Aṣíkò (Ashiko) is a musical genre similar to sákárà music from Nigeria, West Africa. Aṣíkò was the Christian version of sákárà (Sakara). Background It developed originally as a type of syncretic street drumming in port towns throughout Anglophone West Africa. By the 1920s it was also played by musicians inland in Yoruba towns like Abęokuta and Ibadan. Isaac O. Delano gives a detailed description of an aṣíkò ensemble in the 1930s: Another popular native dance is the "Ashiko". It is not a Yoruba dance in its origin, but was imported from Sierra Leone or somewhere that way. The "Ashiko" dance is chiefly performed by Christian people, and has only one kind of music, rather quicker than the "Sakara" . . . and resembles a fox-trot. No stringed instruments are employed, only drums and carpenter's saw, used occasionally to make a kind of noise on its sharp edge, as an embellishment to "Ashiko" drum music. Sometimes a bottle is also used, a nail beating time on it, for the same purpose. The drummers, five in number, all beat similar drums, and produce a continuous volume of music. The dancing is done by pairs, two ladies and two gentlemen facing each other. The drummers sing as in the "Sakara" dance with chorus boys, but no one else sings with them (Delano [1937] 1973:157)." Aṣíkò music has its origins in the music of Sierra Leonean repatriates, from the West Indian colonies, who themselves had been influenced by Afro-Brazilian samba music. The wooden frame drums used in aṣíkò music and the carpenter's saw, were introduced by the Aguda, who introduced modern carpentry techniques to the Yoruba artisans. Often, elderly informants use the terms aṣíkò and sámbà interchangeably. Aṣíkò was popular in Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast Colony before World War I. Other influences are also possible from Dahomean, Liberian and West Indian immigrants. Lagos was a breeding ground for young Christian musicians playing aṣíkò music. They developed and rehearsed their own versions of holiday songs, for various festivals around Christmas, etc. Then when the day arrived they would take to the streets and compete. With the elders as judges, the best group would take home a cash prize. The aṣíkò drum, a square frame drum, complete with tuning pegs, was perfect for marching in a parade. It was hand held, lightweight and easy to play with one hand. The drums are made