Visions of Myth in Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan versus Wole Soyinka  by Tess Akaeke Onwueme  

          The article named Visions of Myth in Nigerian Drama: Femi Osofisan versus Wole Soyinka written by Tess Akaeke Onwueme which was published by the Canadian Journal of African Studies in 1991, in which we can trace the revolutionary visions of Femi Osofisan and the mythopoeic visions of Wole Soyinka. Osofisan’s plays argue that social reconstruction is achievable through the rejection and change of existing history, myth and oppressive ruler ship, and the reinterpretation of traditional values.

         Wole Soyinka’s The Strong Breed portrays the role of rituals and traditional practices in the society. And here the myth and history determines the human condition and becomes the tool of oppression. But in the case of Femi Osofisan’s play attempts to convey: “that history and society are always changing and that not only do social conditions determine human consciousness, but the human being also determines those conditions” (61). Eman becomes the victim of suppression by sacrificing his life according to the ritual. “ He(Wole Soyinka) sustains this tragic vision in The Strong Breed (1969) by emasculating the revolutionary potential in Eman, who in Osofisan's view, should have challenged and denounced his fate as a carrier doomed to be sacrificed for society”(63).

Nagamandala by Girish Karnad

          When we are analyzing the role of rituals and practices in a society, it is necessary to evaluate the treatment of myth and history in the Indian theatre. Girish Karnad is one of the most prominent Indian playwrights, who blend the history and mythology in his plays. His Nagamandala depicts the conditions of women in a society and Rani represents whole women in the male dominated society. And he ironically depicts that how traditional values and practices determines the human life, in which we can find the cultural ordeals which have been carried by the preceding generations, the village eldres were asking Rani to prove her fidelity by holding the cobra.

       “EldrerIII says : the traditional test in our village court has been to take the oath while holding a red- hot iron in the hand. Occasionally, the accused has chosen to plunge the hand in boiling oil. But you insist on swearing by the King Cobra” (36).

              This subversive kind of practice should determine the individual life.

Ritual killing, 419, and fast wealth: inequality and the popular imagination in southeastern Nigeria by  Dniel Jordan Smith

             The practices of ritual in a society enable the elite people to accumulate wealth, in an article named Ritual killing, 419, and fast wealth: inequality and the popular imagination in southeastern Nigeria was written by Dniel Jordan Smith published by American Anthropological Association in 2001, in which author referred some real incidents in Owerri, the capital of Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. A man was arrested by the police for he was holding a fresh severed head of a child. This is the result of satanic way of ritual practice in Owerri. In order to fight against this there burned out a riot,

                   “the rioters believed that many of Owerri's young elite had achieved their wealth through satanic rituals. Collective anger was vented not only at the nouveaux riches suspected of ritual murder, but also at the police, politicians, and religious leaders who were believed to have encouraged, protected, legitimized, and consorted with these evildoers” (804).

        See the response to this kind of ritual prctice from th  political institution, one of the most striking conversations that author had in the aftermath of the Owerri riots was with a 55-year-old Presbyterian minister who was the dean at a local theological seminary. He said to the author,

                “We Africans have a long tradition of sacrificing human life to seek power or wealth. But in the past, one always had to kill a kinsman, you couldn't just kill any stranger. This imposed limits and costs to taking a human life. It is not so easy to kill your relation. But now these people kill anybody to satisfy their greed. We are in trouble” (820).

Nadugadhika by K.J Baby

            The practices of rituals and customs among the tribes are very decisive in their culture. When we look at the Keralite culture, the Vayanadu tribes are very rigid in conducting the rituals. Adiyas and Paniyas are two major tribes in Vayanadu. They have a ritual called Naadugahika, who is a person, belonged to a particular tribal community; exorcise all the evil spirits from every house. And he collects money and other stuff like rice and coconuts. This is beautifully depicted in K J Baby’s (a well known Malayalam modern playwright) play called Naadugadhika.