A bi-weekly magazine on CRTV Cameroon focusing on art and society. During this program, critical analysis of both published and unpublished books are discussed live on radio. The target audience is the general public because of its entertainment value; and also students preparing for the GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels in both English Language and Literature in English. Works of Art treated at the level of the University and the Higher Teachers' Training Colleges are equally discussed. Every year a new schedule is drawn but this year the program runs every Monday and Friday from 10.15AM to 10.30AM.
Check out our different links for our bi-weekly editions or episodes.
Visit us at MTC Language Institute, Biyemassi, Yaounde for details or call 242144848 or 222310383 or 677534247 or 699209877 or write to www.kkbonteh@yahoo.com or visit our major website: www.gicmtc.com
Some Past Editions of Brunch Time Literature with KK Bonteh
BRUNCH TIME LITERATURE
BRUNCH TIME LITERATURE TODAY
Brunch Time Literature Brunch Time Literature: Episode 4 KK Bonteh CRTV Yaounde Friday, 14/11/2014
Drama has been widely acclaimed as a positive medium for mirroring societyhence the popular saying that „drama is a representation of life‟. So, while drama entertains it also teaches and informs. This powerful attribute of drama has been employed by playwrights over the ages to make constructive commentaries on the happenings in society and thus influence some positive changes in man and his environment.
Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again by Ola Rotimi
Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again is a hilarious comic play by Ola Rotimi. It tells the story of Lejoka-Brown, a soldier and a man of many wives. One of the wives he married himself while fighting in the Congo, the other (Mama Rashida) was the wife of his elder brother who was married to him by default after the death of his brother. The third wife, Sikira, was married to help Lejoka-Brown, who was contesting for a political position, obtain the votes of the market women since her mother was the president of the National Union of Nigerian Market Women and standing for a political position wanted the post. The comedy starts when Lizzy, the one only wife who thought she alone owns Lejoka-Brown, decides to come home to her husband after completing her medical studies in the United States. Lejoka-Brown didn't want her in his fathers' house and so decided to pick her up from the airport. However, the plane landed earlier than scheduled. And Lizzy, having known of Lejoka-Brown's fathers' name, proceeded to find it and make herself at home.
About the Author
Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April 1938—18 August 2000),[1] was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors. 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. Ola Rotimi the son of Samuel Gladstone Enitan Rotimi a Yoruba steam-launch engineer (a successful director and producer of amateur theatricals)[3] and Dorcas Adolae Oruene Addo an Ijaw drama enthusiast. He was born in Sapele, Nigeria.;[4] cultural diversity was a recurring theme in his work. 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 traveling to the United States in 1959 to study at Boston University, where he obtained a B.A in fine arts. In 1965, he married Hazel Mae Guadreau, originally from Gloucester; Hazel also studied at Boston University, where she majored in opera, voice and music education. In 1966 he obtained an M.A. from Yale School of Drama,[nb 1] where he earned the distinction of being a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in Playwriting and Dramatic Literature.
Theatrical career
Ola Rotimi often examined Nigeria’s history and local traditions in his works. 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
This is the first time I have read a play written by an African and the second play book I have read since Shakespeare's Macbeth. And save one or two issues, I enjoyed it. Extremely. The issues has to do with reading the instructions given in the play, such as telling the director of the play that a particular statement was made off-stage or something else.
Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again is a hilarious comic play by Ola Rotimi. It tells the story of Lejoka-Brown, a soldier and a man of many wives. One of the wives he married himself while fighting in the Congo, the other (Mama Rashida) was the wife of his elder brother who was married to him by default after the death of his brother. The third wife, Sikira, was married to help Lejoka-Brown, who was contesting for a political position, obtain the votes of the market women since her mother was the president of the National Union of Nigerian Market Women and standing for a political position wanted the post.
The comedy starts when Lizzy, the one only wife who thought she alone owns Lejoka-Brown, decides to come home to her husband after completing her medical studies in the United States. Lejoka-Brown didn't want her in his fathers' house and so decided to pick her up from the airport. However, the plane landed earlier than scheduled. And Lizzy, having known of Lejoka-Brown's fathers' name, proceeded to find it and make herself at home.
Comic Incidences
What follows is a series of comic incidences that need to be read and appreciated. For instance, Lizzy, having stayed in America, came to the traditional marriage with 'White' culture in terms of dressing and her relationship with her husband. She was bold to say whatever she wanted, whereas the others were not. She played with her husband whilst the others could not. It was one of these love-plays, chasing one another, that the third wife (Sikira) ran away to her mother's house shouting 'Our husband has gone mad again' - she left the marriage for good.
People have read this as a political statement. I only read it as the period of transformation that hit most African families from the traditional to what we have today. It also marked the changing roles of women in the household. Thus, even though Lejoka-Brown was a traditional man, he loved the 'eccentricities' Lizzy brought into the household and into the marriage relationship. However, being a man as he was, once in a while he wanted to show his authority.
