{"id":132197,"date":"2026-11-06T11:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/?p=132197"},"modified":"2026-11-06T11:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:02:08","slug":"when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\/","title":{"rendered":"When drums become more than musical instruments"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"dailymotion-player\"><script src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player\/x1ee8e.js\" data-video=\"xbu7byu\"><\/script><\/div><br><br><p>\nWhat if a drum could announce your arrival, praise your name, and tell your family&#8217;s story without a single word being spoken? Discover the mesmerizing power of Nigeria&#8217;s talking drum, the *gongong*, in the royal courts of the past.<\/p>\n<p>This incredible instrument does more than just keep rhythm; it imitates the tones and rhythms of spoken languages. By skillfully adjusting chord tension, master drummers transform complex rhythms into a vibrant form of communication.<\/p>\n<p>In royal ceremonies, this unique ability played a vital role. Through a blend of praise, poetry, and drumming, performers celebrated rulers, recounted rich lineages, and honored esteemed guests. Music became a powerful expression of community, history, and identity.<\/p>\n<p>Mastering this tradition requires years of dedication, passed down through generations. These archival photographs offer a glimpse into how Nigerian communities used music to honor royalty and preserve invaluable cultural memories. Uncover how drums truly tell stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if a drum could announce your arrival, praise your name, and tell your family&#8217;s story without a single word being spoken? Discover the mesmerizing power of Nigeria&#8217;s talking drum, the *gongong*, in the royal courts of the past. This incredible instrument does more than just keep rhythm; it imitates the tones and rhythms of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gam_disable_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13735,37964],"tags":[3584,41554,21900,42132],"class_list":["post-132197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guardian-life","category-top-video","tag-dance","tag-nigerian-history","tag-talking-drum","tag-yoruba-culture"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When drums become more than musical instruments - GuardianTV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if a drum could announce your arrival, praise your name, and tell your family&#039;s story without a single word being spoken? Discover the mesmerizing power of Nigeria&#039;s talking drum, the *gongong*, in the royal courts of the past.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When drums become more than musical instruments - GuardianTV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if a drum could announce your arrival, praise your name, and tell your family&#039;s story without a single word being spoken? Discover the mesmerizing power of Nigeria&#039;s talking drum, the *gongong*, in the royal courts of the past.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GuardianTV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-06T11:02:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\/2026\/11\/When-Drums-Become-More-Than-Musical-Instruments-576x1024.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abiodun Ogundairo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7ea396ab9bae73d4845496dbad885f1\"},\"headline\":\"When drums become more than musical instruments\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-06T11:02:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":162,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/When-Drums-Become-More-Than-Musical-Instruments.png\",\"keywords\":[\"dance\",\"Nigerian History\",\"talking drum\",\"Yoruba Culture\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guardian Life\",\"Top Video\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/\",\"name\":\"When drums become more than musical instruments - GuardianTV\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/when-drums-become-more-than-musical-instruments\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/When-Drums-Become-More-Than-Musical-Instruments.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-06T11:02:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"What if a drum could announce your arrival, praise your name, and tell your family's story without a single word being spoken? 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