DRUM ENSEMBLE, DRUMMING UTILITARIAN ROLES AND SPIRITUALITY IN AFRICAN CULTURAL MUSIC FESTIVALS

Traditional drumming and drummers are synonymous with music making in African cultural festivals and ceremonies. African musical instruments are diverse in their designs and usage which are peculiar to diverse celebrations that showcases the rich African cultural heritage, spirituality and religious worship. Such musical instruments abounds among the West African countries, societies and cultures within the continent. Consequently, there are diversities in music in Africa festivals which reflect the various traditions, histories and belief systems among nations. Most of these developments are perceived to be underreported in literature; despite past empirical studies. Hence, the need to examine drum ensemble, drumming practices' utilitarian roles and spirituality in African cultural music festivals. The study adopted Descriptive Research Design and data was gathered through historical document analysis, online video previews and data was thematically analysed. Findings revealed that majority of cultural festivals among African people usually involve a combination of music, dance, storytelling and elaborate costumes. The festivals mostly, serves as social-cultural celebrations of important ceremonials; such as harvest seasons cum spirituality. It is also instituted as rallying point towards promotion of a sense of unity, identity and deep historical preservation towards honouring of the legendary and Ancestral powers and figures. The study concludes that, music in African festivals are largely socio-cultural and directly connected to traditional religious practices through ceremonies, rituals and performances that are subsumed unto musico-cultural festivals and carnival-like events; which provided opportunities for spiritual renewal and connection with the ancestors. The study recommends collaborative efforts among key stakeholders.