Pragmeme of Waka Chants in selected Fidāʼu

The paper examined the discursive structure of waka chants as performed by Islamic clerics among the Yoruba Muslims at the event of fidāʼu. This attempt considers waka chants as pragmeme, with particular attention on the language and extra-linguistic cues deployed within the chants, and how the entire situational contexts which condition the waka chants regiment the language use. Eight documented waka chants in honour of some deceased Muslims in South-western Nigeria were sampled. The waka chants which were mainly in the Yoruba language as rendered by Muslim clerics were transcribed and translated to English language for the purpose of analysis. With insights from Mey’s theory of pragmeme, the paper ascertained that waka chants at the event of fidāʼu possess inherent pragmatic forces beyond their invocation to elucidate sermons and lives of a deceased Muslim. Such chants, this paper argues, perform socio-religious actions which are of immense benefits to the living.