The ''alounloun'' is a

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

ese musical instrument, used to play a type of music called '' adjogan''. It is a stick with metallic rings attached, which jingle in time with the beating of the stick. The ''alounloun'' is said to descend from the staff of King Te-Agdanlin. The ''alounloun'' was established for the royal court in the

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

area; it was initially a symbol of the king's power that was later transformed into a musical instrument. It became a tradition to use the ''alounloun'' to honor eminent officials in the royal court. An ''alounloun'' is on display at the Royal Palace Museum in Porto-Novo.

Historical background

The ''alounloun'' originated as a staff symbolizing the power of the king of

Allada Allada is a town, arrondissement, and commune, located in the Atlantique Department of Benin. The current town of Allada corresponds to Great Ardra (also called Grand Ardra, or Arda), which was the capital of a Fon kingdom also called Allada (t ...

(a kingdom in southern Benin). Te-Agdanlin, founder of the kingdom of Porto-Novo, inherited it from his father King De-Kopkon when he died. He took the ''alounloun'' with him during the migration towards southeastern Benin where he created the kingdom of Hogbonou (

). After he in turn died, the ''alounloun'' underwent various transformations depending on the taste and aspirations of each king. A descendant of Te'Agbanlin, De-Gbeyon, transformed the stick into a musical instrument during his reign (1765-1775). From that time on, it has been used to accompany songs paying homage to Porto-Novoan royalty, living or deceased.

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

evangelism and the Vatican II Council led Father Francis Aupiais, parish priest of Porto-Novo in the 1930s, to inaugurate an

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

procession through the city. The ''alounloun'' was played on this occasion in honour of Jesus. Today the ''alounloun'' is used to play a type of music called ''adjogan'' in formal, royal ceremonies. ''Adjogan'' music is also used in Catholic churches in the Porto-Novo area; in this case the royal insignia on the staff is changed from a bird crest to a Christian cross. The instrument is played only by women.

Physical characteristics

The ''alounloun'' is a finely worked iron bar about one meter long, covered in copper with rings that manually slide up and down the stick to produce music. It has a handle in the shape of a bird with a coiled crested neck as well as a spindle and a pad. It is an

idiophone An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings (chordophones), membranes (membranophones) or electricity ( electrophones) ...

: that is, an instrument that produces sound by vibrating as a whole when the body of the instrument itself is struck, shaken, rubbed, plucked or stamped, without the use of strings or membranes.

References

Beninese musical instruments