Sekere is a type of traditional Yoruba musical genre that was pioneered and popularized by the one and only "king of sekere," the late Alhaji Alamu Atatalo from Ibadan, Nigeria. Of a pleasant sight, cowrie shells are brilliantly 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.
It is noteworthy to mention that sekere, as a musical genre, is quite different from those smaller shakers (with different spellings) found in Cuba, Brazil, and other parts of Africa. The instrument described here is unique to the Yorubaland of Nigeria especially Ibadan.
