IDNO

P.71608.GIJ

Description

A group of young boys and men playing in a band. There are various types of musical instruments including igba (membrane drums with drum sticks), pot drums, ngedegwu (zylophone , made from a pot base with wooden slats), abia (metal gongs), and rattles. The clothing of the band members varies from loin cloths, shorts, and smocks. The band is located under a tree with some musicians sitting and other standing. In the background are trees and vegetation.

Place

W Africa; Nigeria; South Eastern Nigeria; Cross River area

Cultural Affliation

Igbo [historically Ibo]

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1930 - 1939

Collection Name

Jones collection

Source

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.71504.GIJ to P.71662.GIJ were kept in box 4, now numbered C301/.
P.71608.GIJ to P.71614.GIJ were found wrapped in paper, now numbered C301/9/.

Publication: Same image published on John McCall’s G.I. Jones website with the following information: [Source: www.siu.edu/~anthro/mccall/jones/, AF ]
1. Index to Igbo music, shrines, architecture and other cultural artifacts
2. Igbo Musicians
3. Band playing in Northern Igboland (4th image).

Context: Jones describes the various types of musical instruments and the way they were played during masquerades. “Drums of both types (slit and membrane) were combined with flutes, whistles, rattles, clappers of various sorts, single and double iron gongs and pots to form orchestras of varying size for dances and masquerades. The flutes and whistles were carved out of wood or were the horns of goats or small antelopes with a mouthpiece cut in the side or the end: the rattles were small basketwork or calabash containers half filled with hard seeds or shells or calabashes covered with loose net on which beads or seeds had been threaded. The pots were round narrow-necked water pots with a circular hole cut out the side which was beaten with the palm of the hand. Drums predominated and provided most of the variations and improvisations. There was usually one slit drum that was used for most of these, while the others were limited to the regular repetition of one or two notes: as were the other instruments. In masquerades where the characters danced and where the dancing and mining was at all elaborate, as amongst the Kalabari, the movements of the characters were governed not only by the rhythm of the drumming but by the coded instructions played on one particular drum, which the actor had to distinguish from the notes which accompanied it on the drums.” (Jones, 1984, p.115)

Context: Echezona provides a detailed description of the various Ibo musical instruments and discusses their various uses. Interestingly, he notes that, “Almost any type of Ibo musical instrument is used in “talking”. Here are a few reasons why this is possible. Ibo language is tonal and the language calls to mind an agreeable succession of tones which combine themselves into interesting patterns and rhythms using syncopation, asymmetric divisions, nonaccented rhythms, changing meters, and shifted accents as some of the devices. In reference to drums he notes that the drum is extensively used for dancing, rejoicing, and wrestling. Gongs or ogene are also important because the, Ogene is principally used to supply rhythms for dancers. The two different pitches often employed in the use of the ogene can show whether a dancer is expected to use his right or his left leg or, when one foot is doing the motion, whether the foot should move up or done. The ogene is also used as a an accompaniment for other percussive instruments such as the ngededgwu (xylophone), abia (set of drums) and in combination with the udu (earthen pot instrument). The aja (clappers) are used to mark rhythms in a song or dance (Echezona, 1964)

Bibliographical Reference: Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria (Cambridge University Press)
Echezona, W. Wilberforce 1964. “Ibo Musical Instruments” Music Educators Journal, Vol. 50, No.5 pp.23-27+130-131.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman 21/11/2007]