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266 

THE SOCIO-CULTURAL ROLES OF ÌREGUN MUSICAL 

INSTRUMENTS AMONG YAGBA-YORUBA PEOPLE OF KOGI 

STATE, NIGERIA 
 

Olusegun Stephen Titus PhD 

Department of Music, Obafemi Awolowo university, Ile-Ife, Nigeria 

Email: ostitus@oauife.edu.ng 

 

Abstract 

Several studies have considered the place of musical instruments in various cultural 

settings. However, little scholarly work on iregun musical instruments and their usage in 

impacting culture among Yagba-Yoruba [1] people is still largely lacking. This paper 

examines the role of Iregun musical instruments as sources for inculcating socio-cultural 

ideas among the Yoruba people of Kogi State. Data were sourced through interviews, 

participant observation, and non-participant observation during various performances of 

iregun musicians at Mopa and Isanlu communities in Mopa-Muro and Yagba-East local 

government areas of Kogi State. Based on culturalism theory, I argue that iregun musical 

instruments have the potential to chronicle the uniqueness of the Yagba Yoruba people 

and to globalise their cultural heritage, preventing it from going into oblivion and 

extinction. Moreso, musical instruments in conjunction with the singing could help build 

morality, virtue, language, dressing, and belief systems, among others. 

Keywords: Iregun Music, Socio-cultural, Yagba people, Musical Instruments  

 

Introduction 

Ìrègún music is a satirical musical genre of the Yagba, a sub-ethnic group of the Yoruba 

nation in Nigeria, and characteristically objects to unethical acts of taking vainglory for 

assistance rendered to unfortunate people in society. Though the name, which literally 

means "taking vainglory," is retained as its socio-cultural signifier, its performance 

contexts have largely altered in contemporary times. The musical genre is primarily vocal-

based, but the musical instrument has a lot to teach as it sometimes emulates the voice 

and at other times gives a speech or message during performances. Yàgbàland is majorly 

located in present-day Kogi State, the north-central part of Nigeria, and situated along 

longitudes 7.30o to 9.34o E and 7o to 8o N (Iyekòló, 2006). 

 

The objective of this paper is to examine the playing techniques and the role of Iregun 

musical instruments in the process of impacting culture among Yagba people. This paper 

attempts to answer the following questions: How are Iregun musical instruments 

classified? What are the playing techniques of the instruments? And what are the 

cultural lessons imbibed through the messages from Iregun musical instruments? 

 

Data was collected through interviews with Mr. Maku Sunday, the leader of the Iregun 

musical group. Other members interviewed are Mrs. Grace Abedo, Mr. Majekodunmi, the 

chief drummer of the group, and Mr. Egere, the chief dancer. Other people interviewed 

were. The research was carried out in Mopa and Isanlu communities in Mopa-Muro and 



 

 
  

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 16, September 2023 

267 

Yagba-East Local Government Areas, respectively. These communities were selected 

because the performers and leaders of Iregun socio-cultural groups live in these 

communities and perform here and in other communities too. 

 

Culturalism Theory 

This paper is premised on Malinowski's (1944: 150) culturalism theory. Malinowski argues 

that culture is essentially an instrumental apparatus by which man is put in a position to 

better cope with the concrete, specific problems that face him in his environment in the 

course of satisfying his needs. He notes that it is an integral in which the various 

elements are interdependent. Such activities, attitudes, and objects are organised 

around important and vital tasks into institutions such as family, the clan, the local 

community, the tribe, and the organised teams of economic cooperation, political, legal, 

and educational activity. From a dynamic point of view, that is, as regards the type of 

activity, culture can be analysed into a number of aspects such as education, social 

control, economics, systems of knowledge, belief, and morality, as well as modes of 

creative and artistic expression. Iregun musical instrument classification, construction, 

playing techniques, and functions are culture-based among the Yagba people of Nigeria, 

where the instruments are constantly used to modify the social and cultural lives of the 

citizens. 

 

Classification and Construction of Iregun Musical Instruments   

According to (Maku, An Iregun Performer, 2011 in an interview) notes that  Ìrègún 

musical instruments are classified in relation to the manner in which they are manipulated 

to produce sound; that is, the technique of sound production, nature, size, gender, and 

role; nature of peculiar sound; construction techniques; physical characteristics, 

functions, beliefs, and values in Yàgbà culture. 

