Editorial Note
Editorial Note
The Benin Journal of Music and the Arts (BENJMA), which was established in 2021, is a publication of the Music Programme of the Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. BENJMA operates an open access policy of internet publication to facilitate easy accessibility and wide readership, and also produces complimentary print versions to meet the desire of readers who would want to obtain hard copies as alternative
and/or supplementary acquisitions. BENJMA is designed to publish at least one (1) Issue yearly, and to undertake the publication of Special Issues from time to time when the need arises.
BENJMA receives and publishes well-researched scholarly articles in music and the arts to promote scholarship and support the dissemination of research findings at local and global levels. It provides the forum for discourses on the historical, contemporary, and evolving subject matters that would serve as bases for the formation of future perspectives, the making of impactful predictions, and the galvanisation of developmental ideas.This present publication, Volume 1, is the maiden edition of BENJMA published in May 2022. This volume is a kaleidoscope of articles on music and the arts, featuring twelve (12) articles from a range of thematic areas such as musical syncretism, traditional festival, music education, music administration, church music, music copyright, music in drama, music in literature, music in movie, theatre for development (tfd), and aesthetics. Readers would most assuredly find the articles interesting, informative, educative, and thought-provoking.
Volume 1 , May 2022
This study investigates the degradation of traditional Nigerian musical instruments as a result of environmental factors and fungal infestations, especially by species like aspergillusniger, penicillium chrysogenum, fusarium oxysporum, and cladosporium cladosporioides.
Choirmasters are important musical personnel in the Anglican Church of Nigeria. They are generally tasked with a wide range of responsibilities before, during, and after church services. This study examines the role of choirmasters and the broader dynamics of liturgical music leadership within the Anglican Diocese of Benin. The paper is based on personal observation from many years of service as choirmaster of Anglican Diocese of Benin, and data from interviews.
Palm wine tapping and drinking, and the songs that accompany these practices are deeply embedded in Annang society. The popular Annang palm wine folk melody Atuak UkỌd Mben Inyang was purposively selected, transcribed and explored for this study in contemporary choral arrangement based on variation as compositional technique. The song-text was examined as a subject of cultural metaphor, using qualitative descriptive approach.
Food insecurity in West and Central Africa remains both a humanitarian and socio-political issue. This study explores how music functions as a socio-cultural response to the persistent issue of food insecurity in West and Central Africa. It investigates how musical expressions reflect experiences of hunger, foster communal resilience, and amplify advocacy efforts. Situated within ethnomusicology and cultural studies, the research addresses a critical gap in understanding how indigenous musical narratives engage with socio-political realities of scarcity.
Music is a global phenomenon that is integral to humanity; it is embedded in the cultural life of people as expressed in their norms, values and beliefs. Indigenous music in the church is religiously controlled and normally used to convey important social, moral and spiritual values. This paper focuses on the efficacy of Ukwuani indigenous music in the Anglican Diocese of Ndokwa. It emphasises the relevance and significance of Ukwuani indigenous music in promoting social, moral and spiritual values to congregants.