Another point is that, Lejoka-Brown's political ambition was to help him match up to his educated wife, since he was less educated. He was later to abandon it when Lizzy told him that that wasn't what she loved about him. She expects to see him as she knew him way back in the Congo.
Let me reiterate it by saying that in the end, Lizzy got her husband all to herself. How she did it is for the reader to find out.
THEME
The major theme within this play can be stated as follows:
Proletarian revolution and the radical response from the people of the politicians.
Proletarian revolution has continued to be the radical response of the proletariats to their oppression by politicians. This can be seen in the market women’s revolt against the dreams of Lejoka-Brown and their choice of Sikira in his stead. Lejoka-Brown’s madness had clearly overstepped its boundary with the suggestion of the “surprise and attack” strategy and the only sane thing to do was to eject him from his candidature to avoid further embarrassing and myopic actions. This view borrows heavily from the philosophy of Marxism. According to Haralambos (2001), Karl Marx (the pioneer of the Marxist school of thought) opined that every human society is confronted with issues of social inequality and class segregation, the revolution by the lower class must occur to balance the inequality, especially in the political field. Ola Rotimi has glaringly used the medium of art to inspire a social revolution of sorts against the bourgeois and oppressors of the masses. It is imperative to point out at this point that the position of the author here pitching his artistic tent with the masses or proletariats validates his profession and the recommendation of Femi Osofisan(2006:34) that; “The artist who creates them must continually pitch their Tent with the masses against the oppressors’.‟ The deplorable condition of Nigeria can be said to be caused by its dormant electorate who have either consciously or unconsciously allowed bad government to reign. People have failed to speak against bad leadership, choosing instead to be compensated by the bribes given to them by greedy politicians who at the end of the day take more than they actually gave. For some, their level of education is too low to comprehend the system of leadership and critically analyse decisions taken by these leaders. Rotimi, with this play, seeks to open the eyes of the people to the obnoxious characters of political leaders while advocating for political consciousness and unity among the ruled. It is also worthy to note that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic nation and one of the greatest barriers against unity is ethnic diversity and cultural intolerance. As long as there is no unity, the electorate will not only be divided but weak and easy to manipulate.
OTHER ISSUES IN ‘OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN’ EXPLOITATION The issue of exploitation is such an undesirable but recurrent issue in the pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial Nigerian society. It has become commonplace for African and Nigeria leaders to exploit and impoverish their subjects. Hence, the art of this epoch out rightly frowns at and protests against exploitation. In this text, Lejoka-Brown represents the exploiters who prey on their subjects to achieve their selfish gains. In the statement below, Lejoka-Brown exposes his exploitative desires and intentions. … Politics is the thing now in Nigeria, mate. You want to be famous? Politics. You want to chop life? – No, no – You want to chop a big slice of the National cake?-Na politics. (p.4) From the above statement by Lejoka, he identifies the political landscape of the country as a veritable field to perpetrate his obnoxious desire for financial gains. Lejoka-Brown’s marriage to Sikira is equally done for financial and economic gains. Sikira’s mother is the president of market women’s union and Lejoka-Brown’s contracted marriage with Sikira is intended to help Lejoka- Brown get the votes of the market women. Listen to what he says, “That woman’s case is only for necessity, any way, temporary measure. We need women’s votes man, if we must win the next elections.” (p.6) By implication, the marriage will position him to gain total control of that economy that will strengthen his exploitative intent. From all indications, Lejoka-Brown’s moves are expected to yield financial gains and position him in a better economic stand. Contemporary politicians in Africa and Nigeria in particular have often made economic gains and pursuits their central ambition and this is what Lejoka-Brown has demonstrated.
IGNORANCE
Ignorance is worse than death. It is the greatest enemy of innovation, justice, development, love and peace. However, nothing is as bad as having an ignorant leader. Lejoka-Brown is an example of what an ignorant leader is. He has no tangible formal education. According to the play, his experience is restricted to his father’s farm and the war he fought in. This is evident in his speech quality which shows lack of education and finesse. His vocabulary is limited and he is embarrassed when Okonkwo speaks of “fringe benefits‟, he also spells “polls” as “poles” during his press briefing. Lejoka-Brown still lives in the “house of his father” and this can be interpreted to mean that Brown is someone who opposes change and improvement. How will a man of this nature be considered good enough to serve a nation? Unfortunately, even the electorate seems to be ignorant of these facts and espouse him blindly at first. On the other hand, it could be argued that Brown bought his way to that position; this then portrays an electorate that can be bought, sold and exploited; it is ignorant of the catastrophe that bad leadership can cause but will only care about the satisfaction of its immediate needs. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Brunch Time Literature, presented to you by KK Bonteh. If you did enjoy it or have any suggestions to make why not write to us at Brunch Time Literature, CRTV Yaounde, or SMS us through telephone number 61039548. You could as well email us at www.kkbonteh@yahoo.com. Until our next Episode, bye-bye! And stay connected to CRTV.
Brunch Time Literature [0r The Classroom]: Episode 15 By KK Bonteh CRTV Friday, 19/12/2014 Radio House, Yaound̩ Time: 10:15 Р10:30 a.m.