 

Ìrègún music makes use of three out of the four groups that Sachs and Hombostel 

provided, namely membranophone, idiophone, and aerophone. The membranophone 

includes Iya-Ilu Iregun, gudugudu, omele ako, and omele abo. The idiophone entails the 

rattles, while the aerophone entails the iyeh-flute. Chordophone instruments are not part 

of the Iregun ensemble. According to (Makanjuola the Chief drummer of iregun 

instruments, 2012 personal communication) 

 

A membranophone is any musical instrument that produces sound primarily by way of a 

vibrating, stretched membrane. Omíbíyì (1977:25) describes membranophones as 

instruments on which sound is produced through the vibration of membranes. Leather 

drums are invariably carved out of solid logs of wood and covered with the skin of various 

animals. Other materials include gourds, earthenware, tins, and so on. They occur in a 

wide variety of shapes, such as conical, cylindrical, bowl- or cup-shaped, and even in the 

shape of an hourglass, as of the Ìrègún musical group in Yàgbàland. While some can only 

produce a pitch, others are constructed in such a way that they could produce varied 

pitches for tuned instruments. Some are single-headed, opened at one end and closed at 

the other end; others are double-headed, closed at both ends with skin; either one or 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound


 

 
  

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 16, September 2023 

268 

both ends are played. The skin of the drum itself may be glued, nailed, or suspended by 

pegs or tension thongs. 

 

Ìrègún musical instrument builder (Mr. Olúségun Jimoh 2012 Personal communication) 

who is a senior technologist, explains that the very first step in the making of a drum is 

the ceremony, which placates the spirit inhabiting the tree that is to be cut down for 

the wood from which the drum frame will be subsequently carved. Olusegun Jimoh 

explained that the tree must be one that has grown in Yàgbàland and is accustomed to 

hearing human voices; only then will its wood speak well as a drum frame. 

 

Jimoh, Ilètógùn, and Makanjuola (2012) (respondents) agree that drums can be deaf (Ìlù 

diti). To them, if the wood is not properly ceremonised before cutting or if the tree falls 

on its own and it is being cut to wood for the frame of Ìrègún drums, the drum will not 

be able to produce the correct sound. Jimoh (2010, personal communication) affirms that 

a tree in the forest that has not been accustomed to hearing human voices will be 

unsatisfactory because its wood will be dumb as a drum frame. Moreover, every drum has 

its own alter carved on the drum frame. Here is the actual spot in which the drummers 

communed with their patron deity of drumming. Makanjuola (2010, personal 

communication) explains that Ìrègún drummers must not neglect their regular communion 

with their patron. A drummer who neglects his regular communion with his patron deity 

of drumming will find either that his drum goes to pieces, or he will be constantly out of 

employment. Ìrègún/bembe drums include Ìyá-Ìlù, Omele ako and abo, and Gúdúgúdú. 

 

Idiophones are instruments that make sounds by themselves when they are hit, shaken, 

or scraped. Omíbíyì (1977:1) notes that idiophones are self-sounding instruments that 

produce sound without the addition of a stretched skin, string, or vibrating column of 

air. Their sounds emanate from the materials available in the environment, where they 

are made either by being shaken, scraped, stroked, plucked, or stamped. They are made 

of materials such as gourd, wood, metal, and cane. 

 

An Aerophone is any musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body 

of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of 

the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound. It is one of the four main classes 

of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument 

classification. Hornbostel-Sachs divides aerophones according to whether vibrating air 

is contained in the instrument itself or not. These are instruments on which the sound is 

produced through the vibration of a column of air (Omíbíyì, 1977:22). Aerophones are 

grouped into three categories: one, instruments of the flute family; two, pipes; and third, 

horns and trumpets. The Ìrègún flute musical instrument is made of wood. They are open-

ended and designed to be played horizontally; they vary in length and size. 

 

Playing Techniques of Iregun Instruments 

In Ìrègún, drums are struck with sticks. It is one of the four main divisions of 

instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument 

classification. All membranophones are drums. Hornbostel-Sachs (1914) divides drums 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbostel-Sachs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument_classification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument_classification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrating
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbostel-Sachs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument_classification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument_classification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum


 

 
  

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 16, September 2023 

269 

into three main types: struck drums, where the skin is hit with a stick and the hand. 

