IS THERE NO MAN WITH PENIS IN THIS LAND? EROTICISM AND PERFORMANCE IN YORUBA NUPTIAL SONGS

Abstract

This paper explores the role of African women, especially the Yoruba women, in literature by looking at the songs that form an integral part of their nuptial poetry (epithalamium). Music plays, preserves and perpetuates vital traditions among the Yoruba. Some satirical songs, mainly produced by women, are prominent during the traditional marriage ceremony among the Yoruba, but these songs are sung less and less. This paper also attempts a hermeneutical inquiry into the content of the songs: how the Yoruba women espouse erotic views during the marriage ceremony that seem repressed in ordinary life. The study shows that women's voice could be better heard in their lore, as they use these songs as manifestations of their collective and dynamic group consciousness.