SAMPLE PROGRAMME OBSERVATIONS: IDEAS IN POERTRY INTRODUCTION
Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to your regular bi-weekly doze of Brunch Time Literature; a slot that focuses on literature and the society. In today’s fifteenth episode, focus shall be on Observations: Ideas in Poetry, with particular reference to Bole Butake as a poet in the socially and culturally inspired poem, “My Woman is a Tyger”.
BACKGROUND: WHO IS BOLE BUTAKE?
Unquestionably, Bole Butake is one of Anglophone Cameroon’s leading writers. Although he excels in the dramatic genre, he has also to his credit an interesting collection of beautifully written poems. He is the editor of Cameroon Anthology of Poetry in which “My Woman is a Tyger” features. As a former examiner and moderator of Literature in English at the Cameroon GCE Board, Professor Emeritus Bole Butake more than anyone else understands the challenges secondary school students face in studying poetry.
PRESENTATION OBSERVATIONS: IDEAS IN POERTRY
Essays often communicate a writer’s observation about life. For example, in “Of Marriage and Single Life,” Francis Bacon states his observation that marriage is the juxtaposition of captivity and freedom. Poems can also express a writer’s observations and ideas. Poets usually do not state their observations directly but convey them through the use of contrasts, comparisons, and descriptions. Often the observations in a poem are made by someone who is not necessarily the poet, just as the narrator in a short story is not necessarily the writer. “My Woman is a Tyger” conveys an observation about life. As you read or listen, ask yourself who is speaking in the poem. How does that person feel about the situation he or she is describing? Are there any comparisons or contrasts in the poem? Answering these questions will help you understand the ideas that the poet is trying to express.
LITERARY VOCABULARY INTRODUCED IN THIS POEM ·
Speaker: The speaker in a poem is the voice that talks to the reader, similar to the narrator in fiction. In “My Woman is a Tyger,” the speaker uses the pronoun “I” and takes part in the action. ·
Tone: The tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject. In poetry, the speaker’s comments often provide clues to the tone. The comment, “My Woman is a Tyger” for instance, is a good example. ·
Theme: Theme is the central idea or message in a work of literature. Theme should not be confused with subject, or what the work is about. Rather, theme is a perception about life or humanity that a writer expresses about a subject. For example, the subject of “My Woman is a Tyger” could be female dominance over men; the theme may be that some women are so domineering so much so that their domineering attitude towards their partners is considered as dictatorship. ·
Images of local colour: This occurs when the writer alludes to or draws images from his community with the intension of localizing his poem. For example, this is common with Butake in his constant reference to culturally verifiable images from his Noni tribe of origin such as river “Kifiang”; and animals that play lead roles in Noni folklore such as “Bia” (tiger), and “Wanti”, the (tortoise).
Let us now listen to the poem: “My Woman is a Tyger” My woman She is a tiger. Have you seen my woman Or heard of the mother of my house? She was tall As tall as the bamboo from Nsai bush; Her skin as smooth as the grinding stone As clear as the sand from Kifiang. Her face round and smooth And a mouth most ravishing had she. Her eyes were as sparkling as hail-stones And when she looked at you The sting was equally soothing. My woman She was an otter. The watermaid that honours none But the worshipper The servant at her footstool, The priest at her shrine. I was her servant for many moons; I was the maid at her shrine For many market days. I worshipped and cursed The moment I leapt into the light. I pinned and wept The moment I saw the dark. Would she never hear my prayer Would she never hear my call Would she never notice my slavery Did she only see my fake contempt? Oh! I wished I would not live I would drink but to remember.All the moons of beautiful shapes and shades Were drowned by this lonely star; And people wondered. My woman She is a tiger. The harmattan fire that consumed Bia In a battle of wits with Wanti His hunting peer. The water that swept awayThe season’s entire corn harvest And Nkasai took the rope. The disease that killed The entire hen population And there was none left for sacrifice. My wpman She was The fire that consumed me Leaving nothing but cold, impotent ash. The river that swept me away Leaving nothing but withered stalks. The disease that killed me Leaving nothing but a worthless shell. And now that I am ash Now that I am impotent ash Now that I am cold, impotent ash; My woman is a tiger: Madam Tortoise.