String drums, where a knotted string attached to the skin is pulled, and friction drums, 

where some sort of rubbing motion causes the skin to vibrate (a common type has a stick 

passing through a hole in the skin that is pulled back and forth). Ìlù in Ìrègún music is 

similar to the Sach-Hombostel membranophonic classification. Ìlù are made of skin on 

which sound is produced through the vibration of the membrane. 

 

Iya-Ilu Irègún is a drum with a double membrane, one on each end. The Ìyá-Ìlù also known 

as the talking or mother drum, is most notably used as a speech surrogate because of its 

wide range of pitches, though its pitches are not as wide as those of the dundun talking 

drum. First, it acts as the leader of the Ìrègún ensemble. The Ìyáìlù player is the leader 

in the performance of irègún music. It is clearly distinguished from other members of 

the ensemble in terms of size and decorations. An example of Ìyá-ìlù is represented in 

Figure 1. 

 

The ìyá ìlù irègún drum playing positioning is simple. The normal practice is to carry ìyáalu 

on the left shoulder by means of the shoulder strap in a suspended manner. The kongo, 

held in the right hand, is used to strike the surface of the drum on the thinner side. 

Ìyáàlù is made to rest against the hip-bone of the player. See figure 1. Below 

 
Fig. 1. Mr. Makanjuola  Iregun Chief Drummer Playing Ìyá ìlù Ìrègún- Picture by 

the researcher 

 

The Ìrègún ensemble, like other Yorùbá drums, is classified based on a family unit 

comprising a father, mother, and children with relatives as members. Omele comes from 

the word omo-ile, which means children in the family. They are usually two (ako and abo). 

It must be noted here that there is no distinction between omele ako and abo, except 

that one is made to play the leading role while the other plays the supporting role. Omele 

ako and abo are shaped like Ìyáìlù of Ìrègún but smaller in size. They are both secondary 



 

 
  

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drums of the Ìrègún ensemble. The ako is about 10 cm wide and 25cm long; the abo is 

almost the same size. They are capable of playing one tone each; they are slung on the 

drummer’s shoulders and supported under the armpit. 

 

Consequently, they are saddled with rhythmic roles. The drummers hold one drumstick 

each and apply the palm of the other hand at the rim to affect the play of some muting 

to generate more tones, as they desire. Just as the name omele-ako, the male front guard 

or forerunner, indicates, it is the first to begin to play among the subsidiary drums, and 

its major role is to maintain the rhythm and tempo set by the ìyáìlù. The example below 

is a rhythmic pattern for omele ako. 

Music example 1 

 
Music example 2 

 
Omele ako and abo are carried on the left shoulder like ìyáìlù. The only difference is that 

it is made to rest on the side of the stomach of the player. They are also played while 

seating, Omele ako and Abo are placed on the left leg while the player is seating See 

examples in plates below 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Mr. Asa an Iregun drummer, playing the Omele ako Iregun- picture by 

the researcher 



 

 
  

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271 

 
Figure 3. Mr. Abiodun iregun drummer playing Omele Abo Ìregun- Picture by the 

researcher 

 

Gúdúgúdú is the only single headed membrane drum in the ensemble. It is the smallest 

among the drums and the only one not played with drum sticks in the ensemble. It is 

played with two twisted leather throngs made from ram or goat skin. It is shaped like a 

bowl and the wooden frame is covered with a membrane held in position by five small 

pieces of wood on which the leather straps of goat skin are fastened. Gúdúgúdú is the 

only member among the secondary drums of the ensemble that is of dual tone. This is 

made possible by the black substance pasted on the surface of the membrane. This black 

substance makes tone variation possible when played.  

 

The black substance is called ìdá. Whenever the drummer hits the point of the black spot 

a lower tone is produced, but whenever the drummer hits other parts of the membrane 

a middle tone is produced. The rope made of woven cloth is hung on the neck region of 

the player, while the drummer’s abdomen supports the drum. The leather throngs that 

are used in playing the drum are either tied to it or kept separately detached. Sometimes 

the drummer used improvised rubber like material to play when leather throngs are not 

available. Plate 19 exemplifies this. Also, music example 9 typifies the rhythm of 

gúdúgúdú in the ensemble. 

 

Music example 3 

 
 

Gúdúgúdú regures the wearing of neck strap (òjá) around the neck of the player or around 

the waist in a manner that the drum rests on the players’ abdomen with the head facing 

outwards. Gúdúgúdú player alternatively uses a pair of bílálà, osan and sometimes a plastic 

held on both hands to play the instrument. Also the player placed the instrument in 

between its legs while seating. 

