UDC:615.85:78(669) 615.8:616.31(669) COBISS.SR-ID 274397452 _________________
Received:Jan 15, 2019
Reviewed:Jan 25, 2019
Accepted:Feb 05, 2019
#6
Function and Structure of Yoruba Songs on Dental Health
among the Nursing Mothers in Southwestern Nigeria
Olusegun Stephen Titus
Department of Music
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Osun State
[email protected]
Olufemi Elijah Oyetola
Consultant in Oral Medicine
Department of Preventive Dentistry,
Faculty of Dentistry,College of Health Sciences,
Obafemi Awolowo UniversityIle Ife, Nigeria
[email protected]
Department of Music
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, Osun State
[email protected]
Olufemi Elijah Oyetola
Consultant in Oral Medicine
Department of Preventive Dentistry,
Faculty of Dentistry,College of Health Sciences,
Obafemi Awolowo UniversityIle Ife, Nigeria
[email protected]
Citation: Titus, O. S., and O. E. Oyetola. 2019. "Function and Structure of Yoruba Songs on Dental Health among the Nursing Mothers in Southwestern Nigeria." Accelerando: Belgrade Journal of Music and Dance 4:6.
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Abstract
Music serves different purposes on different occasions. One of its functions is to educate or enlighten on health related issues. There are different studies on the use of music in health literacy. This paper, therefore, focuses on the use of Yoruba songs among the nursing mothers in pediatric ward in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) Ile-Ife. Interviews, participant observation, cultural history, and lyrical analysis were used for this paper. Based on health beliefs and transformative musicology theories, the paper suggests that Yoruba songs on dental health for nursing mothers are very functional as they are rooted in the socio-cultural life of the people. Yoruba songs serve as education, caution, entertainment, encouragement, and psychological therapy for the nursing mothers whose children were admitted to a pediatric observation unit at the OAUTHC. Keywords: transformative musicology theories, music structure, yoruba songs, dental health, nursing mothers |
Introduction
Music plays different roles in the wellbeing of humans which includes standard of living, level of living and quality of life. Medical ethnomusicology is a growing area of study interest among applied and advocacy ethnomusicologists. This is rooted in the integrative, complementary and alternative medicine approach to health and healing. Medical ethnomusicology examines how music can be used to access “biological, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual domains of life” (Koen et al. 2008, 4). Effectively, music may become “the bridge by which the physical and spiritual are connected and can be the most vital component of a healing ceremony or practice” (Koen 2009, 4). In Bleibinger’s (2007) review of Barz´s (2006) book titled Singing for Life, he notes that Barz’s work on AIDS reveals the importance of medical ethnomusicology, but it definitely doesn’t mark an end. Rather, it stands at the beginning of new studies to come. This paper is another angle of looking at medical ethnomusicology from dental health perspective. In contrast to music therapy, which more often draws on Western music practices, medical ethnomusicology explores world cultures and “music medicine” healing traditions as a means to address disease care and prevention. Barz defines medical ethnomusicology as:
Methodology
This paper aims to find out the effects, functions and structures of dental related songs among the nursing mothers who are attending to their children in the Pediatrics Clinic/Ward of OAUTHC. This paper therefore answers the following questions: what are the categories of Yoruba dental health songs used among the nursing women in OAUTHC? What are the functions of theses Yoruba dental songs among the Nursing mothers? What are the cultural musical structures in the selected music?
Interviews were conducted with 15 people. This entails 2 dentists, 2 nurses, and 10 nursing mothers who have participated in the dental health talks. Likewise the researcher participated in the morning health education training on health and specifically dental health of parents as it affects their children in the Pediatric ward. He recorded some of the Yoruba songs sang during the training. The songs were analysed and transcribed to English language. The objectives of this paper are: to identify and categorize dental related songs, examine the roles of the songs on dental health and analyse the effects of the selected songs on dental health. This paper is based on the Health Belief Model and transformative musicology theories. Health Belief Model theory is one of the longest established theoretical models designed to explain health behavior by better understanding beliefs about health (Harrison et al. 1992; Harrison et al. 2010; Nutbeam and Harris 2004). At its core, according to Nutbeam and Harris (2004, 10), it suggests that the likelihood of an individual taking action related to a given health problem is based on the interaction between four different types of beliefs. The model predicts that individuals will take action to protect or promote health if
This theory is germane to the discourse of medical ethnomusicology on dental health among nursing mothers. Nursing mother’s susceptibility made the nursing mothers to listen and even sing the dental health songs and also analyse the meanings with the health educator during the training. Also, the nursing mothers with various health issues with their kids will not want further health challenges for themselves or for their kids, thereby participating in the dental health education songs.
