Yoruba songs serve as vital cultural tools for identity, communication, instruction, and spirituality. This paper explores the functional significance of Yoruba songs within the initiation rites of Theatre Arts students at the Federal College of Education (FCE), Abeokuta, with specific attention to the 2023 ceremony. The study adopts a qualitative ethnographic approach which involves participant observation and contextual review of songs used at the initiation ceremony. Findings reveal that the songs performed at the ceremony are not merely for entertainment purposes, but serve as symbolic narratives that reinforce the transition of the inductees from ‘non-thespians’ to ‘thespians-in-training’ within the theatre community, under the tutelage of their lecturers. Furthermore, the songs embody coded and plain language and performative nuances which overall function is to creatively coordinate/advance the event, pass specific instructions, knowledge and wisdom to the inductees. The paper concludes that Yoruba songs play a pivotal role in sustaining indigenous epistemologies within formal academic spaces, offering both cultural continuity and pedagogical relevance in the training of Theatre Arts students. The study recommends the preservation and scholarly engagement of such ritual performances as part of Nigeria’s intangible heritage and theatre pedagogy.