Sociocultural contexts of Yorùbá Traditional Marriage Songs

One of the essential cultural institutions of the Yoruba in Southwestern Nigeria, is marriage. The ‘alaga’ plays an important role in traditional wedding ceremonies. Earlier studies on their activities have concentrated on the linguistic prowess of the compere. This paper examines the sociocultural elements of Yoruba traditional wedding songs and performance which has been neglected in earlier works.  The theoretical approach to this study is Dell Hyme's Ethnography of Communication which explores the use of various means of communication among particular people. Ten (10) Yoruba traditional wedding songs were purposively selected as empirical data. Data was analysed using content-analysis. In addition, participant observation was employed by the researcher. The study shows that the engagement songs are embodiments of Yorùbá history, a public display of affluence, background of the bride and groom, the reliance on prayers, and display of humour, all of which constitute the sociocultural contexts of the Yoruba traditional wedding. The marriage ceremony, especially the engagement, ‘ìdána’, has transformed from being a melting point for the two families into an important avenue for displaying the linguistic proficiency of the Master of Ceremonies; the alága, as well as the rich cultural background of the Yorùbá. The study found that the ‘alága’ role which began as a humble assignment played by the ‘ìyàwó ilé’ has metamorphosed into a big business serving families across different economic, religions and tribal background. The study concludes that the ‘alagas’ are major agents of language maintenance among the Yorùbá and also serve as social reformers. Keywords: Alága, Engagement ceremony, Ethnography of communication, Sociocultural, Yorùbá culture