Analyse the perspectives on colonial experience in African plays

Analyse the perspectives on colonial experience in Thomas Iguh’s The Last Days of Lumumba; Ene Henshaw’s Children of the Goddess; Sarif Easmon’s Dear Parent and Ogre; Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman; Ngugi’s I Will Marry When I Want.

African literature responds in varied ways to the political, cultural requirements of the African people. The major concern of African writers was to explore the consequences of colonial rule. African theatre attempts to resolves what was beneficial and what was unsuccessful from colonial governance in their years in control. However, different writers hold different perspectives towards colonial experience. This essay will analyse the perspectives on colonial experience in Sarif Easmon’s Dear Parent and Ogre, Soyinka’s, Death and the King’s Horseman, and Ngugi’s, I Will Marry When I Want.
This essay will also investigate how African plays records writer’s opinions on negative and positive outcomes of postcolonial governments.
“With respect to colonial period and experience, African writers want to assist people in getting back what they had lost as a result of years of colonial authority. This includes assessing all facets of economic, social, religious and political with the main intent of rebuilding African communities and nations to allow people to assert and regain a sense of collective and individual dignity.”quote Each African author employed different standpoint and views towards the colonial experience.
“The other major concern of writers is to scrutinize the abuses and achievement of postcolonial African governments”

“Ngugi’s, I will Marry When I Want. Ngugi is a leading writer in East Africa whose dramatic writing in collaboration with Micere Mugo and Ngugi Wa Mirii contain satiric, acidic impulses. I will Marry When I Want hold more revolutionary tendencies, and in this play, Ngugi uncovers satirically the poverty, suffering and exploitations that people experienced in the face of capitalism and neo-colonialism in Kenya.” The main theme is neocolonial and anti-colonial nationalisms in the history of Kenya. Ngugi draws attention to the occurrence of neocolonialism and how it spread misery.’ I Will Marry When I Want’ is a parody on religion, is humorous on the subject of love and a contemptuous political attack.
“This renowned play was so powerful that it caused the imprisonment of the Ngugi without trial. Through the play, Ngugi illustrated the miserable poverty that common Kenyans experienced, notwithstanding their freedom from colonial rule. It also highlights the changes of the Kenyan government to deliver independence to its people. According to Ngugi, ‘every literature author is a writer in politics’ and there is no political impartiality in literature. Ngugi views the African struggle as an altercation amid foreign and local capitalists. In his view, Ngugi deems that in the African struggle for independence, innovative writers cannot stand by absentmindedly, but instead must involve themselves in the struggle.” The important themes of a wide body of literature are extensive to political, economic and social struggles. Ngugi insists African writers must assist in bringing about novel social order for the people.
“In general, I Will Marry When I Want illustrates a theatrical conflict pinched along dogmatic lines, pitting exploiters in opposition to the exploited, or rulers in opposition to the ruled. Ngugi’s play, I Will Marry When I Want is marked through a high content of politics and the author tries to work against the exploited, but instead favors the exploited masses.” He gives political teachings to the oppressed people and provides them with a sense of leaderships concerning changing their society. Ngugi, a Marxist, demonstrates insidious Marxist concepts. He is also a Socialist who provides a socialist view of the society. Ngugi confirms that he demonstrates a Marxist devoutness, which is the agenda on which the foundation of his writings.
“The core dramatic component in the play, I Will Marry When I Want is the withdrawal of Kiguunda land by Kioi, a wealthy man. The play highlights the hardhearted exploitation of Kenyan people by wealthy Kenyans in collaboration with rich foreign businesspeople”.
“The foreign businesspeople employ underprivileged Kenyans who facilitate generation of wealth that makes the capitalists who are foreigners richer while the poor Kenyans continue to become poorer because of poor pay. The poor in the Kenyan society become humiliated triggering actions against the wealthy Kenyans and the foreigners. When Kioi humiliates Kiguunda, Gicaamba enlightens Kiguunda regarding the vindictive mistreatment of the underprivileged in a stirring and avant-garde manner”. The employees become conscious to the intentions of their challengers which are the capitalists and the rich people. The workers bond together against the wealthy Kenyans and the foreigners. The play requests all employees to unite together against the opposition to their common adversaries.

