00:05

Q – TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

OK, my name is Agboola Babatunde Timothy. The ‘Timothy’ is a biblical name, you know. Then the ‘Babatunde’ actually means a lot in African home, in an African home, every name given to a child has a meaning based on maybe the present situation, what happened when the child was born. For example, I was named by Babatunde, ‘baba’ means father, ‘tunde’ means return. My grandfather passed away, after they gave back to me, so the African culture, the mentality is that the father has actually returned. That was the reason why my father, which his own dad passed away, which is my own grandfather, I was given Babatunde, you understand. And I grew up, I actually grew up in Lagos, but I'm from Oyo State, Ogbomosho, western part, I’m a Yoruba man. And from my dressing, you can easily know that I'm a Yoruba man. And other tribes have their own dressing, the Hausas, the Igbos. Once you see their attires, what they're wearing, it would be easy for you to actually know where they come from and every dressing has a meaning. The way we dress has a meaning, the way we put on beads, on our hands, the neck, the cap has a meaning. Like this cup I'm wearing presently, if I am married, this side, we actually come to the left side like this, you know? This is a symbol that I am married because it comes to the left. So if I am walking around the village, every woman, every man in this society, we actually know that he is a married man. I don't need to tell them before they will actually know that you know. You know, nowadays, ring is a symbol, you know, well, in the olden days the cap, you understand, but as presently I am single, I'm not married, so... Because if any of my tribe walking saw, they will actually think I am married. So, I grew up in Lagos like I said earlier, you know. I grew up with my father… I'm actually the last one out of seven, you know, African mother can give birth to many children. So, I'm the last one of the family, you know, I grew up with my siblings and one thing about African parents, they're very disciplined, they are disciplinarian, you know, they don't need to beat you before you know the right things to do, you know. If you're misbehaving, if you're not giving your mother the respect she deserved, she don't need to beat you, she’d just give you some facial expression that will actually correct you to do the right thing at the right time.

03:16

Q – WHAT PART OF NIGERIA IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Yeah, every part of Nigeria is very, very important with the culture and with the respect, being respectful, especially the culture and being respectful, you know. When someone is older than you, you have to respect that person. For example, if, for my family, my elder brother got married to a lady, if before she entered the family, before she’s officially part of the family, like she's officially my brother’s wife, if a child is given birth to in the family, you have to call the child no matter how small she is, no matter how small the baby is, you have to call him, if it's a male, ‘brother’ then address by the name, you understand, like I'm bearing Babatunde now, she has to address me like ‘Brother Tunde’ even though she's older than me, but for the fact that before my brother got married to her and she came into the family I was born, which means I came into the family before she does, you understand? And every woman that is coming into Nigerian family as you're coming in, you have, you know, we have different, different home with their different rules and regulations. From my own hand, the first day after the marriage, if the wife want to actually come in you actually enter the father's house, which is the husband’s father's house, and they will have to get a very cold water – they use it to wet your feet. It’s a symbol of, as you are coming in, the house won't be hot for you. You will find peace, you’ll feel comfortable, you’ll feel welcome. You know, water has their own power, if you touch the water, you feel refreshed, that’s what that means.

05:18

WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST ABOUT NIGERIA?

It’s the food, you know, everybody have been saying it, you know, like the Yoruba part, you know we have different types of food, the Igbos have the same thing. The Hausas, they have the same thing but… Yoruba we have gbegiri, gbegiri is made of beans, you know, you're gonna cook it, sieve it, you know. We have ewedu, we have efo riro, we have a egusi, you know… we have ogi, you know, which is now something like custard that we do know but, the ogi is made of corn. You know, the corn, you soak it, you grind it very well, so that's what we use… And actually I miss the fact that the culture, I miss the culture, you know. The culture is there though, you know, because I have my people around me, you know, we practise the culture, you know, but the culture is deep, than each and everybody's knowledge, you know. Our forefathers, since when it comes to the culture is different from our own knowledge about the culture now. Because of the fact of technology, you know, advancement of technology around the world now you know. So that's about that.

06:58

Q – WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE DRUMMING?