COMMENTS ON THEMATIC ISSUES Some people are proud of their wives because of their charming beauty and admirable character. Some are ashamed of their wives because of their deplorable character despite their physically beautiful appearance. The mood of remorse expressed in this poem seems to point to the fact that what men look for in women is not just the physical beauty but the moral character. What ever reasons may drive a man crazy about his wife, such motives are usually personal. No doubt, the old adage says, “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”, for as we may add, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Apart from appreciating the outward beauty of his wife, the speaker in this poem also castigates her moral decadence. For example, he begins by questioning us: Have you seen my woman Or heard of the mother of my house? She was tall As tall as the bamboo from Nsai bush; Her skin as smooth as the grinding stone As clear as the sand from Kifiang. Her face round and smooth And a mouth most ravishing had she. Her eyes were as sparkling as hail-stones And when she looked at you The sting was equally soothing. [L.3 – 13] As if to agree with Thomas Hardy in The Mayor of Caterbridge that happiness is but an occasional episode in a general drama of pain, the poet-speaker in just the next run-on-lines cries out aloud: My woman She was an otter. [L.14 – 15] By employing this enjambment, we quickly grasp a glimpse of an ugly woman who is but a mammal with four legs and short brown fur that swims and eats fish. Perhaps this unappealing portrait of the speaker’s wife, like the real Deysebel in the emotional Philippine movie serial Deysebel, nauseates the speaker like her true character as he goes ahead to lambast and lampoon on her behavouir: The watermaid that honours none But the worshipper The servant at her footstool, The priest at her shrine. [L.16 – 19] From here the rest of the dramatic monologue, through a flashback technique, substantiated by the poet’s use of the past tense, duels on sarcasm and negative painting of the unacceptable qualities of the woman. We understand that this action is taking place in the past through the poet’s effective deployment of thetraditional images that signal the passage of time. For example, the poet-speaker says: I was her servant for many moons; I was the maid at her shrine For many market days. [L.20 – 22] Through the use of repetition, the speaker reminds us of his situation of emptiness and nothingness created by his wife whom he would never forget the tiger in her. This is brought to us through several similes and metaphors in which the tiger is associated with the “harmattan fire”, a dangerous “water” that sweeps him away, and this bad woman who is nothing but a plague as seen in the use of the word “disease”. Let’s go back to lines 38 – 46 of the poem: The harmattan fire that consumed Bia In a battle of wits with Wanti His hunting peer. The water that swept away The season’s entire corn harvest And Nkasai took the rope. The disease that killed The entire hen population And there was none left for sacrifice. [L.36 – 46] Indeed, even in the proceeding run-on-lines, we are told that the man’s “woman” is nothing, but “a consuming fire” that leaves nothing but “cold, impotent ash” after having consumed the man. Despite this bleak picture painted by the poet of his persona’s woes with his somewhat tyrannical wife, there seems to be a glimmer of hope evidenced by the speaker coming to self-realization. The speaker used to be enslaved, but it seems he no longer is: I was her servant for many moons; I was the maid at her shrine For many market days. [L.20 – 22] From this utterance and many more, we are tempted to read “My Woman is a Tyger” as a political satire – a poem satirizing contemporary dictatorship among neo-colonial leaders who take their subjects for granted, forgetting that as Abraham Lincolnonce said, “you can fool some of the people some of the time; you can fool all the people some of the time; but you cannot fool all the people all the time”.
COMMENTS ON ASPECTS OF STYLE ·
The use of deviants: In the title of the poem, “My Woman is a Tyger”, the word “tiger” is spelled with letter “y” in place of “I”. This deviant is effective in that it emphasizes the negative attitude of the speaker towards his wife. In a similar sense, the speaker employs the same tone when he says “My woman is a tyger” instead of “My wife is a tiger”. As such, we see the speaker deviating from the normal ordinary day speech pattern which resonates powerfully with the feeling of hatred and lack of cordiality between husband and wife. ·
The use of images of local colour: Several of them abound in the poem. For example, the poet uses expressions and names from his native Noni cultural setting such as “Nsai bush”, the “Kifiang” river, the animals, “Bia” (tiger) and “Wanti” (tortoise). This shows the extent to which oral tradition lends itself to the written media. ·
The use of metaphors: Instead of saying that my woman is like a tiger, the poet states emphatically that my woman is a tiger; that she was an otter, and so forth. These animal images further accentuate the negative attributes of the speaker’s “woman” and helps to delineate the poet’s attitude towards her. Other significant comparisons that portray character include those expressed in the following lines : - The harmattan fire that consumed Bia In a battle of wits with Wanti His hunting peer. [L.38 – 40] - The water that swept away The season’s entire corn harvest And Nkasai took the rope. [L.41 – 43] - The disease that killed The entire hen population And there was none left for sacrifice. [L.44 – 46] In few words therefore, we can conclude that Bole Butake, like his contemporary counterparts, Koffi Awoonor of Ghana in “Songs of Sorrow” and “The Journey Beyond”; as well as Fale Wache, his Noni counterpart in the craft in “Lament of a Mother” is a poet inspired by oral tradition in his crafting of “My Woman is a Tyger”. ………………………………………………………
CONCLUSION Ladies and gentlemen, it is with this note that we draw the curtains for our today’s programme in which you have been listening to the voice of KK Bonteh. Are you a student, a teacher, a researcher, or simply a fan of literature? Then Brunch Time Literature, is for you. We would like to share your deepest feelings. Contact us through the following address: Brunch Time Literature, CRTV Yaoundé, or SMS us through telephone number 6.7753.4247. You can as wellemail us at www.kkbonteh@yahoo.com. Until our next Episode, bye-bye! And stay connected to CRTV.
