MUSIC AND COMMUNICATION IN THE TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE OSHIMILI COMMUNITIES OF DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Communication is a vital tool to understanding the make-up of every community and its behavioral attitudes towards the building of a nation. Nigerian society in general relies on communication to disseminate duties and distribute vital information that will help to keep the nation in order. The world therefore needs vital communication to carry out important duties that will help keep things going among bodies that make up every institution that exists in nation building, starting from family to governmental bodies. The need to delve into the traditional activities of the Oshimili community involves a deep probe into the musical traditions of the people and its communication system. Music being the main source of communication amongst these communities has also helped in understanding the traditional practices and building of the people. This paper will not only look into the musical practices and traditions of Oshimili communities, it will point out the communication processes that exist in the various traditional activities of the community and the roles music play as communicative device to maintain and uphold theirtraditional belief systems. This paper relied on observational methods, and some literatures on the history of the community and other related literatures for data collection. It also conducted oral interviews with persons knowledgeable in both the musical and traditional activities in the community.