Allow Peace to Reign: Musical Genres of <i>Fújì</i> and <i>Islamic</i> Allegorise Nigerian Unity in the Era of Boko Haram
Author(s):
Debra L. Klein
Publication Year:
2020
Type:
journal article
Journal/Book Title
Yearbook for Traditional Music
Publisher
Editor(s):
Pages:
1-22
Volume:
52
Issue:
Abstract:
A proliferation of popular music genres flourished in post-independence Nigeria: highlife, jùjú, Afrobeat, and fújì. Originating within Yorùbá Muslim communities, the genres of fújì and Islamic are Islamised dance music genres characterised by their Arabic-influenced vocal style, Yorùbá praise poetry, driving percussion, and aesthetics of incorporation, flexibility, and cultural fusion. Based on analysis of interviews and performances in Ìloṛ in in the 2010s, this article argues that the genres of fújì and Islamic allegorise Nigerian unity—an ideology of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and equity—while exposing the gap between the aspiration for unity and everyday inequities shaped by gender and morality.
Citation (Chicago Author-Date):
Klein, Debra L. 2020. “Allow Peace to Reign: Musical Genres of Fújì and Islamic Allegorise Nigerian Unity in the Era of Boko Haram.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 52: 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1017/ytm.2020.5.