MUSIC, FAMILY AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: EXAMININING THE IMPACT OF VOCABULARY IN SELECTED YORUBA SONGS

Abstract

Scholarship on conflict management abounds. However little research exist on the housewives’ songs of insults. Some families in some cultures of Africa where a man has more than one wife sometimes degenerate to conflicts due to space, place and relationship enstrangement. The theme of these songs ranges from the non-verbal acts, culinary (in)ability and even the sexual life of the cowife or the husband. The study employed ethnography and lyrical analysis to examine songs by house wives in some Yoruba communities in Southwestern Nigeria. We argue that songs could be used to explain family conflict, communicate political dissastifaction, and explain environmental issues. We also argue that these songs can degenerate to cause conflict, especially in families, which is the core focus of this study.