Essays on Music
in Africa, I

The first volume, published in the Bayreuth African Studies series by IWALEWA-Haus, the Afrika-Zentrum of the University of Bayreuth. In the preface Euba explains that four of the five essays began as public lectures given at IWALEWA-Haus and at the universities of Hamburg and Duisburg during 1987, with two also delivered at Liverpool and at universities in the United States; the essay on Ayọ Bankọlẹ was first drafted in 1986 for the tenth anniversary of the composer’s death. He credits Ronald Ruprecht, director of IWALEWA-Haus, with proposing the volume, and Annamaria Popp with preparing the manuscript. The five essays are The Music of Yoruba Gods; Music Fit for Kings: The Traditional Concept of Kingship Music in Africa; Music and Masks: The Use of Music in the African Masquerade Theatre; Ayọ Bankọlẹ: A View of Modern African Art Music Through the Works of a Nigerian Composer; and Jùjú, Highlife and Afro-Beat: An Introduction to Popular Music in Nigeria. The book is dedicated posthumously to Euba’s mother, Winifred Rẹ́mílẹ́kún Euba, with a Yorùbá oríkì. The cover carries a linocut, Bata Dummers, by the Nigerian artist Gbade Akintunde.