Brunch Time Literature: Episode 3 KK Bonteh CRTV Yaounde Tuesday, 11/11/2014
Politics in Nigerian Drama: The Case of Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
SYNOPSIS OF ‘OUR HUSBAND HAS GONE MAD AGAIN
Lejoka-Brown is a retired military officer and successful business man who ventures into politics with the aim of “eating the national cake”. Lejoka-Brown inherits a wife, Mama Rashida, the wife of his late brother and later marries Sikira, the daughter of the Market Women Union, Madam Ajanaku as part of his plans to achieve his political motive. Liza, a nurse he married during “the war in Congo” comes home (Nigeria) unannounced and her arrival disturbs not only Lejoka-Brown’s political ambition but his control over other women in the house (Mama Rashida and Sikira). Liza enlightens these women and inspires them to challenge the chauvinistic rules of Lejoka-Brown and religious restrictions that they have ignorantly followed for a long time. This new mode of thought sparks a conflict between Brown and Liza resulting in pandemonium that makes Lejoka-Brown go “mad”. He consequently loses his influence on his supporters and his candidature is revoked with Sikira flying the flag of his former party.
THEME The major theme within this play can be stated as follows:
Proletarian revolution and the radical response from the people of the politicians. Proletarian revolution has continued to be the radical response of the proletariats to their oppression by politicians. This can be seen in the market women’s revolt against the dreams of Lejoka-Brown and their choice of Sikira in his stead. Lejoka-Brown’s madness had clearly overstepped its boundary with the suggestion of the “surprise and attack” strategy and the only sane thing to do was to eject him from his candidature to avoid further embarrassing and myopic actions. This view borrows heavily from the philosophy of Marxism. According to Haralambos (2001), Karl Marx (the pioneer of the Marxist school of thought) opined that every human society is confronted with issues of social inequality and class segregation, the revolution by the lower class must occur to balance the inequality, especially in the political field. Ola Rotimi has glaringly used the medium of art to inspire a social revolution of sorts against the bourgeois and oppressors of the masses. It is imperative to point out at this point that the position of the author here pitching his artistic tent with the masses or proletariats validates his profession and the recommendation of Femi Osofisan(2006:34) that; “The artist who creates them must continually pitch their Tent with the masses against the oppressors’.‟ The deplorable condition of Nigeria can be said to be caused by its dormant electorate who have either consciously or unconsciously allowed bad government to reign. People have failed to speak against bad leadership, choosing instead to be compensated by the bribes given to them by greedy politicians who at the end of the day take more than they actually gave. For some, their level of education is too low to comprehend the system of leadership and critically analyse decisions taken by these leaders. Rotimi, with this play, seeks to open the eyes of the people to the obnoxious characters of political leaders while advocating for political consciousness and unity among the ruled. It is also worthy to note that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic nation and one of the greatest barriers against unity is ethnic diversity and cultural intolerance. As long as there is no unity, the electorate will not only be divided but weak and easy to manipulate.
LEJOKA BROWN: A POLITICAL MISFIT
Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again is a comic work that provokes laughter through comical language, mannerisms, exaggerated nuances and ridicule. However, the major object or subject of attack and derision in the play is Lejoka-Brown. In making fun of his hero, Rotimi is indirectly mocking the Nigerian society as a whole. The playwright satirizes the selfish mentality of Nigerian politicians. In the discussion between Lejoka-Brown and Okonkwo in the first scene, the former has this to say as to why he takes to politics: Are you there…? Politics is the thing in Nigeria mate, you want to be famous? Politics. You want to chop life? No, no… you want to chop a big slice of the national cake? Na politics (p.4) Lejoka-Brown’s motive in joining politics is not dictated by his sense of patriotism and service but as a means to an end. By making jest of Lejoka-Brown, Rotimi is indirectly attacking our greedy, selfish and pleasure seeking leaders in Nigerian society who embezzle funds and achieve none of the promises they make to the masses who voted them in. This can be seen when Lejoka-Brown says: Cakes are too soft, gentlemen. Just you wait. Once we get elected to the top, wallahi, we shall stuff ourselves with huge mouthfuls of national chin- chin… something you will eat and eat; brother and you know you’ve eaten…(p.4). Although Lejokja-Brown’s statement evokes laughter, it goes to show how crude and ruthless he is. If Lejoka-Brown is taken as a symbolic representation of Nigerian leaders, one can then say that the playwright is criticizing Nigerian leaders for their selfish intent. Gentlemen, our election campaign plan must follow a platform of military strategy known as surprise and attack…(p.50). Lekoja-Brown’s surprise and attack campaign strategy is ridiculous to say the least. Although Lejoka-Brown vigorously explains to his party members the nature of his military strategy, he only succeeds in dramatizing his stumpy mentality.….Surprise and attack gentlemen, is „to catch the enemy off-guard, and wipe out his power before he can mobilize enough forces to launch a counter-attack...