Socio-musical acculturation in Igbe and Iyayi religious movements among the Urhobo and Esan of Nigeria

Abstract

This study traces the spread of the Igbe religion of the Urhobo people of Delta State in Nigeria to other ethnic cultures in the Benin Province in Nigeria where Igbe became known as the Osenughegbe and Iyayi religions. In doing this, it examines the religious, social, and musical transitions in this cross-cultural migration. This study adopts descriptive and historical approaches by deploying qualitative research methods; it elicited much of its data from interviews and non-participant observation. Ten temples were studied; five temples each were selected from the Delta and Edo states. The data drawn is descriptively presented and interpreted. The study found that Iyayi borrowed a lot from Igbe in terms of ritual practices, dressing, vocabulary, music, and dance. These greatly facilitated Igbe’s cross-cultural migration to other ethnic cultures. It concludes that Igbe music has a social value which has greatly accounted for Igbe’s influences in its cross-cultural migration with Iyayi as one of the recipients.