From Admonition to Bridal Serenade: Decolonising Yoruba Traditional Marriage Practices through the Music of Beautiful Nubia

Abstract

The impacts of colonialisation on Yorùbá culture are enormous, including both positive and negative, from music to language, fashion, education and marriage. Within this ongoing cultural conflict, this study explores the contributions of the music of Segun Akinlolu, popularly known as Beautiful Nubia to reclaiming Yorùbá traditional marriage practices through lyrical and musical expressions in two purposively sampled tracks from his 2016 album titled “Iwa” (Má gbàgbé ìwà and Àbẹ̀fẹ́ – Ìwà). Employing Decolonisation as a theoretical framework, the study highlights the nexus between music and cultural reclamation, as it offers insights into how artistes utilise creative expressions to safeguard and decolonise traditional practices. Engaging a thematic and musical analysis, the study contributes to the documentation and reaffirmation of the rich traditional marriage culture of the Yorùbá, especially in the face of the ongoing cultural erosion. On the one hand, Má gbàgbé ìwà emphasises the importance of Ìwà (Character) in the Yorùbá worldview, especially within the context of marriage. It retells the importance of Ìwà within the O̩mo̩lúàbí framework, with the aim of contributing to the building of a healthy Yorùbá society, especially through marriage. Àbẹ̀fẹ́ – Ìwà, on the other hand, employs a summarised approach in addressing themes in Yorùbá traditional marriage, highlighting the importance of steps such as proposal, the importance of parental consent and involvement in the searching process, as well as bridal serenade. There is a need for more studies such as this, which emphasise decolonization of aspects of the Yorùbá culture through the use of cultural artefacts such as music. There is also a need for cultural artists like fine artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians, to intensify the exploration of various aspects of the Yorùbá culture in their creative efforts.