The theory is aptly applicable to the women as they acted in singing, believing that it is less costly and taking part will not be a barrier to their or their kids’ health. They also believe in practically taking care of their dental health, for their good and the good of others. Still on the model and dental health, the model further explains that refinement has acknowledged the important modifying factors, particularly those associated with personal characteristics and social circumstances as well as the impact on personal experience. Added to this analysis of the model is the concept of self efficacy, that is, the belief in one’s competency to take appropriate action as a factor influencing the strength of the model in predicting behavior change. This is still applicable to dental health as the song texts will lead them to taking daily actions of brushing their teeth and that of their children believing that it will reduce the effect of teeth decay (caries), pains and other oral health issues. Transformative musicology aims at the transformation of individual and our world at large. It encompasses all musical activities that focus on transformative purposes (Adedeji, 2006a). The ambivalent nature of the power of music was demonstrated in Adedeji (1999), where he enumerated the anabolic and catabolic roles of music. The theory is applicable to dental health songs among nursing mothers in paediatric hospitals. The songs have power to transform those who have been very careless about their dental health to take positive action and sometimes may need to visit dental clinic for regular checkups. Songs and singing is part of daily activities of Yoruba people as a form of transformative music. Beier (1956, 23) rightly notes that “The Yorubas are indeed a poetic nation, because every person has his own praise songs, by which he will be greeted on all important occasions”. Beier in his research recognises the transformative power of music in the daily routine of Yoruba people with their oriki praise name. Olajubu (1978, 676) echoes on verbal arts and artists in Yorubaland that:
While Olajubu recognises the transformative functionality of music, he however excludes the way music is used in dental health related issues, a lacuna this paper is out to fill. Orimoogunje (2016, 857) explains that the verbal arts in general and those used in Yoruba indigenous healthcare practices in particular are products of society, and they are used by, and for the people in the Yorùbá society. He further asserts that:
This paper agrees with, and extends Orimoogunje’s assertion of the verbal arts, especially in indigenous health care centers among the Yoruba; the researcher notes that the western health center is an area of research that he negligibly did nothing about.
Orimoogunje (2003, 3) notes that “among the Yoruba musicians and chanters, the verbal arts related to Yoruba indigenous healthcare delivery system constitute a source of information on Yoruba life”. They use verbal arts for dual purposes – to amuse people and to inculcate in them the views of the Yoruba on certain phenomena. These genres are used in such a way as to have an impact on the psyche of their targets. Still on Yoruba songs and traditional healthcare as a means of transformation, Orimoogunje (2005) examines the various Yoruba verbal arts used in the Yoruba indigenous health care center and notes that the Yorùbá verbal arts in indigenous healthcare practices have strong informative functions that urge mankind to be aware of the appropriate step to be taken towards ensuring cure within the indigenous healthcare delivery system. He further highlights the different Yoruba verbal arts used in traditional health care to include:
Furthermore, Orimoogunje (2005) expatiates on some of the verbal arts used in the indigenous Yoruba health centers and their users. He notes that
While the reviewed studies showed the efficacy of music in general and its usage in the Yoruba indigenous health centers, none of the studies reviewed examine the use of Yoruba songs in Dental Health education in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex.
Ogli (2010) defines song as the combination of music and words to provide a universally accepted platform for expressing joy, sorrow, love, and appreciation that can deeply impact on the audience. Song is a short lyric or narrative text set to music. The music often reproduces the mood of and lends a heightened emotional expression to the song's text, which is often a poem. Nketia (1974) notes that African traditions deliberately treat songs as though they were speech utterances. Arom (1991) explains that music and language are closely interconnected and that the phonemic structure of language has powerful constraining effect on the melodic structure of the songs. African songs contain lyrics that are composed in a narrative style. Nzewi (1988) opines that the knowledge of the African cultural value systems provides the understanding to interpret African songs and deduce full meaning from the communication experience. Agbese (1989) argues that music has always been the most visible attempt employed by ourselves to listen to ourselves. African music is a powerful medium of communication, through which human actions and reactions are expressed by Africans. It provides a forum to mirror the society so that members could understand things better and learn more about life. African music focuses on the teaching of morality and building restraints into the psyche of the public. Aluede’s (2012) study is based on the use of music therapy in healing homes. Which include the Iyayi society in Edo state of Nigeria, and the biblical example of healing to Nigeria music healers. The reviews above have shown the relationship of Music and health. However, none have addressed the use of religion, faith and songs among the pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic in southwestern Nigeria. While discussing the context of verbal arts Orimoogunje (2005) asserts that:
The researcher extends the discourse of African song by examining the Yoruba dental health songs as used among the nursing mother’s health education talks in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife.