 



 

 
  

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272 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. Mr. Makanjuola Ayo an iregun drummer, Seating Playing Position of 

Gúdúgúdú. Picture by the Researcher 

Idiophones range from simple to complex and occur in two major categories. The first 

are those that are basically rhythmic, while the second include those that combine both 

the rhythmic and melodic components. Omíbíyì (1977:2) explains that the rhythmic 

idiophones include the instruments that are shaken, struck, scraped, and stamped to 

produce the required rhythm, and this again is musically grouped as primary and 

secondary rattles. 

Rattles are those played as part of ensembles and are either struck or shaken directly. 

Rattles are the only idiophone instrument used in an irègún ensemble. Ìrègún sekere, 

rattles, are primary rattles made of gourds and produce sounds by striking. The gourd 

rattle, called Sèkèrè, and covered with nets, sea shells, pieces of bone, and bamboo, to 

which is fastened cowry, accompanies the Ìrègún music ensemble in Yàgbàland. Rattles 

of different shapes and sizes are used in Ìrègún music. It may be spherical, either 

without a handle or with the neck of the gourd or calabash serving as the handle. The 

sample of sekere used in Ìrègún musical groups, music example 10, shows the rhythm that 

sekere plays in the ensemble. 

                             
Figure 5. Mrs Funke A. Member  of Iregun musical group playing at a function 

Picture by the researcher 



 

 
  

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Music example 4 

 
 Sèkèrè is beaten as well as shaken. It is usually done in a brisk, side-by-side, 

rotary motion. The instrument is gripped by the right hand around the neck, and the left 

hand is placed inside the strings at the bottom of the instrument. The heel of the left 

strikes the bottom of the instruments, giving impetus to the shake. The notation merely 

indicates the point at which the player causes the bead to strike the surface of sèkèrè, 

either by hand stroke or shaking. The sound of sèkèrè in a musical ensemble is pervasive 

and sonorous. Its structural role in the ensemble is essential. 

Igan-iregun flutes are used as solo instruments, playing fixed tunes, improvised pieces, 

giving signals, and arousing excitement among Ìrègún dancers. In a musical ensemble, 

igan, flutes, combined with drums, and rattles accompany singers. Igan, which accompany 

irègún musical performance, is end-blown. It has incised decoration and a geometric 

design made with a hot implement. See Figure 6 for the instrument. Music example 11 

exemplifies one of the rhythms played by Igan. 

 

Music example 5 

 
 

Igan is a melodic and earophone instrument of Ìrègún music. Playing of igan is by placing 

the opening against the lips. See plate below 

 

                   
Figure 6 Mr. Bayodele A. an Iregun Flute-Igan player at a wedding ceremony- 

Picture by the researcher 

 

 



 

 
  

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Figure 7. Iregun Instrumentalists in a procession for a performance- Picture by the 

researcher 

 

 

 Socio-Cultural Roles of Iregun Musical Instruments   

Ìrègún music serves different functions in Yàgbàland, ranging from social, moral, 

religious, to political. 

 

Iregun Instruments as a Historical Record of Yagba Communities 

Iregun instruments function as resources for historical records. Iregun instruments, as 

used, tell the history of the Yagba people. According to Makanjuola's 2011 personal 

communication, “on several occasions in Yagbaland, iregun musical instruments are 

employed to accompany the songs, and more than just the singing, the messages through 

the iregun instrumentals expound on some historical antecedents of the Yagba people." 

Mr. Makanjuola further notes that Ìrègún musical instrumental pieces reflect the vocal 

music and have historical facts connected to time, place, events, For example, the Igan-

Flautist plays a piece like this: 

  
The song texts expresses the historical narrative of a group of people in the community 

called  Ilafin-Isanlu where some prominent iregun performers came from.  Descendants 

are commonly known as Laredu in Yagba land and the igan instruments re-echo the song 

that Laredu people in Yagbaland are men of honour, glory and distinction. This account is 

based on the history of the Laredu in Isanlu-Ilafin. 

 

Iregun Instruments as Sources of Entertainment and Correction 

Iregun musical instruments play the role of entertaining the audience. This happens 

during different performances in ceremonies. According to Maku (Maku, 2010 Personal 

Communications), “apart from iregun songs, the instrumental music of iregun entertains 

as well. That is why sometimes we stop singing and just play instruments to entertain our 

audience." 



