Sekere

This article is about the musical genre. For the musical instrument, see Shekere.

Sekere is a traditional Yoruba musical genre that was pioneered and popularized by the late Alhaji Alamu Atatalo from Ibadan, Nigeria. Cowrie shells are wound around a large and polished gourd; the musician violently shakes the sekere (shaker) and also uses his fists to beat the gourd thereby creating a percussive sound that gladdens and delights the spectators. Typically accompanied by other instruments, such as the aro, dundun, omele, agogo, agidigbo, and a chorus; in Yorubaland -- especially in Ibadan, the sekere musician sometimes shows off his dexterity by hoisting the instrument high up in the air and briskly catches it in mid-air to create a festive mood.