‟ (p.50). From Lejoka-Brown’s campaign plan, he exposes the fact that he is incredibly ignorant. Rotimi portrays him as a man who fails to understand the difference between politics and war. Lejoka Brown can be related to past Nigerian military leaders who have gained war experience in the military and feel that they have what it takes to rule a nation. Although past Nigerian military heads of state have achieved many great things, their attitude towards human rights and press freedom cannot be swept under the carpet. This reiterates the fact that the military have no business with government; their responsibility is strictly national protection.. According to Okpeh (1998:1) Women in Nigeria are discriminated against, they are marginalized, oppressed and exploited and above all abused. These tendencies also define their place in society, what they should or should not do, who they are and in fact what or who they can aspire to be in society. Community organizations such as, political parties, trade unions, military, etcetera are all entities that have been created strictly for men, while women have been given less influential positions as compensations. According to Ige(2010): There appears to be large scale discrimination from the men folk, both in voting for candidates and in allocating political offices. More often than not, men constitute the larger percentage of the party membership and this tends to affect women negatively. Since men are usually the majority in any political setup, they tend to dominate the party hierarchy and are, therefore, at advantage in influencing the party's internal politics. Women usually constitute a smaller percentage of political party membership because of the social, cultural and religious attitudes of different Nigerian societies which often tend to relegate them to the background. One of the reasons for this is that most societies place men as being more important than women. Women are seen as the “weaker sex and simpler brain‟. They are perceived to be incapable of effective leadership, regardless of size. This ideology has been in existence for the most part of Nigeria’s political history. According to Nyako (2010), the marginalization of Nigerian women in politics dates back to the colonial era when they "were not even allowed to vote in Northern Nigeria until 1976. In the play (which first premiered in 1966), women do not make an impressive appearance in the area of politics save Madam Ajanaku who is not even a politician but a very influential woman; “the President of the National Union of Nigerian Market Women” and has the power to raise support from the womenfolk. The reasons for this discrimination however go beyond gender as are discovered during the course of the story. Religious restraints have also been among the many set-backs of women participating in politics in Nigeria. In northern Nigeria for example, women are heavily restrained by their husbands upon marriage. Most of their engagements revolve around domestic work and some are rarely allowed to leave their homes. Most of their husbands find some religious basis to defend their actions and with time it has become a tradition that has not been fully challenged. A typical example of the product of gender denigration through religion is “MamaRashida.” She is not only uneducated but has been turned into a property that is passed on from one man to another. In this case from Lejoka-Brown’s brother to himself. Mama Rashida lacks foresight and doesn’t even have a voice of her own. She even refers to Lejoka Brown as master (p. 27) and always backs her words with the Holy Quran: MAMA RASHIDA: Why? Didn’t the master tell you that too? LIZA: Forget the apologies, Mama, Just hand it to me straight! MAMA RASHIDA: It is well then.[Kneels down prayerfully.] By the Grace of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Providing… LIZA: [disgusted]. Fire and brimstone! MAMA RASHIDA: [rising]. Toh! I’m his first wife, o! (p.27) From the above, Mama Rashida can be perceived as a docile character. It takes the grace of Liza for her to realise her inner potentials as a business woman. Attoe (2002) also points to lack of adequate finance as “a crucial hindrance to effective female participation in politics in Nigeria”. According to her, a large portion of the Nigerian female population is not as financially strong as their male counterparts. Sikira and Mama Rashida also reflect this problem. Sikira doesn’t even have a job while Mama Rashida’s hen business prior to meeting Liza was not too successful. The only reason why Sikira would have made it as a political candidate would be because of her rich mother. There is also the problem of education especially within the women folk. Most cultures in Nigeria still tend to invest on their sons instead of their daughters, due to the ideology that women, despite their level of education will end up in the kitchen, so it will be a waste of money educating them. Sikira and Mama Rashida are uneducated. Only Liza can boast of an impressive resume probably because she is not a Nigerian and was educated in the USA. Some critics however do not agree with the playwright’s decision to Place the future of the country in the hands of an uneducated woman like Sikira. To start with, like her husband, she is not going into politics to serve the people; she is only going there to prove a point; that women and men are equal. As intelligent as that might sound, that is not what a Minister of Agriculture should be worrying about. She has no experience and will end up being a puppet in the hands of her “advisers”. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Brunch Time Literature, presented to you by KK Bonteh. If you did enjoy it or have any suggestions to make why not write to us at Brunch Time Literature, CRTV Yaounde, or SMSus through telephone number 77 53 42 47. You could as well email us at www.kkbonteh@yahoo.com. Until our next Episode, bye-bye! And stay connected to CRTV.
Responding to Butake’s Lake God By KK Bonteh
Introduction to Drama
“An artist must not be the judge of his characters or of what they say, but only an impartial witness.”
