Oratory and Ritual in African Theatre; A Study of Imo State New Yam Festival and Zangbeto Vodoo Festival in Badagry
Chapter One
Research Objectives
The main objective of the study is to examine oratory and Ritual in African theatre using the Imo state new yam festival and Zangbeto Voodoo festival in Badagry as a case study, and the specific objectives are:
- To explore the role of oratory in African theatre during the Imo state new yam festival and VZangbeto Voodoo festival in Badagry.
- To investigate the role of ritual in African theatre during Imo state new yam festival and Zangbeto Voodoo festival in Badagry
- To examine the relationship between oratory and ritual in African theatre
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This section presents the conceptual review of the related concepts around the research subject matter on oratory and ritual in African theatre.
Brief history of theatre in Africa
Arguably, the origin of the theatre has been traced back to the culture and religious traditions of classical Greek. Theatre today (both in performance and written tradition) is strongly attached to a religious festival of the ancient Greeks called the city Dionysia. This festival was held yearly in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. At first, theatre took many rites which was regarded as performance form, since the Greeks were yet to have a reliable writing skill (Charles, 2013).
It was ascertained that, the Greek learned the art of writing from their near East Phoenician neighbor, written tradition complimented with performance tradition gained the recognition of the state as each playwright was given the privilege to present their plays at the city Dionysia (Charles, 2013). The poet who emerges winner in the competition is given to the first dramatic form of the classical Greeks. The word tragedy was coined from the word “tragoidia” which means goat song. From tragedy, other forms of drama like Satyr and comedy evolved (Oscar C. Brockett “the theatre”).
According to Dapo Adelugba in his book (Theatre Practice in Nigeria), “cultural contact, no doubt, leads to cultural development through borrowing and adaptation of new ideas. A culture must exist for it to have contact with another culture”. After the fall of the ancient Greeks, the Romans worked on the legacies laid by the Greeks and then re-established and redefined Greek theatrical practices (Adelugba, 2017). This act of redefining and preserving theatrical culture of the Greeks is said to have been passed from culture to culture and localities to localities.
However, the question of cultural development arising from cultural contact is relative. The claim that continent and cultures took clue and originated from classical Greek is prone to questioning thus has been repudiated by modern scholars. It is easy and reasonable to belief that one culture learns from and imitates the other but it is grossly inconceivable to dignify with acceptance the claim that the one culture adopts wholly the tradition of the other (Taylor, 2014).
This is particularly true of the continent of Africa which housed more than 800 local languages and contains people of different nationalities (Oscar G. Brockett “The Theatre”). As a result of this, it is extremely hard or even unachievable to group the pre-colonial forms of theatre in Africa into groups or classes. In spite of this, theatrical forms and practices in different regions of the continent are unified by certain features and elements (Taylor, 2014). These unifying features are:
Ritual
Story telling
Visual element (costume) and verbal language
Music
Medium of performance
Ritual
ame to what was achieved in the ancient Greek theatre; theatre (pre-colonial indigenous African theatre) in African continent is deeply rooted on religious rites and beliefs. Haven said that, Dapo Adelugba (2007) in his work theatre practice in Nigeria, articulated that, “Theatre as a rite, theatre as a rite of passage, theatre as rite of purification, theatre as a rite of becoming, theatre almost like a worship”. To buttress this articulation, Charles Beant in his sociology of African peoples who went on and elaborated his argument that, “To the degree that you are so immersed in it, you are no longer keeping a respectful distance away from it, you cannot confuse it with the drama”. African religious belief is polytheism in nature (Krasner, 2016). This accounts for why many religious festivals and ritual practices are year in year out held in honor, celebration, remembrance and appeasement of some supernatural forces.
CHAPTER THREE
ORATORY AND RITUAL IN IMO STATE NEW YAM FESTIVAL
Concept of Yam and the New Yam Festival
The concept of yam is as old as the origin of the term “Yam” (Achufusi & Onyemachi, 2013). Conceptually, Yams are agricultural crops and are harvested for human consumption. As a staple crop, yam is very important for certain cultures and people especially the Igbo people. A further sketch on the concept of yam will lead us into its basic types, functions and roles especially within the African and Igbo socio-cultural context. Such allied terms like the nutritional roles of yam, the economic importance of yam as a source of income to farmers and the cultural significance of yam is of great interest to us in this work (Achufusi & Onyemachi, 2013)
In the past and up till the present time, yam has been one of the most favorite foods of the Igbos and it stands out as an everyday choice in the preparing of dishes in a typical Igbo family setting. As a special food, yam can be cooked, fried or roasted on fire. Whichever pattern that is chosen for the eating of yam is of interest because each pattern of preparing yam always tastes uniquely but so diverse with regards to nutrition. Another salient feature in the concept of yam is the varieties of yam. In the Igbo society, there are more than five species of yam and each can be cultivated, harvested and used in different styles and occasions (Achufusi & Onyemachi, 2013).
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