NOT ALL RATTLES ARE SHEKERES

In the fifties a new generation of concerned Black dancers and musicians were coming into view. They would join students of Asadata Dafora, Alice and Gus Dinizulu, Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham, and Olatunji who made his debut in the New York region in the late fifties. The interest of these students was the reclamation of their music and dance that was lost on the high seas of the middle passage. There were a number of Africans from different countries teaching dance at the time. I believe the greater number of Africans were from Nigeria. Later on in the sixties Ghanaians appeared on the scene.

At that time the enclave of die-heart students of African music and dance were concentrated in the studios because African dance had not emerged in the schools. This enclave of students had been exposed to the national dance company of Keita Fodeba in 1959/60. This company later became the Guinea Ballet. I do not recall rattles being part of the musical instruments of this group.

In 1962 Ghana became the first African nation to offer African music and dance in the university. Also in the sixties leaders of African music and dance from Ghana were here at Juilliard. The National Dance Ensemble of Ghana performed in 1968. The Ghanaians used a different rattle called “Axatse” by the Ewe people.

Again I am depending on my memory of what transpired in the New York area between the years 1959 and 1968, with the exception of the Worlds Fair, the average dance enthusiast was exposed to namely three traditional African dance companies they were: The Guinea Ballet and the National Dance Ensemble of Ghana and musicians and dancers from Sierra Leone.

Olatunji made his debut in or around 1958. In his classes we not only learned dances, but also were able to study the Yoruba language with him. During this time we became familiar with the Yoruba rattles. We played the Sakara type gourd rattle. Other rattles found among the Yoruba people are Agbe, and Sekere. The men (women did not play) became quite proficient in playing this rattle. In fact, there were two brothers who had a store where they made and sold Sakara rattles. Women, who had to learn from the sidelines, also learned how to lace the rattle and how to play the Sakara rattle. By the late sixties early seventies, there were a number of women who could play the Sakara rattle. Today there are a number of female groups, who play the Sakara rattle and mistakenly call it a Sekere rattle, but it is not a Sekere but a Sakara.

Classification of African musical Instruments.

African instruments are classified according to how the sound is produced. Victor Mahillon created this system in 1880 during his position as curator of the Brussels Conservatory of musical instruments. Curt Sachs and Erich von Hornbostel revised this system in 1914. It is known as the Sachs-Hornbostel system and is still in use today

Rattle
Accordingly, the rattle as a percussion musical instrument is classified as an idiophone; an instrument made from naturally sonorous material capable of producing a sound when played. The rattle is an example of a shaken idiophone, which means that its sound is made by shaking, rattling or jingling of materials either contained in or surrounding the vessel (e.g. gourd, or calabash). Rattles are found throughout the continent of Africa either as undressed or dressed rattles. Rattles come in different sizes and shapes. The Maracas type rattle is played in pairs. This type of rattle can be seen in East Africa. Some of these rattles are made from tin cans and contain little stones within.

undressed rattle

dressed rattle

There are many different names for the single rattle found throughout Africa from Tanzania to Sierra Leone. I stress Sierra Leone because I have not seen a rattle in the Gambia or Senegal. That does not say that they do not exist, but I have not uncovered a rattle during the course of my research in these countries.

The rattle commonly found in Nigeria among the Yoruba people is a single upright gourd with the stem cut off. It is laced with beads in a diamond like fashion. This is the Sakara rattle. The Sakara rattle is used in Apala music.

Sakara Rattle

If a larger gourd or calabash is dressed with seeds the rattle is known as Agbe. The word Agbe in the Yoruba language means “seed”. The Agbe rattle is also laced in a diamond like fashion.

The sacred rattle found among the Yoruba people is called Sekere. If I recall correctly from my Yoruba classes, the “S” has a SH' sound that was indicated by underscoring the S. This was too time consuming so the practice was quicker to write SH. But either S or SH is acceptable. The Sekere rattle is found only among the Yoruba speaking people of Nigeria with traces along the eastern coast of Dahomey (Benin) where enclaves of Yoruba people migrated.

The Sekere rattle differs from other rattle in size and its lacing. It is laced with cowry shells in its lower third. All Sekere rattles are laced with cowry shells, not beads or seeds. The Sekere rattle is strictly a Yoruba instrument played by Yoruba men only. In Yoruba culture cowry shells were associated with royalty. The word “Aje” means cowry shells and is a symbol of wealth. In Africa you inherit your musical training from elders in your family. If you are born into a family that plays the Sekere rattle your family name will include the letters “Aje” indicating that your family are players of the Sekere rattle. Ajeroba, and Alajede are examples of family names of players of this rattle.

Sekere rattle.

In Nigeria in a traditional performance one can see the Sekere rattle played with the Yoruba Iya-Ilu dun-dun drums. Pioneers of the cultural awakening movement in Nigeria were the late Timi of Ede, Oba Adetoyese Laoye I, and the late Duro Ladipo. Duro Ladipo brought Yoruba music and dance to the theatre in his presentations. I was fortunate to know both of these legends of their time. They applauded my work as the most innovative thing they had seen. They invited me to return to Nigeria for special assignments to work with them on the Igbin set of musical instruments, and the Iya-Ilu Dun-dun drums. Unfortunately due to unrest in Nigeria, I was unable to return and they both passed away during the interim.

I reiterate not every rattle is a Shekere and samples of Shekere rattles can be seen at the Smithsonian.

I must also add that these rattles in Africa are part of the language of the drums, and they actually speak to other members of the ensemble as well as to the dancers. The way these rattles are used and played in the US and diaspora renders the rattles incapable of speaking either to the dancer or other members of the ensemble. When people in the diaspora create their own thing, the African meaning and speech capabilities are lost. They made create rhythms but the rhythms are void of language capabilities - meaningless sounds.