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Ritual Intonation of Yoruba Praise-Poetry (Oríkì)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2019

David Welch
David Welch*
Affiliation:
School of Contemporary Arts, Ramapo College, Ramapo, New Jersey
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Extract

Among the Yoruba people of S. W. Nigeria, there are innumerable poetic genres, or manners of intonation, rigidly prescribed by ritual convention (labelled simply “chant” in the West). Some of these genres—notably Ijálá and Rárà—have already been treated by scholars at the textual and/or linguistic levels. Śangó praise-poetry has hitherto received attention only from the literary standpoint. In a recent classification of indigenous poetic genres (Olatunji), the rendering of ritual praise-poetry with a particular intonation is given the name Pípé Òrìşá: for each órìşá, or deity, Pìpè has its own characteristic intonation. Thus, a sub-genre of Pìpè Òrìşá (the religious counterpart to the aforementioned secular Rárá chanting) is here referred to as Şángó-Pìpé. Literally, pìpè (pronounced KPEE-KPAY) means “to call or summon;” the indigenous term pìpè òrìşà derives from a specific moment in a cult ceremony when the priest or priestess invokes the òrìşá.

Type
Articles
Information
Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council , Volume 5 , 1973 , pp. 156 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © 1974 By the International Folk Music Council 

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References

Footnotes

1. Babalo̧la, S. A., Content and Form of Yoruba ljala (London: Oxford University Press, 1962) and Wolff, H., “Rara: A Yoruba chant,” Journal of African Languages, 1, 1 (October, 1962), 45–56.Google Scholar

2. Beier, H. U., Yoruba Poetry (Cambridge University Press, 1970) and Gleason, J., Orisha: The Gods of Yorubaland (New York: Atheneum, 1971).Google Scholar

3. Ladipo, D., Oba Ko So (University of Ibadan Occasional Publication No. 10 (1968), p. 110.Google Scholar

4. Olunlade, O., Ede: A Short History (Ibadan, 1961), p. 49.Google Scholar

5. Olatunji, O., “Classification of Yoruba Oral Poetry,” Ph.D. dissertation (University of Ibadan, 1970), p. 130.Google Scholar

6. Translated by Komolafe, Dele; from field recordings (Oyo, Koso shrine, July 1970).Google Scholar

7. Beier, p. 20.Google Scholar

8. Olatunji, p. 114.Google Scholar

9. Wolff, p. 45.Google Scholar

10. Laşebikan, E. L., “Tonal Structure in Yoruba Poetry,” Présence Africaine (June-November 1956), p. 43.Google Scholar

11. von Hornbostel, E. M., “African Negro Music,” Africa, 1 (1928), p. 24.Google Scholar