Àyàngalú Lives On is a project that explores the culture around the Yoruba talking drums and the families who are traditionally saddled with the responsibility of being custodians of the drums.

Yoruba culture relies heavily on talking drums. According to Yoruba mythology, Àyàngalú is the first drummer. He’s the patron deity of all drummers. It is after him that the vocation is named; thus, drummers are called Àyàn.

”Àyàn” isn’t just the name for drummers, it is also the prefix that comes before the name of kids born into a family of drummers, as drumming is a family vocation among the Yoruba people. It is a skill passed down from generation to generation. While anybody can learn how to play the talking drum, to fully understand the cultural and historical role that drummers play in society, you need to have been raised in an Àyàn household.

This story documents the efforts of the families keeping this tradition alive. It also seeks to understand the pride embedded in being from a long line of drummers, the weight that the Àyàn name carries, and the threat the culture faces in the modern age.

To carry the Àyàn name, either in your surname or first name, is to carry the spirit of Àyàngalú, even if you never learn to play the talking drum. Anytime someone picks the talking drum and strikes it, that person invokes the spirit of Àyàngalú who grants inspiration to all drummers. Àyàngalú lives on through the efforts of people who come from an Àyàn family and continue to pass the tradition to the younger generation.