Once upon a time, it happened that the talking drum and the flute had too much to drink, and soon, were engaged in The Big Brag:
The drum: "I can speak cyphers, generals have used me to communicate in the open while the uninitiated listens but hears not".
"Omuti gbagbe ise, o fi akaregbe bori". Sounding a note of aspersion to the flute.The ones who appreciates me calls me "gangan", the white man calls me the talking drum. I have conveyed messages over yards and leagues
The flute: "What!, I have performed the tributes of great kings. Omalicha I of Ikanga land, in the lands of the setting suns, rises every morning at my inspiration" (blows a pretty tune).
I have lifted the countenances of Kings, Solomonu the wise of ancient Isareli calls upon me when his spirit is troubled. I have driven demons from the possessed.I have tasted more choice wines than you can count drum sticks, I have pillaged more new yams be it cooked, foofoo or roasted. I have celebrated more yam festivals than you can count Obas. I have celebrated birthdays and funerals like you, unlike you however, I have read the eulogies of kings and warriors. Even the drunk remember their father's names at my calling. I have conjured valour in the craven, sang maidens to tears, inspired heroism in quotidian men, sang babies to sleep and added fervor to the feet of athletes. History is told at my leading."
The drum: "I speak many languages, including the language of the white men who came across the great waters. I adorn the walls of palaces, I rouse the Alaafin in the morning and tell the deeds of his ancestors. I have led men to war, I have counselled elders, I have consoled widows..."
The flute: "Heh? Uhuh. I have steered warriors to battle, ask Ebrubedike. I have championed the causes of warlords. Because I'm made of evergreen trees, I bear history from creation. I inspired the Ekwe and put soul in the Udu, through my nostrils I have glorified God and men. I direct the steps of dancers, they call me dainty, yes, but I have lead drums 50 times bigger than me. I have announced Ezes, I have mended the feuds of men..."
The drum: "I have steered the spirits of the dead, I have.."
"Interlude: (The drum performs)" (Tolu-badan ba wo nika, e mo egbe baba eni to nse)
The drum: "I have heralded wars, I have sang to the steps of fair maidens... They said Egipiti invented writing, yet I bear the history of our forelores in my DNA. Is it my fault men are just re-discovering how to read patterns that I have stored in plain site for year?"
The flute: "Oh wait, you did not do that alone... " (The drum and the flute play together). "Ah, what do we have here..., we have so much more in common than we realize, do you think we have a common lineage?"
Interlude: The two instruments perform a love song together. The talking drum brings his brothers (other drums and shekere) into the mix.
The drum: "Yet it seems to me that we do better together". He reflects."
The flute: "Hmm", trying a line...
The flute and the drum: [Performs a song of unity together...] [Alaafin dide ko bosi sokoto, enikan ki fise igbese ran omo eni dide o bosi sokoto] [Alaafin, wake up and gather your loins, the responsibility that tradition assigns to you cannot be delegated]
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