Sekere
Encyclopedia
Shekere
This article is about the musical instrument. for the musical genre, see Sekere.The shekere is an instrument from West Africa consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Throughout the continent there are similar gourd/bead or gourd/seed percussion instruments. Some...
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Sekere is a type of traditional Yoruba music
Yoruba music
The music of the Yoruba people of Nigeria is best known for an extremely advanced drumming tradition, especially using the dundun hourglass tension drums. Yoruba folk music became perhaps the most prominent kind of West African music in Afro-Latin and Caribbean musical styles...
al genre that was pioneered and popularized by the one and only "king of sekere," the late Alhaji Alamu Atatalo from Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Of a pleasant sight, cowrie shells are brilliantly wound around a large and polished gourd; the musician violently shakes the sekere (shaker) and also uses his fists to beat the gourd thereby creating a percussive sound that gladdens and delights the spectators. Typically accompanied by other instruments, such as the aro
Aro
Aro may refer to:* Aro people, an Igbo subgroup in West Africa* Aro Confederacy, a precolonial Igbo trading oligarchy in West Africa* Årø , a small island in the Lillebælt in Denmark* Årø, Norway, a neighborhood of Molde...
, dundun
Dundun
Dundun may refer to;*The Yoruba talking drum*Dunun, dundun, doundoun or djun-djun, a family of West African bass drums* Dunedin, the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand...
, omele, agogo
Agogo
Agogo may refer to*Agogo, Ghana*Agogô, a musical instrument*Agogo , by KMFDM-See also:*À gogo , multiple term deriving from a French expression meaning "in abundance, galore"*Junior Agogo...
, agidigbo
Agidigbo
The agidigbo is a large traditional plucked lamellophone used by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Its appearance is piano-like; a rope is worn round the neck of the player who then supports or braces the instrument, whose body is a rectangular wooden box, by his chest or thoracic region...
, and a chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
; in Yorubaland
Yorùbáland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...
-- especially in Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
, the sekere musician sometimes shows off his dexterity by hoisting the instrument high up in the air and briskly catches it in mid-air to create a festive mood.
It is noteworthy to mention that sekere, as a musical genre, is quite different from those smaller shakers (with different spellings) found in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and other parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The instrument described here is unique to the Yorubaland
Yorùbáland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
especially Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
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Sekere Musicians
- Alhaji Alamu Atatalo, known as the "King of Sekere"
- Women's Sekere Ensemble