OK, now the reason why I came with the drum is to let you know that in Nigeria in Africa in the Yoruba land… they actually wake the king up with playing talking drum early in the morning. And one thing about this drum you're seeing, it has tuning sol-fa, he same with keyboard has tuning sol-fa. Same way, saxophone, Cheetah, every other thing. I'm sure you guys might be playing any instrument presently, you know, and talking drum has tuning sol-fa. So, the more you put stress on this tying stuff, the tune changes, which is… [DEMONSTRATES THE DIFFERENT NOTES]. Fa-so then... [MORE PLAYING]. Then, la-ti-do. Then everything like, if I want to wake up the king now… it goes like this [DEMONSTRATES THE TUNE THAT WOULD WAKE A KING IN THE MORNING]. I can actually use this to play something like ‘Happy Birthday To You’, you know, like… [PLAYS THE SONG]… That is why we call this talking drum and this talking drum is made of animal skin, you know. This is the same thing we don't want here, this is a flat one. This is actually a flat one, the same way this was. You know, we have to turn it, look at it, you see, we have to turn it, so it will be this timing, then this in here is the number three, you see now inside there. You know… same thing with this, it's actually carved from the tree, you understand? And the reason why this is there is for me to actually hang it on my shoulder because the more I press it with my arm, the tone of sol-fa change – the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do. Then when it comes to dancing to the… rhythmical sound of this talking drum, it has reading part and at the same time it has talking parts. Like if I said “If I were you” [PLAYS THE TALKING DRUM]… “I will have used my hands to dance to the rhythm,” you understand? So if as I'm playing it, they understand what I'm playing. So if I play [PLAYS THE DRUM], they know I mean “If I were you… PLAYS THE DRUM]… I will have danced with my hands.” Then you repeat it [PLAYS THE DRUM]… “I will have used my legs to dance to the rhythm you’re playing.” Then you repeat it again [PLAYS THE DRUM]… which means I have used all my whole body to dance to the rhythm, you know. And at the same time in Yoruba land if we're having a wedding, wedding party, we use this, we have them in sizes, this is the medium size. We have the bigger size and we have the smaller, smaller size. All of these drum has their own tune. Like the smallest size, they can only play ‘re-mi’, this can play all the tones in sol-fa. The bigger size can play all the tones in sol-fa. Any talking drum that can play all the tones in sol-fa can actually say or speak anything that comes out of your mouth. [DEMONSTRATES WITH THE TALKING DRUM]. Technology actually bring keyboard everything to us. Initially we do not know that what we create, those are tones in sol-fa. From the olden days we only create this just to play and appreciate ourself, feel the rhythm, entertainment. You know, when we were colonised, when British came you know, we know so many things and we were trained that all these things you're playing has their own tone in sol-fa, you know. We have a lot of drums, this is one of them, we have conga, we have agbamole, we have different different types.

13:24

Q – SO, THE TUNING FOR THAT WAS SOL-FA BEFORE COLONIALISM? IT’S ALWAYS BEEN TUNED THAT WAY?

Yeah, the drum is always like this. [INTERVIEWER: THE TUNING HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS? IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE SAME AS THE SOL-FA TUNING?] Exactly, yeah, yeah. You know, every, every word has their own tuning sol-fa too, so the same thing goes with this.

13:53

Q – SO, THE DRUMMING AND DANCE, IS IT IMPROVISED, DO YOU SORT OF MAKE IT UP? DO YOU PLAY SOMETHING AND THEN THEY DO THE DANCE TO COPY IT AND THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE TO PLAY?

Most times it’s like call and respond, you know… I can be the one calling, they can be the one responding with their dance and also with their words. And at the same time they can be the one calling, I can be the one playing. So it varies... the one I played earlier… I'm the one talking to them, which means I am instructing them to dance what I'm saying they should dance. [INTERVIEWER: AND THAT CHANGES EVERY TIME?] Yeah, yeah. At the same time, you know, once I did that, I will play with the core rhythm. The rhythm sometimes it's called traditional rhythm, it goes like this… [PLAYS THE DRUM]. So the one I play last is rhythm and in the middle I ask them to dance what I'm playing. You know, I start with the rhythm, I talk with the talking drum for them to listen to and dance to the word I'm saying, then I hand it with the rhythm, yeah.

15:48

Q – WHAT WAS SCHOOL LIKE FOR YOU?

OK, school, you know, I grew up going to school as far as from here [PONTYPRIDD] to Treforest. I trek, like you trek in the Bush and you only go with maybe one notebook, no bags, no nothing. Most times, you know, when it’s raining, you know your mum won't follow you to school like now you know, and that actually will make you to realise if you're a man that sometimes in life you will always be on your own. And when you are on your own you have the opportunity to make the wrong choice and at the same time make the right choice. So it's now left to you to choose the one you want to make – am I going for the right choice or I'm going for the wrong choice in the sense that you're on your way to school, you see where they are playing football, you drop your notebook, said I'm not going to school, I want to play football, you know? You play football, it’s your choice. But at the same time, you must be ready to justify anything you choose to do in life.

17:13

Q – WAS FOOTBALL IMPORTANT IN NIGERIA?

Yeah, football is very, very important. In fact, not only football, all other sports are very, very important. Initially Nigerians, we do not play football, we don't really know about that but since we started technology came in, you know, started driving joy in playing that, you know, there is strength in playing football, there is a talent… for example, you know, Esieme was tested, they actually thought he’s on drug the way he play football, you know? It’s 90 minutes, you see him at the front, you seem at the back, you know he’s going up and down and at the same time they ask him ‘Why are you this strong? Why are you this active?’ He said, back in Nigeria he’s the type that sells pure water. You know we sell water in Nigeria, pure water, he’s the type that sells pure water in a ‘go slow’, like when there is traffic, you know, when someone buy water from the car you know, he give it to the person when the light pick green, you know the car have to move he has to run after the car just to get his money. You know, you can imagine someone that does that every blessed day. When he wants to play football, he would be that strong, you know. The same thing goes with a farmer, that farm. As an African man, you do farming, you do one thing, you know, you’ll be that strong because it's what your body is addicted to. So, when it comes to sports, Nigerians, we love, you know, it's easy for us to do it and without getting tired all the time, yeah.

19:06

Q – BEFORE FOOTBALL, WHAT WAS PLAYED?

Yeah, we play drafts… like chess. Yeah, but we do not use the board… we use on the floor. We dig holes… and we do what we call ‘buju buju’… ‘Buju buju’ is when a group of people hide and seek, we call it ‘buju buju’. We do another game [NIGERIAN TITLE UNKNOWN]… that means we gather our hands, we gather sand like a mountain, then we we put a broom in the middle of it, you know, each person, you come, you use your hand to separate the (sand), so the last person to do it, once the broom falls you are (out)… stuff like that, that's what we do.

ENDS