Performance Aesthetics and Structural Analysis of Music in the Bolorunduro Fulani Marriage Ceremony

Abstract

Marriage ceremonies in most societies in Nigeria are cultural and social events subsumed in performance arts such as drama, dance, music, costume, and make-up amongst others that are used in establishing the essence and purpose of the conjugal events in a colourful, exhilarating and functional mode. To this extent, this paper examines the performance aesthetics and structural composition of music in Fulani Bolorunduro marriage ceremonies in southern part of Ilorin, Kwara state in order to showcase their cultural and social functions within the ceremony. This paper adopts descriptive and analytical research methods and participant observation with interview tools to gather our data. It discovered that the Fulani Bolorunduro weddings are held once in a year in form of a mass wedding and that Islam as the main religion of the Bolorunduro people has influenced their traditional marriage institution. It is also revealed that despite the acculturation influence of Islam, the traditional practice and cultural identity of the people are still highlighted in the ceremony through performance aesthetics replete in dramatic actions, dance, music, costume, makeup and properties which entrenches cultural rejuvenation, communal interaction, unity, and socialization in the community. This brings to the fore the dire need to analyse the musical features such as Tonal arrangement, Melodic contours, Harmonic constituents and Key and Time signatures used in the marriage ceremonies. The paper therefore recommends that the performance aesthetics in the marriage ceremony under study, should be encouraged, preserved, and explored for promotion of the rich cultural heritage of the Nigerian people.