Homage to the spirits of the gods
Resident in the ọsán of the bàtá drums
To the spirits that indwell the mahogany
Great obeisance we pay with reverence;

To the spirit that compels Àníkẹ́, the beauty Pageant,
And her company of dancers to wriggle beaded hips
And jiggle packaged breasts in the village square
To the harmonics of the bàtá drums echoing melodies
And complemented by the Sẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀ vibrations hopping
And dancing up and down in the avid hands of
Àyántojúbọ̀ on the eve of the New Yam's Festivals.


Àyàn àgalú, the same spirit which speaks delight
As the membranophonic dùǹdún is beaten on
Kabiyesi's coronation signaling a peaceful reign
But Àyàn Àgalú is also a...