Rhythm Functions
Funções do canto sagrado
The rhythm signals or facilitates the departure of a spiritual entity from the ceremonial space.
The musician lineage to which this drum set belongs. Particularly important for Añá bàtá: the Olubatá lineage determines performance rights and toque knowledge. Initiated-only.
The rhythm has an accepted public or entertainment role alongside its sacred function (e.g., folkloric bàtá performances).
Rhythms of the Angola (Bantu/Kongo-derived) nation in Candomblé. Maculelê, capoeira, and samba de roda exist in relationship with Angola ritual music.
Praise / Oriki
Iroko Framework: Ngoma Module (Sacred Music, Rhythms, Songs, and Instruments)
Rhythms of the Rada nation in Haitian Vodou, associated with the cool, beneficent lwa (primarily Fon-derived: Lasirèn, Loko, Ayizan, Danbala). Performed on the Rada drum battery.
Àwọn iṣẹ́ ìlù mímọ́
Palo Monte / Kongo-derived
Sacred Rhythm
house affiliation
Date the instrument was consecrated or born. For Añá bàtá: the date of Aña reception.
lineage founder
Yorùbá (continental)
Tipos de instrumento sagrado
Candomblé — Ketu (Yorùbá)
Agogô
A musical instrument used in Afro-Atlantic sacred contexts, which may be consecrated, named, or otherwise distinguished from secular instruments of the same type. Examples: a set of consecrated bàtá drums; Vodou rada drums (manman, seconde, bula); Candomblé rum/rumpi/lé. An instrument may have its own name, lineage, and history. The instrument type is public; consecration status and internal names are community-restricted.
Palo Monte
Haitian Vodou — Rada
Fonctions du chant sacré
Salutation / greeting
Atabaque
Other
A tradition-specific ritual drumming pattern with defined entity associations, ceremonial function, and authority requirements for performance. In Lucumí: a toque or canto. In Haitian Vodou: a tanbou rhythm for a specific lwa. In Candomblé: a xirê toque. Each rhythm is identified by its name, entity association, tradition, and lineage variant. Rhythm names are community-restricted; possession-trigger status and toque sequences are initiated-only.
Rhythm family not covered by existing concepts. Use skos:scopeNote to describe.
drum set lineage
Narrative / Pataki
Musician Lineage
Free-text description of the esoteric or sacred status of this instrument, including any restrictions on who may touch, play, or be present. Initiated-elder only.
Bàtá
Invocation
Àwọn ìrú ohun-èlò ìlù mímọ́
Àwọn ìdílé ìlù mímọ́
The name of this musician lineage or school. Community-restricted.
song title
Shekeré
Types d'instrument sacré
Songs performed in Ituto, Egungun, or other funerary and ancestral contexts.
lineage name
Song that tells a story about an entity, an ancestor, or a sacred event.
Shekeré / Güiro
Funções do ritmo sagrado
liturgical language
lineage house
A song, chant, or liturgical vocal composition used in Afro-Atlantic ceremonial contexts. Includes oriki (Yorùbá praise poetry), canto de entrada (Lucumí invocation songs), chanson Vodou, and analogous forms. Songs may be classified by entity addressed, ceremony type, and liturgical language. Song text is among the most sensitive data in this module: song existence and entity association are community-restricted; text and melodic structure are initiated-only to elder-only.
Healing
entity called
Agogô (bell)
Vodou Petwo
Song that honors and praises an entity or ancestor without necessarily seeking presence. Oriki are the primary Yorùbá form.
Familles de rythmes sacrés
alternate rhythm name
Songs performed specifically within initiatory rites, restricted to those contexts.
song entity
Sacred Drum Set
Whether this rhythm or instrument is understood to trigger or invite spirit possession when performed correctly. Domain broadened in v1.3.0 to include iroko:SacredInstrument as well as iroko:SacredRhythm: a consecrated drum set (SacredDrumSet) or individual sacred instrument may trigger possession independently of which specific rhythm is being played, as the instrument itself carries the invocation capacity. Initiated-only: this knowledge is operationally significant and not appropriate for public documentation.