Functions of the Yoruba Dental Health Songs
Dental songs are functional because they give some kind of directives, instructions and education on how to treat the teeth. Some of the identified songs include:
The song above encourages nursing mothers to daily have good hygiene. This should include bathing and brushing of the teeth, among others. Here the health educator (Alhaji 2016, in a health talk in OAUTHC) explains to the nursing mothers that “some women in the name of being tired [when] breast feeding baby encourage smelly teeth. Some who are not fully engaged in any job may not see the need to brush their teeth till evenings which is neither good for their heath nor that of their baby they are nursing”. The song text jí kororín emphasises the need to brush early in the morning to clear off the bacteria that hang on food remains, there is the need for daily brushing of teeth. Orín is made of wood sliced to small sizes. Some of the trees used for this are believed to be medicinal for reducing tooth decay and pains. Though modern day tooth brush and tooth paste like Close-up among others are equally encouraged.
The song above is a satire against ladies that goes about without proper care of teeth. The song mentions Yetunde. Yetunde is a Yoruba female name which means ‘mother has reincarnated’ symbolising (in the song) women and in extension any one that encourages dirt especially mouth odour.
The selected Yoruba Dental songs are entertaining. According to one of the informants (Ojuola 2016 Personal communication) the health talks here do go with songs since that is part of our cultural inheritance. The songs apart from any other thing make the mothers happy and lively. Even those who are sad because of their child been in the hospital gets entertained. Likewise, one of the nursing mothers (Mummy Erastus, 2016, personal communication) asserts that the songs just enlivened their minds and also entertained them. In support of the entertainment function of Dental Health songs Peterson (1993) writes that the tradition of entertainment is an important one in many African states. Music performs the functions of entertainment to deserving members, in order to encourage such persons who are doing well in the society to continue in their good deeds, as well as stimulate others to emulate them. Even when the songs are satirical, the composers still consider the value of entertainment very important. They ensure that the text of the songs and all other musical and extra-musical elements that are capable of stimulating a good sense of humour are contained in the songs.
The Yoruba Dental Health songs do not just entertain but teach and educate both the singers and listeners. Iyabode (2016, personal communication) argues that though she has been singing the songs before but using the songs during health talks in the wards here give her a deeper meaning and especially the need for regular brushing both for her and for her family members. Another nursing mother (Ola, 2016) notes that jeyinjeyin could easily come and affect the teeth if it is not constantly washed. Another nursing mother (Abayomi 2016, personal communication) notes that the singing and the training helped her to make a new decision and that she will even start washing the gum of the baby gently before the teeth come out. Music text gives cautions and warnings. This is seen in the selected Yoruba Dental Health songs. The first and third songs are directly warning the need for constant tooth washing. On caution, Alade (2016, personal communication) notes that “dental health songs warn us to be careful. If we are healthy is it not for our good? So songs have a way of warning people and we are careful now so that we can live in good health”. The selected songs performed therapeutic functions because of their psychological relevancies. Their efficacious effects on nursing mothers cannot be over-emphasized. As Olabode (2016, personal communication) notes that “the song Imo toto sometimes give them some psychological relief while nursing their sick child in the hospital ward. Just mere hearing musical sounds creates relief of depression and worry and brings joy to the mind”. This is further supported by Orimoogunje (2016, 857) who observes that some of the Yorùbá verbal arts are tools that can be used to work on the socio-psychological conditions of the people who directly benefit from the performance of the verbal arts. Yoruba dental songs portray the aesthetic quality of the teeth and the need to care for it. Orimoogunje (2016) in support of this assertion notes that “there is much literary dexterity in the Yorùbá verbal arts used in indigenous healthcare delivery system … the aesthetic function of the verbal arts are on three distinct levels - musical, recitative and dance”. The song titled We ki o mo help us to realize the need for aesthetics in our teeth and other parts of our body. Musical Analysis
In this section, the musical analyses of dental songs selected were examined. Scales of dental related songs are varied. The composer chooses the scale which suits him best. In doing this, however, his creative act is guided by certain rules like the proper placement of words to achieve intelligibility, ensuring that the intervallic range of notes and the ambit of the melody agree with the speech-tone patterns of the chosen text, and he also ensures that the melody conceived is based on the chosen mode of the text. Akpabot (1998) notes that scale patterns in African music are very important not as a vehicle for a theoretical exercise for Western scholars, which in the end is counter-productive, but as an important yardstick for looking at traditional melodies and melodic movement. Ogli (2010) notes that Idoma music is conceived and built on the tonal pattern of Idoma language. Likewise, dental health songs are patterned after Yoruba language. Although African music is generally characterised by pentatonic scale, in dental songs, as studied, some of the scales employed include tetratonic and pentatonic scales.
