The Role of Folk Music in Traditional African Society: The Igbo Experience

Nnamani Sunday Nnamani 
(Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Nigeria)

Abstract: Folk music is spontaneously composed music of a race, tribe, group etc of a humble nature, orally transmitted from generation to generation with an unknown composer. The traditional Igbo society was not a literate one. We had our culture, traditions and music before the coming of the early missionaries. In the olden days, Igbo people did not derive entertainment from books rather they developed and derived joy from imaginations through oral narratives including traditional (folk) music and dance. According to Emenyonu (1978), Igbo oral tradition or folklore (oral performance) is the foundation of the traditional Igbo music and they include folksongs, folktales, proverbs, prayers including incantations, histories, legends, myths, drama, oratory and festivals. In Africa generally, music plays an important part in the lives of the people and one of the major characteristics of African music is that it has function. The various stages of the life-cycle of an individual and the life-cycles of the society are all marked with music.

Key words: Igbo folk music, culture, traditions, beliefs