without my mentioning Messrs. Eugene Nwachukwu, Linus Ezeagwula and Samuel Ejimike, who have successfully manifested the fact that a work of this nature desires teamwork. They were, (as I must put it), persons who made up "my team of researchers". Your efforts towards data collection, visitations and the interview there in', shall ever remain indelible to me. May you be rewarded a hundred fold. My special thanks also go to my parents - Late Mr. Innocent Oku Chukwu and Mrs. Onyeberechi Grace Chukwu, who saw me through my academic pursuit especially my mother, Grace, who helped to explain clearly to me some words and terminology from my locality. Lastly, I wish to express my profound gratitude to Almighty God, for caring and protecting my life throughout this onerous task and, also, for guiding my Stenographer, Mr. Chris Ugwu - a patient, hard working fiiend, who saw through the typing of this work. 1also wish to thank Mr V. Chukwuemeka Egbuonu, especially, for his careful and meticulous contibutions towards the sucesshl produdion ofthis work. Music making is man's activities to express his inner feelings either for sad moment or for joyous moments. Man employs two basic media in the production of musical expressions. Firstly, through his body (either with mouth, hands or feet) and secondly, through materials - instruments which are specially designed and constructed by man himself, to enable him produce musical sounds and feelings Culture is the normative practice of a defined human group in the conduct of its day to day activities. Every human culture has developed its own norms and value systems to soothe its people. Each culture, therefore, possesses its social activities to occupy its people. One activity that is most common to human groups is the MUSICAL ACTIVITY. Each human group develops its musical styles. Through production and presentation, these styles are appreciated and perpetuated to soothe the socio-cultural activities of the people. By contact, the people may imbibe the musical styles of another culture to enrich theirs A community normally views its culture positively. The 1993 edition of the 'World of Music" specifies that an "outsider" perceives the culture of a people initially, fiom an observer's perspective. Any account he or she gives would reflect such outsider's experience.