The performative art of Iyabo Awero’s indigenous music “Baluu”
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Date
2020-06-20
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Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.
Abstract
Baluu Music is an indigenous secular music in Ilorin, Kwara state. This
indigenous music genre is primarily for entertainment in Ilorin and its
environs. This ethnomusicological research looks into the performative art of
Baluu Music in Ilorin, Using Iyabo Awero’s live band which is domiciled in
Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital as a case study. This study adopts the
descriptive method of research. The participant-observation and interview
tools were used for data gathering and the analyses is done from
ethnomusicological perspective. This study also looks into other issues such
as etymology of the word ‘Baluu’, the origin and historical development of
this genre, performance norms and practices in Baluu music, musical
analyses, indigenous forms and styles inherent in Baluu Music, Baluu Dance,
Band ensemble, using Iyabo Awero’s live band as paradigm. This study
discovers that the Baluu music genre is basically a female oral musical art
while the male oral musical art usually regarded as a ‘brother’ to Baluu, is
the Dadakuada music. Our study reveals further that, westernisation,
modernisation and the influence of technology did not threaten the existence
of the indigenous Baluu music. This is because, Baluu music encumbered
acculturation and foreign influence in exception to the influence of Islam on
the music. This study concludes that indigenous music as an art should not
lose its penchant in the artistic and performance parlance. To this end,
indigenous music forms would receive more global relevance.