Published Article

The study sought to find out the benefits and significance of the communication functions of traditional musical instruments at select cultural festivals in the Ikot Ekpene senatorial district: benefit and significance. Two specific objectives and two research questions were created to guide the study. The technique used for the study is the public opinion survey method. The population size is 21 respondents, which covers the selected adults from the various traditional institutions covering the select seven clans of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. The research instrument used for this study was a personal interview. Reliability was achieved by testing the instrument on subjects who were not part of the study sample. The study was able to ascertain the musical and extra-musical functions of traditional musical instruments at select cultural festivals in the Ikot Ekpene senatorial district. It was concluded that this study was able to assess the communication functions of traditional musical instruments of select cultural festivals in the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. Traditional communication seems to be useful right from when preparations are being made before, during, and at the end of these cultural festivals in passing information about the dates, the processes, attire, and other messages needed by the participants. The attire of the age group communicates humility. One of the recommendations stated in the study is that cultural festivals like new yam, water yam, melon, and corn festivals create tremendous audiences during celebration. Such occasions should be utilized to disseminate useful information, create awareness, and introduce innovation.