BABA FAKUNLE: This boy, he will kill his own father and then marry his mother (The gods are not to Blame, 2). : Odewales character experiences different phases of confusion, almost painful in its helplessness, that the reader will become sympathetic to his plight, cursing fate for dealing him with such a heavy hand. Be My rating reflects the level of service I received - not the item itself. Rotimi, in response to the Nigerian Civil War, says that the root cause of the strife among Nigerians, of the bloodshed, was in their lingering mutual ethnic distrust which culminate in open hostility. We additionally meet the expense of variant types and along with type of the books to browse. There are . He consulted an Ogun priest who told him he was cursed, that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Odewale begins to make accusations of a plot being made against him, spearheaded by Aderopo, to one of the village chiefs in response to Baba Fakunle's silence. One finds that their roles compared to King Odewale's serve as a primary example of the social aspect. Both run Hotel Kilimanjaro with different motives and a chance meeting between them elicits lessons as both share each others problems. (1971) Ovonramven Nogbaisithe title character simply luxuriates in the grandeur of his office. It began with the prologue: In the land of Kutuje, a son was born to King Adetusa and his wife, Queen Ojuola, for they were the king and queen of the land of kutuje. The theme of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex is skillfully transplanted to African soil. He therefore banished Aderopo from his kingdom. One of the great dramas held me captivated. Current wife of King Odewale. My rating reflects the level of service I received - not the item itself. Ishokun, in the play, is a small farming village, wherein Odewale learned to harvest yams. Please try again. One of the chiefs was with him when this happened. A chilling taboo. Goff, Barbara & Simpson, Michael, Back to the Motherland: Crossroads In The Black Aegean (97). An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, set in an indeterminate Yoruba kingdom, the story centers on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to get somehow caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events. After 11 peaceful years had passed in the reign of Odewale as king of kutuje, a mysterious sickness struck the land and plagued the people of kutuje; of which many died from. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. , Enhanced typesetting : The Gods Are Not to Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. [5] He says that in post-colonial Africa, much of the blame over the suffering incurred by native Africans was the result of the colonial powers. Focusing on the Yoruba tradition, Ola Rotimi spotlights Yoruba gods, giving Sango, Orunmila, Ifa, and Ogun prominent roles throughout the book as King Odewale, King Adetusa (Odewales father), Queen Ojuola (Odewales mother), Aderopo (Odewales brother), the Chiefs and other characters in the book refer to them often. At birth his parents' joy was cut short when they find out from the oracle. Would have been a five if not that the ending wrenched my heart. Unable to add item to List. He felt that the future of Nigerian culture cannot continue to be blamed forces from the past, much like Odewale would blame the suffering of his people, in his kingdom, on the sins of the old king, Adetusa. Rotimi's play has been celebrated on two counts: at first scintillating as theatre and later accruing a significant literary aura. What the author arrives at is not to prove which gender is superior but to show the complementary roles of men and women. Gbonka: The former messenger of the late King Adetusa. Ojuola: Wife of the late King Adetusa. : The Gods Are Not to Blame Book Review Negus Dafidi Says. Page Flip is a new way to explore your books without losing your place. The story is a well-grounded literary piece on an unfortunate man named Odewale, the king of Kutuje. Aderopo is also accused of spreading the rumor that Odewale was the one who murdered the old king, Adetusa. At this point we are introduced to Alaka, who claims to have known King Odewale since before he came to conquer Kutuje. in his play 1he gods are not to blame.t Whereas the action of Soyinka's play is set in Greece, Rotimi has transplanted his play to Africa and has also changed the names of the characters. The leadership in the play forms a comparison to that of the King and many of the townspeople. November 26, 2017. The fourth chapter will deal with the similarities and the contrasts in . Again, the old man insulted the village they both believed he had come from; but this time, Odewale would not accept such insult. , Print length At birth his parents joy was cut short when they find out from the oracle that their first son was destined to bring them calamity! Finally, she stated that Gbonka was the person who witnessed king Adetusas death. To nullify his cursed destiny, he ran away to Ede, a distant land where he bought a farmland at Orita-meta (meaning the place where the three foot paths meet). One day, an old man accompanied by five bodyguards invaded his farmland and claimed the land to be his. The gods are not to blame. If you compare Rex Warners Oedipus story (in Men and Gods) to Ola Rotimis The Gods Are Not to Blame, it is very easy to see the differences (and familiarities) of the mythical story. In the last part Odewale leaves. His first plays, To Stir the God of Iron (produced 1963) and Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again (produced 1966; published 1977), were staged at the drama schools of Boston University and Yale, respectively. