Owerri Bongo ''(Bongo/Igbo Bongo)'' is a style of

Igbo highlife Igbo highlife is a contemporary musical genre which combines highlife and Igbo traditional music. It first started off in the southeast region of Nigeria, during the 1920s in Lagos. The genre is primarily guitar-based music, with rare characteris ...

music that has its origins in the Igbo people of

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

and spread around all Imo State, which is in eastern Nigeria. The musical style is a sub-genre of

music. Unlike Igbo highlife, which is known for its brass horns and often somber feel. Owerri Bongo is typified by its heavy use of drums''(

Igba The igba is a tom-tom that has a beating surface of the same approximate diameter as a bongo. An igba may be as small as seven inches, or as tall as three feet. Traditionally, the deeper shelled igba are played with the hand, while the shorter d ...

)'' and the Owerri dialect in which the genre is usually sung.

History

The origins of Bongo music aren't clear but it is believed that the sub-genre emerged during the 1980s and 1970s. Even though bongo's origins aren't clear it's reputed that the sub-genre remained popular within the city of Owerri but lost its relevance because of the Biafran war but re-emerged sometime during the 1970s The subgenre was popularised in the late 1970s by the Oriental Brothers International Band. Following the proliferation of pedal guitars in Nigerian music in the late 1970s the Oriental Brothers international band broadened the sub-genre by adding more complex guitar riffs with more emphasis on vocals.

Etymology

Because of the heavy usage of drums in the sub-genre, it is believed that the term "Bongo" in Owerri Bongo got its name from the

Bongo drum Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

. In the Owerri dialect, bongos are known as "ogwe" (drum) which when hit makes a high-pitched sound.

References

Igbo music Music of Nigeria {{Africa-music-stub