The religious house through which this musician lineage operates. Range: iroko:House.
Rhythms of the Petwo nation in Haitian Vodou, associated with fiercer and more demanding lwa (often Kongo-derived). Distinguished by faster tempos and specific drum preparation practices.
Alternative or regional names for this rhythm. Language-tagged.
Single-headed conical drum used in Candomblé in sets of three (rum/grande, rumpi/médio, lé/pequeno). May be consecrated; the rum (largest) typically leads.
consecration date
Double or single iron bell providing the timeline in many Afro-Atlantic rhythm traditions. Associated with Ogun/Ogou in Lucumí and Vodou contexts.
Two-headed conical hourglass drum of Yorùbá origin. In Lucumí tradition, the consecrated Añá bàtá set (iyá, itótele, okónkolo) is the highest-authority drum. Requires Olubatá/Aña initiation to play in sacred contexts.
Bàtá de Aña
The musician lineage through which this rhythm is transmitted. Range: iroko:MusicianLineage.
Yorùbá
The rhythm formally greets and honors an entity without necessarily seeking possession. Often the opening toque in a sequence.
Sacred rhythms in continental Yorùbá practice, including dundun (talking drum), bàtá, and sakara traditions as practiced in Nigeria and Benin.
The liturgical language in which this song is performed (e.g., Lucumí/Yorùbá, Fon, Kikongo, Haitian Kreyòl). Language tag.
Nkómo
Gourd rattle with bead netting used across Yorùbá-derived and related traditions. Consecrated shekeré are used in Orisha ceremonies; güiro refers to the Cuban variant.
Haitian Vodou — Petwo
Instrument Types
Song Functions
Lucumí — Güiro / Cajón
Famílias de ritmos sagrados
The broad rhythmic family or tradition category. Range: iroko:RhythmFamilyScheme.
The rhythm pattern that accompanies this song.
Petwo drum
The spiritual entity addressed or invoked by this song. Range: iroko:SpiritualEntity.
Funerary / ancestral
Drums used in Palo Monte ceremonies. The nkómo tradition derives from Bantu/Kongo drumming practice. Different preparation and restriction protocols than bàtá.
Sacred Song
Lucumí — Bàtá (Añá)
Processional
The name of this specific consecrated instrument or set. For Añá bàtá: the name of the drum set. Community-restricted.
The rhythm accompanies movement through ceremonial space or between spaces.
The ceremonial function of this rhythm. Range: iroko:RhythmFunctionScheme.
Possession induction
Nkómo (Palo)
The rhythm is specifically associated with inducing or deepening spirit possession in a prepared recipient. Initiated-only detail.
rhythm family
The religious house with which this instrument or drum set is affiliated. Range: iroko:House.
rhythm function
Initiation ceremony
Translation of song text into a non-liturgical language. Initiated-only: translations reveal meaning even without the liturgical text.
Rhythms of the Ketu (Yorùbá-derived) nation in Candomblé, performed on the atabaque trio (rum, rumpi, lé). The xirê sequence calls each Orixá in a defined order.
The initiation or authority title required to perform in this lineage. Range: iroko:AuthorityTitleScheme concept.
Sacred instrument type not covered by existing concepts.
Rhythms performed on the consecrated Añá bàtá drum set in Lucumí/Ocha tradition. Requires Olubatá authority and Aña initiation to lead. Considered the highest-authority drumming tradition in Lucumí; specific toques are associated with specific Orisha and are operationally significant.
instrument type
esoteric status notes
Tambou Petwo
song translation
The conventional name of the rhythm in the tradition's liturgical language. Language-tagged. Community-restricted.
