Ÿdún C ro ss Readings in the Post / Colonial ultures Literatures in English 111 Series Editors Gordon Collier †Hena Maes–Jelinek Geoffrey Davis (Giessen) (Liège) (Aachen) Ÿdún Discourses, Strategies, and Power in the Yorùbá Play of Transformation Cristina Boscolo Amsterdam - New York, NY 2009 Cover image: egúngún performances (photos by Cristina Boscolo) Cover design: Pier Post The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of “ISO 9706:1994, Information and documentation - Paper for documents - Requirements for permanence”. ISBN: 978-90-420-2680-3 E-Book ISBN: 978-90-420-2681-0 © Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam – New York, NY 2009 Printed in The Netherlands To my parents A Italo e, in particolare, a Dirce, per i suoi “quando xé che ti te fa le to’ robe ti?” Bí a bá farabalÀ, a lè rí fun àti Ædø eèrà ... (if you are patient, you can see the intestines and liver of the ants ...) Contents Acknowledgements ix Note on Orthography xi Mo bà Ÿdún pàdé – Encounter with Ÿdún xiii Introduction xvii PART I DISCOURSES Bíi báun kÖ I 3 1 Yorùbá Theatre: An Introductory Outline 5 2 Nigerian Theatre Criticism: ‘Dominant’ Issues 31 3 Critical Discourses and Their Power 49 INTERMEZZO Bíi báun kÖ II 81 4 Coordinates of an Interpretation 85 PART II ŸDÚN Bíi báun kÖ III 151 5 Ÿdún Edì 155 6 Egúngún: The Power of the Ancestors 191 7 ÀàbÕ ¢rÕ… The Yorùbá Play of Transformation 267 Glossary 315 Bibliography 317 Acknowledgements T HIS WORK has accompanied me for a long way in my life. I am responsible for all that is written: for the good points and any shortcomings. However, along the way I have met so many people who have given me their help, support, and friendship. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them. In the first place, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Kasten- holz, for allowing me to carry out and complete my project. Then, starting with the institutions and the persons behind them, I would like to thank the Landesgraduierten Förderung Rheinland–Pfalz, without whose financial help I would not have initiated my project. I’m grateful also to the DAAD for sponsoring my stay in Nigeria, as well as the Sulzmann Stiftung (University of Mainz), which enabled me to attend the conference ‘Against All Odds’ (Asmara), where I presented and discussed part of my research and received important feedback from the participants. To mention all the people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude during my stay in Nigeria would mean writing a never-ending list of names. For this reason (Æ jòó Æ máa binú o!), I will shorten it by thanking the Departments of African Studies and Theatre Arts of the University of Ibadan and the Uni- versity of Ife. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Adelugba for his friendly support and his willingness to discuss important aspects of my work with me and, of course, my Yorùbá teacher, Chief Bayo Ogundijo (˜ ‹e púpÕ olùkÖ mi: mo gbìyànjú…). A very special thank you goes to Professor Akomolafe and the whole crew of the NIB’s Kurunmi production for sharing their knowledge and theatre experience with me during the time we spent together. There is also another crew to whom I owe a lot – that of Afrika Project and, most espe- cially, Ben Tomoloju, Jide Ogungbade, and Jahman Anikulapo. Thank you for the unforgettable experience and, above all, for your friendship.
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