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear());, All rights reserved. A blind soothsayer, Baba Fakunle, is brought in to share with Odewale the murderer of the old king. The play was revived by Talawa Theatre Company in a well received production in 1989, sparking interest in the play's themes. Rotimi was one of the clutch of prominent Nigerian playwrights who emerged in West Africa in the 1960s, the most notable being Soyinka. Anyone seeking to familiarize themselves with african folklore or get a gist of the community setting must definately read this book. Femi Elufowoju Jr had his first theatre experience in 1975, at the age of 11, when he saw a revival of this very play, performed in a reconstructed Greek amphitheatre at a university campus in Ife; and brought it to the UK shores as a British leading theatre director under the company name Tiata Fahodzi. The culture represents "the way of life for an entire society", as noted in Pragmatic Functions of Crisis Motivated Proverbs in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame. Rotimi spent the second half of his last creative decade reworking two of his plays Man Talk, Woman Talk and also Tororo, Tororo, Roro and the result, unpublished at the time of his death in 2002, have now been published under the title The Epilogue. Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2005. It particularly highlights the emotional language used in the drama. Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. You have remained in right site to begin getting this info. Perhaps my imagination is not strong enough to see the dimensions, or perhaps too strong. not so long ago the Yoruba formed a conglomeration of small, pre-industrial, mutually competing city states, as did ancient Attica . During their time of sickness, the townspeople solely depend on the herbs used as an attempt to cure the "curse" put on the people. People made dramatic entry and exit to the stage around his casket with the man turning his casket. In 1965, he married Hazel Mae Guadreau, from Gloucester Massachusettes; Hazel also studied at Boston University, where she majored in opera, voice and music education. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Oedipus, Whos to Blame? "The Gods Are Not To Blame" is Ola Rotimi's retelling of Sophocles' "Oedipus The King" using a traditional African setting and characters. Baba Fakunle tells him that the source of the kingdom's ails lay with him. Aderopo: Brother of Odewale, and son of King Adetusa and Ojuola. In 1966 he obtained an MA from Yale School of Drama, where he earned the distinction of being a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in playwriting and dramatic literature. , X-Ray At this point we are introduced to Alaka, who claims to have known King Odewale since before he came to conquer Kutuje. Ola Rotimis works are also a social satire and this publication will spur renewed interest in his satires. However, he would not tell him whom his real parents were. He had worked so hard here. He attended St. Cyprian's School in Port Harcourt from 1945 to 1949, St Jude's School, Lagos, from 1951 to 1952 and the Methodist Boys High School in Lagos, before travelling to the United States in 1959 to study at Boston University, where he obtained a BA in fine arts. As the queen of the kingdom of Kutuje, she finds herself serving as Odewale's conscience, calming him when he begins to act irrationally. Get help and learn more about the design. I believe this scholar is claiming to the idea that proverbs deal with issues in the Yoruban culture. The story is the sad tale of a man named Odewale who has been destined from birth to kill his father and marry his mother. Function: view, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/index.php In 1966 he obtained an MA from Yale School of Drama, where he earned the distinction of being a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in playwriting and dramatic literature. "I called God on him"). His book African Dramatic Literature: To Be or to Become? In the last part Odewale leaves. : Simply suggest, the use of language is part of culture. Aderopo arrives and is immediately confronted by Odewale about his suspicions. "Proverbs deal with issues that border on the values, norms, institutions and artifacts of a society across the whole gamut of the people's experiences. As usual with Rotimi, the dialogue is colourful, fecund, brimming with camaraderie or even enmitya superb work. This handsome little of joy kill his father and marry his mother. [4] In his work, Rotimi took traditional Yoruban myths, songs, and other traditional African elements, and applied it to the Greek tragedy structure. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre an actor, director, choreographer and designer who created performance spaces, influenced by traditional architectural forms.". 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