Anton Checkhov
Setting the stage: Understanding Drama
The house lights dim. Members of the audience grow quiet in their seats. Backstage, an actress paces back and forth reciting her opening lines. Finally, the curtain falls. Like fiction, drama has setting, characters, and plot. Unlike fiction, drama is meant to be performed. You see the setting. You hear the characters speak and watch them move across the stage. For a brief time, you actually witness an unfolding story – and it seems almost real, thanks to the costumes, scenery, lighting, and sound effects that create the illusion of another world. Reading the script of a play is a different experience from watching a play, but the experience can be just as enjoyable if you take the right approach. The skills you used in reading fiction will aid you in reading drama. Look for changes in the characters and try to understand their relationships. Pay attention to the events of the plot, especially those that create suspense or bring the action to a climax. Visualize the sets, the characters’ movements on stage, and the characters’ expressions as they are described. As you read, see if you can imagine yourself sitting in an audience, watching these plays performed.
Literary Vocabulary INTRODUCED IN THIS SECTION ___________________________________ ·
Drama. Drama is literature in which plot and character are developed through dialogue and action; in other words, drama is literature in play form. Dramas are intended to be performed by actors who appear on stage or before cameras or microphones. Most plays are divided into acts, with each having a climax. Sometimes the acts of a play are subdivided into several scenes. Lake God is an example of one act modern play divided into four parts: Prologue, Fragments, Dead – End, and Passage. Structurally, it is possible to carve out thirteen (13) neatly conceived episodes or scenes within these major movements of the drama. As a critical reader, attempt to identify the different scenes in Bole Butake’s Lake God. The edition we are using and which we would constantly refer to is the 1999 edition of Lake God and Other Plays by Edition Cle. ·
Character. Characters are the people (and occasionally animals or fantasy creatures) who participate in the action of a literary work. Characters are either main or minor, depending upon the extent of their development and on their importance in the work. In a script of a play, the complete cast of characters is listed at the beginning. How many characters participate in the action of Lake God? Just how possible do you think it is possible to produce these on stage? Ponder on these production problems and many more improbabilities and as a director, begin suggesting probabilities for them. ·
Dialogue. Dialogue is written conversation between two or more characters. Dialogue is used in all forms of literature but is most important in drama. ·
Stage Directions. Stage directions are notes included in the script of a play to help performers and directors put on the play or to help readers picture the action. Stage directions can describe setting, sound effects, the movement of actors, or the way in which dialogue is spoken. Because Butake is equally a director, the voice in his stage directions sometimes resembles that of a director and not just the dramatist that he is. Go through the stage directions in Lake God and distinguish those of a dramatist from those of a director. · Flashback. A flashback is a conversation, an episode, or an event that happened before the beginning of the play. Sometimes a flashback interrupts the chronological flow of a play to give information helpful in understanding a character’s present situation. The entire action of Lake God is built on a flashback incident. What is it? And how does this flashback helps us to understand not only the characters’ situation but the conflict in the play?
Lake God
Bole Butake BIOGRAPHY: WHO IS BOLE BUTAKE?
Bole Butake was born in 1947 in Nkor, Noni Sub-Division in the North-West Region of Cameroon. He attended the local primary school, Sacred Heart College, Mankon, CCAST Bambili, the University of Yaounde and the University of Leeds in London. He founded a magazine of creative writing for English-speaking Cameroonians.The Mould, in 1976, in which he published several of his poems and short stories before it ceased publication in 1981. In 1984 he published his first play, The Rape of Michelle, followed Lake God (composed during his internship at the International Writing Program, Iowa) in 1986. The Survivors in 1989 and And Palm-wine Will Flow in 1990. He is Professor of African Literature and Performing Arts at the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences, University of Yaoundé I. While going on retirement in 2012, he said, “I’m retired but not tired.” Unquestionably, Bole Butake is one of Anglophone Cameroon’s leading writers. Although he excels in the dramatic genre, he has also to his credit an interesting collection of beautifully written poems. He is the editor of Cameroon Anthology of Poetry in which “My Woman is a Tyger” features. As a former examiner and moderator of Literature in English at the Cameroon GCE Board, Professor Emeritus Bole Butake more than anyone else understands the challenges secondary school students face in studying poetry. He is married and father of six kids.
BACKGROUND: WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF Lake God? A background and context study of a work of art is important in that it helps the reader to better appreciate the circumstances leading to the events in the work. Study the following background information from the introduction to the 1986 edition of Lake God by the dramatist himself and compare with your background knowledge of the play. ________________________________________________________________________________ On August 21, 1986, there was a terrible disaster in the Lake Nyos area near Wum in the North-West Region of Cameroon in which more than one thousand seven hundred people lost their lives along with a large number of cattle and other animals. Up to the moment of writing it has not yet been established with certainty whether this calamity was caused by volcanic toxic gas emanating from the depths of Lake Nyos or by a chemical weapon. This calamity was a terrible shock for the Cameroonian people for they had never experienced anything like this before. As a result they displayed for the first time a great sense of solidarity with the victims. The international community also showed a deep sense of caring which further shook the emotional fabric of the Cameroonian people.