 

 
  

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 16, September 2023 

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In one of the performances that the researcher witnessed, the chief drummer played a 

tune about the evil of stealing other people’s properties. The text says: 

Ole aboju wokoko ole- 

Ole aboju wokoko ole 

Ole aboju wokoko ole 

Ole aboju wokoko ole 

Meaning 

You are a thief with a covetous eye 

You are a thief with a covetous eye 

You are a thief with a covetous eye 

You are a thief with a covetous eye 

 

Iregun instrumental tunes provide stimulus to re-thinking about behaviours that are 

contrary to the norms of the society and such vice that could even be dangerous to both 

those who indulge in them and the society. 

More so, iregun instrumental music cautions youths against indecent dressing. Like the 

texts below: 

Omo Olu Ode 

Omo olu ode obara jemsi ehin gbe m’ma wonu   

Oyam I lile ese hinu e ponnhayin mo’ilile 

Translation 

The daughter of the chief hunter 

If you allow me to fall cause of  

Looking at your scanty dressing 

I will not be happy with you 

Because my wife is at home 

She is neither pregnant nor breast feeding 

 

 

 
The piece Omo Olu Ode is a corrective measure against ladies who dress scantily and 

exposes private part of their bodies to imbibe the culture of chastity and dress well.  

tell about an incident during a burial ceremony in Mopa community performance.  

 

Iregun Instruments as Sources of future Occurrences 

Ìrègún music tells people about the reality of death. And the need to prepare for it. It 

tells about the life here after with the ancestors and that we cannot avoid it. The piece 

below is an example:  

 



 

 
  

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol. 16, September 2023 

276 

The tune titled Iye ghoku  tells about an iregun. The piece says she does not have 

anything to bother, worry and care about though original vocal piece musical instruments 

re-echos the messages for inner penetration and communication purposes. 

 

Conclusion  

From the discussions, we have seen that iregun instruments play vital roles in inculcating 

culture in people in the community. Ìrègún is steeped in music-society dialectic, although 

the genre is on the verge of extinction. It would be most helpful for cultural memory if 

the genre was preserved through structured documentation. To help keep the Iregun 

genre from extinction, it is best achieved through a collective response of the three 

tiers of government: the Federal, Kogi State, and the three local government areas in 

Yàgbà Land. Also, corporate organisations, nongovernmental organisations, wealthy 

individuals, and all Yàgbà indigenes at home and in the Diaspora have a duty to support 

the projection of Ìrègún music to the world. Greater effort should be made by the 

government, various funding bodies and agencies, and indeed, all stakeholders, to 

encourage ìrègún performers in particular by providing them with finance to purchase 

musical instruments for the groups. The time is now for genuinely committed individuals 

to engage in meaningful research, performances, and broadcasting of the genre through 

several media and internet facilities to prevent many of the atrophying cultural practices 

from going into total extinction.  

 

Primary Sources  

Chief Mákànjúolá O – chief drummer, Mopa-Muro LGA.  Lives in Mopa community.  

 Interviewed before a performance on the 12/11/2010 

Late Chief Mrs Fúnké Adútà – Iregun singer/ chanter  in Egbe, Yàgbà-West LGA. Lives  

 in Egbe Community, interviewed in her home on the 16/12/2009   

Chief Wèmímó Ògúnléye – an iregun singer and chanter  Lives in Egbe, was interviewed in 

 her home on the 15/12/2009   

Mr. Maku Sunday- Iregun singer Mopa-Muro LGA. Lives in Mopa community, was  

 interviewed after a performanceon the 13/12/2009  

Mrs. Olú- Tete –  an  iregun dancer and  singer from Ìsánlú, Yàgbà-East LGA. Lives in  

 Ìsánlú community, was interviewed in her home on the 14/12/2009   

Chief Mrs. Grace Abedo   - Ìyá Egbé Ìrègún and a chief dancer from Mopa-Muro LGA.  

 Lives in Mopa, was interviewed in her home  on the 13/12/2009   

Chief Ilètógùn a traditional chief from Odò-Èré, was interviewed in his home on the  

 12/10/ 2009  

Mr. Ségun Ekùn.  Ogun  traditional worshiper from Odò-Èré Yàgbà West LGA was  

 interview Chief Iletogun’s house on the 12/10/2009 

 

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