Rhythms performed on non-consecrated shakers, cajón, or güiro in Lucumí contexts. Used in güiro ceremonies and some Espiritismo-adjacent practice. Less restricted than bàtá but still tradition-specific.
The type of sacred instrument. Range: iroko:InstrumentTypeScheme.
Song function not covered by existing concepts.
Àwọn iṣẹ́ orin mímọ́
rhythm name
Description of the drums in a consecrated set (e.g., iyá, itótele, okónkolo for bàtá). Community-restricted.
Entertainment / public
Domain module. Vocabulary for documenting sacred music across Afro-Atlantic traditions. Covers ritual rhythms and their entity associations, sacred songs and verse corpora, consecrated drum sets and their lineages, and musician authority transmission. Integrates with the Music Ontology (mo:) where applicable. Access control distinguishes public knowledge (rhythm names, entity associations) from restricted operational detail (toque sequences, song texts, drum preparation). Use with iroko-agency for consecrated instrument agency (Añá); iroko-authority for musician lineage authorization; iroko-narrative for song transmission chains and verse corpus provenance.
A formally recognized set of consecrated drums understood as a unified sacred entity within a tradition. In Lucumí: the Añá bàtá set, which holds the spirit of Añá and requires specific initiation (Aña or Olubatá) to play. In Haitian Vodou: the Rada drum battery (manman, seconde, bula). In Candomblé: the atabaque trio (rum, rumpi, lé). A drum set may have its own name, lineage, house affiliation, and reception date. The Añá bàtá in particular carries highly restricted esoteric status; set identity and lineage are initiated-only.
Farewell / departure
Drums used in Haitian Vodou Petwo nation ceremonies. Prepared differently from Rada drums; tighter skin tuning and faster tempo.
associated rhythm
The rhythm is performed in funerary, Egungun, or ancestral veneration contexts.
Candomblé — Angola (Bantu)
The ceremonial function of this song. Range: iroko:SongFunctionScheme.
The full performance sequence: how this rhythm is introduced, developed, and resolved within a ceremony. Initiated-elder only: toque sequences are core esoteric knowledge of the musician lineage.
Rhythm Families
Familias de ritmos sagrados
Sacred Instrument
rhythm notation
The founding master musician of this lineage. Range: foaf:Person.
toque sequence
Candomblé Angola
Songs performed as part of healing or cleansing interventions.
The rhythm is performed specifically during initiatory ceremonies and is restricted to those contexts.
Rada drum battery
song function
The full text of the song as transmitted in the lineage. Initiated-elder only: sacred song texts are among the most sensitive items in this corpus, equivalent to verse corpora in the Marca module.
Fonctions du rythme sacré
song text
The spiritual entity primarily associated with this rhythm — the entity this rhythm is sung/played for or that it invites. Range: iroko:SpiritualEntity. Community-restricted.
instrument name
A documented chain of transmission from master musician to apprentice, governing the right to play specific sacred instruments, lead specific rhythms, or perform specific songs. In Lucumí: Olubatá lineages with specific Añá initiations. In Candomblé: ogan lineages. Musician lineages are community knowledge in general form; specific transmission records are initiated-only.
Candomblé Ketu
transmission lineage
Onomatopoeic or phonetic notation of the rhythm pattern (e.g., 'kon-ko-lo' for a specific bàtá pattern). Community-restricted.
The title or opening phrase identifying this song. Language-tagged. Community-restricted.
Song that calls or invites a spiritual entity. Primary function of canto de entrada and analogous opening songs.
Funciones del ritmo sagrado
Rhythms of Palo Monte and related Cuban Bantu-Atlantic traditions, performed on nkómo drums and associated percussion. Tata Nganga authority determines performance rights for restricted rhythms.
Funciones del canto sagrado
Vodou Rada
possession trigger
authority requirement
set components
Tambou Rada
The three-drum Haitian Vodou Rada battery: manman (largest), seconde (middle), bula (smallest). Associated with cool, Fon-derived lwa.