Lake God was conceived in great feat within this background; and with an eye on performance. It was not my intension to present the events as they occurred either on that fateful night or in the period preceding the catastrophe. Rather, in Lake God, I have attempted a re-interpretation of history for those caught up in the drama of the events. The Lake Nyos tragedy was only a launching pad for the exploration of the psyche of a community caught in the web of diverse religious and economic conflicts. But whether or not the catastrophe could have been avoided is a matter for deep thought. Man is a pawn in the hands of unknown and unfathomable powers.
After reading the play, comment on the place of the following excerpts from the author’s introduction to the play: · “…in Lake God, I have attempted a re-interpretation of history for those caught up in the drama of the events. The Lake Nyos tragedy was only a launching pad for the exploration of the psyche of a community caught in the web of diverse religious and economic conflicts.” As a history or documentary dramatist, to what extent can it be said that inLake God, Bole Butake has transformed history into imaginative literature? · “Man is a pawn in the hands of unknown and unfathomable powers.”
How far is this true within the context of the play?
Approaching the Play ____________________________________________ Read the following two comments from two different critics of Bole Butake about Lake God. Which one do you think is more apt? Give reasons to justify your answer. v “The Lake Nyos gas explosion will go down in history as one of the natural disasters to have hit Cameroon. But the tragic circumstances have now come to inspire many of our poets. In this play, Bole Butake portrays the mysterious side of the event by attempting to situate it within the metaphysics of the area. He has become more daring in his exploitation of dramatic technique and even more cryptic in his style. The play is a delight to read and should equally be a delight to watch on stage. Tragedy, the events in the play are; but the style could be said to be more impressionistic. I said before and will say again that Bole Butake is a playwright to watch. “ Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh v “The play is laden with meaning at several levels; and its message depends on the belief that the gods are real and able to act against people who fail to worship them.” Kwame Dawes Between the two critics, which one shares the same opinion of the dramatist for the inspiration of the story? Which of the critics do you think best touches on the subject matter of the play? Substantiate your answer.
Bole Butake is a playwright and at the same time a teacher of Drama. He sometimes teaches his own plays. Do you think a writer is the best teacher of his works? Give reasons to justify your answer.
Building Vocabulary _________________________________________________ These essential words are used in the play. Prologue
Fragments Dead – End Passage
Find out their meanings from the dictionary. How do their meanings contribute to your understanding of the subject matter of the different sections they represent?
Connecting Writing and Reading __________________________________
In your exercise book, briefly describe how you will feel if you get up one morning and discover that everybody in your family is dead except you? If this death is caused by an error of a family head or traditional leader which could have been avoided, what would be your attitude towards him?
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLAY Structurally, Lake God is partitioned into four different acts or movements giving a total of 13 scenes within the sub-divisions. Each section has a title. Compare the following table which has been done for convenience of study with your own analysis. Draw and complete the table with character log by showing the different human qualities portrayed by individual characters in each scene. An example has been done for you. We are going to refer to the different four sections as acts just for convenience.
ACT NO. OF SCENES SCENE AND PAGE REFERENCE SUBJECT MATTER CHARACTERS INVOLVEDCHARACTER LOG Prologue 1 Scene 1 (pages 6 – 8) -Narrator bemoans the lost of lives following a disaster caused by the explosion of Lake God. - Narrator (Shey-Bonyo) -Example -Visionary -Seer -Sarcastic -Defender of tradition Fragments 4
Scene 2 (pages 9 – 11) -Shey-Bonyo accuses the Fon of negligence of tradition - Father Leo - Fon - Doggo - Kinchin - Shey-Bonyo Scene 3 (pages 11 – 18) -The women through their secret cult, Fibuen, storms the palace, refuses compensation and demands that the cattle owners like Dewa should leave the land. -Fon -Doggo -Kinchin -Guards -Chorus -First Woman -Second Woman -Nkasai -Nkfusai Kimbong -Kimaa -Yensi -Dewa
Scene 4 (pages 19 – 23) -Shey-Bonyo returns to his grove and administers treatment to himself; Shey Tanto, the leading member of Kwifon decides that they must seek a solution to the problem plaguing the land before the women take over. - Shey-Bonyo -Shey Tanto Scene 5 (pages 24 – 25) -Mob action of women at the village square during which a fetishistic oath of sealed lips is taken administered by Ma Kusham, the elderly woman. -Yensi -Nkasai -Kimbong Ma Kusham And the -Chorus of the rest of the women Dead – End 7 Scene 6 (pages 26 – 31) -The strike by the women is felt by the men who recount their bitter experiences of their wives depriving the of sexual relationships. -Lagham -Fisiy -Forgwei -Maimo Scene 7 (pages 32 – 33) -During a doctrine class with women, Father Leo sermonizes on the recent oath by the women which he condemns as unchristian. -Father Leo -Congregation of women Scene 8 (pages 34 – 38) -Angela, the Fon’s nagging wife criticizes his inability to handle the women who had been minimizing their authority as Father Leo keeps on flattering the Fon and wife of promises of a better future. This, despite the Fon
Brunch Time Literature, focusing on Literature and the Society
ReplyDeleteInteresting analyses herein.
ReplyDelete