Different melodic structures are observable in dental songs. One of such is phrase in song melody. Musical phrase is a section of a musical line somewhat comparable to a clause or sentence in prose and is typically defined by arrival at a point of momentary stability such as is created by a cadence. The varieties of melodic phrases observed in the songs sampled include: two melodic phrases (binary), three melodic phrases (ternary). Ogli (2010) explains that an observable element of Idoma funeral songs is the asymmetrical nature of the phrase lengths. This is also similar in dental songs in Example 5:
The melodic intervals in songs are mostly steps and sometimes leap or step-wise. The melodies are further characterized by both conjunct and disjunct movements. Some melodies are more conjunct than others, because there is no strict adherence to balancing the usage of these movements in a given song. Small leaps of 3rds are more common than leaps of 5ths and 6ths, although leaps of 5ths and 4ths occur within melodies. This is observed in the song Jeyin jeyin:
According to Ofosu (2000), tonality implies loyalty to a tonic or key system as uncompromisingly practiced and guarded in Western music. African music especially the dental songs exhibits little or no allegiance to tonal rigidity in the Western sense. Rather, they reflect speech tone patterns and inflections as obtainable in given cultures. Nketia (1974) earlier expresses this view when he said that African traditions give similar tonal treatment to both songs and speech. Dental songs are treated along this same general principle underlying African songs. He further observes that African music is organised around a tonal centre rather than the key. He went further to highlight the following as indices for identifying the tonal centre. Although this general principle is applicable to most African cultures, the speech and tonal variations on which African music is based make it imperative that music from different cultures demand tonal arrangement based on its background. Ogli (2010) notes that in Idoma, the tonal centres of most vocal music lie around the centre of the entire range of a given melody. In dental related songs selected centre key revolves around C.
Akpabot (1998) defines rhythm as the organization of music in respect of time, which can be expanded by adding that it is the regular or irregular recurrence of groups and motions in relation to pulse, meter, stress, duration, accent, pitch, contour and design, functioning within the architectural structure of the artistic whole. Rhythm can be free, flexible, measured or metrical. Akpabot notes that the rhythm of a song, which was determined by its poetic context, was divided into long and short corresponding to the six generally accepted rhythmic modes, which are trochaic, iambic, dactylic, anapest, spondee and tribrach. The most commonly used in dental songs is trochaic. Nketia (1974) observes that the rhythm organisation of African music includes various complex structures such as hemiola, cross rhythm, additive, strict and free vocal, multilinear hocket and interlocking. The study of dental songs also reveals that no single rhythmic mode is used throughout a given piece of music, rather, a combination of rhythmic modes as determined sometimes by Yoruba speech pattern. However, the two common modes that frequently recur are the Trochaic and Iambic meters. It is obvious that the choice of rhythmic mode in dental related songs selected is made with deep consciousness of tonal compatibility and phonic structure of the language, especially for the purpose of variation, emphasis or stress. The iambic meter, as used in one of the songs, has the following rhythm:
Tone, diction, intention and meaning are interrelated in the study of dental songs. We observe that the Yoruba language, though tonal, is flexible when the words are set to music. Agawu (1988) examines that in tonal languages the tone must as far as possible agree with the rise and fall of the speech tone. He then argues that tone is operative on the level of syllable, word, phrase and sentence. We find further evidence of the language flexibility to melodic configuration.
conclusion
In this paper the researchers have shown the relationships between music and dental health and specifically the use of Yoruba dental songs during educational trainings in paediatric wards in OAUTHC. They have also demonstrated that the songs are rooted in Yoruba socio-cultural traditions. More so, they have shown the gap which the paper fills in terms of the use of Yoruba songs for dental health awareness during training. The songs sampled are functional tools including entertainment, education, therapy, and caution in altitude to dental health. Also, the musical structure of the selected songs was analyzed. They include the pentatonic, tetratonic, and hexatonic scale. Other structure includes the melodic phrase, melodic intervals, tonal organisation and rhythm. A lot of researches could still be done in the future on music and dental health especially with the fact that only little studies have been done in Nigeria especially with the use of music for dental health awareness.
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References
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Belgrade Center for Music and Dance is the publisher of Accelerando: BJMD
Belgrade Center for Music and Dance is the publisher of Accelerando: BJMD