“The society as whole selects their sides in the looming rebellion, either to be on the exploited masses’ side or be on the exploiters’ side. The exploited masses with an example of Kiguunda who workers for Kioi earns a wage of 200 shillings and he is apparently the highest paid worker, an aspect that makes the living condition of the poor to worsen given that they cannot meet their basic needs with the little they get from the capitalists” Nicholls, Brendon.” “ If indeed the salary were attractive, Kiguunda would not seem as though he lived beneath the poverty margin” “He stays in a single room with a single chair and a bed. Kiguunda does not attain the minimum basic needs, and nonetheless the poor status of Kiguunda’s family, the Ikuuas and Kioi are after Kiguunda’s land. The capitalists finish Kiguunda through the capitalist ruses; he’s forced to leave his property. This happens when Kiguunda’s land is auctioned after Kioi defaults a bank loan that he had received for his wedding.
“Industrial capitalism surfaces as pitiless in Gicaamba factory experience” “Gicaamba, a factory employee with conscience, learns a lot regarding the spitefulness of his system. His emotional definition of his frequent hard work in the factory is awe-inspiring”. In spite of the dedication of workers to industrial free enterprise that underpays them. The working conditions in the factories are poor with the unfortunate employees becoming mad, ill or even die because of inhaling industrial gas following exposure to toxic chemicals, “The chemical dust. Accumulated in his body. Until his head cracked! Did they take him to hospital? Oh, no. Was he given any compensation? He was summarily dismissed, instead” The poor workers are not taken to hospitals and they cannot take good care of themselves because of their pay.
The play also highlights the lack of education in the African society that facilitated the exploitation of the poor by the foreigners and the rich Africans. The importance of education is underlined through Gicaamba’s experiences. Gicaamba acts as revelations to the poor workers and the Kiguundas. Gicaaamba hold experiences of industrial capitalism from the colonial times. He understands the system of the capitalists too well, and he depicts characters of an honest and intelligent person with logic of social justice. He educates the exploited masses, prepares them for a revolt that will lead to establishment of social order. The tireless efforts of Gicaamba in enlightening the exploited masses trigger the liberation of Kiguunda from parochialism. Kiguunda eventually understands the reasons of his poor conditions, he finishes his learning from Gicaamba, and united with other exploited masses, Kiguunda joins hand in an impending revolt aimed at creating novel social order.
“Through the play I Will Marry When I Want, Ngugis’ main intention was to instigate an inexorable crusade in opposition to capitalist exploitation. Ngugi artistically inspires the poor and exploited people to rise up and work together in overthrowing the exploitative and intransigent agents in the neo-colonial society of Kenya. Apparently, Ngugi employed a capitalism and class-consciousness approach to highlight the colonial experience in Kenya. His resourceful steam appears consistently provided via the divergent classes through which people group themselves, and the means through which these grouping of classes affect one another”
“In the world of Ngugi, people get locked in resistance and oppression, denouncement and exploitation relationships. The rampant theme for Ngugi’s play is the manner through which the oppressed people in the society struggle for liberation, with the expedition for liberation involving people and an individual against exploitative people. Ngugi uses wealth and land as the major source of divergence between the Kenyan poor, the rich and the foreigners” The foreigners are impressed by the huge potential of the Kenyan land so they plunge in and acquire the land. This violation ignites a resistance and repression through which the human astuteness psychology comes under ingenious scrutiny. As a result, the existential pressure that exemplifies man and land links, comprises of overriding discourse in Ngugis I Will Marry When I Want.
“The play comprises of two different sides of colonialism. The first side highlights the effort to liberate Kenya from colonial occupation while the other side highlights efforts to liberate Kenyans from neo-colonial subjugation” “ the major type of assessment in Ngugi’s play is humanity, objectified through the human body. The play lends itself commendably to the anatomy language that is made to remember the perception of an incident whose impacts persist to be expressed in the contemporary world. Colonialism was the first followed by neo-colonial resurgence and capitalism, which are all forms of mistreatment that faced the African nations. With respect to the play, I Will Marry When I Want, Ngugi utilizes all his resourceful energy to reduce the effects of capitalism in the society.”

“Dear Parent and Ogre is a renowned Sierra Leonean historical play. The staging in 1957 of the first Sierra Leon festival of the arts prompted the importance of change besides inspiring indigenous play script writing.” “As portion of independence celebrations in 1961, a drama was organized and it produced the country’s first prominent dramatist, Sarif Easmon” Dear Parent and Ogre written in 1961 and an award winning play was the first ever, African play to be performed by the BCDS.
“The play explores generational and cultural conflicts, patriotism, conspicuous materialism, dilemmas and imprudent idealism of the novel political elite. Nevertheless, Sarif Easmon appears to support the values of the elite who were more of British origin than the Africans were. Sarif Easmon makes no trial to utilize the different indigenous theatre convections.” Dear Parent and Ogre mirrors a candid journeying of intricate issues that affected the development and history of Sierra Leone such as mismanagement, corruption, tribalism, and class-consciousness. Sarif also underscores the growth of vernacular drama following the independence of Sierra Leone in 1961.
“Sarif Easmon highlights the theme of colonialism through culture, tribalism and class-consciousness”. The play also highlights bribery and nepotism that was dominant in the country’s civil service. It demonstrates a vivid image of the contemporary life in the nation. The colonialism era was marked with little pamphlet of resourceful work. However, after the colonial period, Dear Parent and Ogre became the first play to create a breakthrough for the county’s creative writing.
The play tries to envision a novel global world, far from the one formed by the people from the Western World.
“Sarif Easmon highlights the idea of Pan-Africanism in his play. The idea of Pan-Africanism is the actuality that writers view the problem in different countries as akin. The idea is coupled with the idea that the Westerners constructed many states out of what was already a subsisting unity. Certain facets of the conventional societies, which obstruct the formation of personal and cultural unity across tribes and countries, are viciously attacked in the play, making the writer to support the concept of pan-Africanism”. “The concept of Pan-Africanism substitute tribalism. Sarif Easmon applauds those who break the tribal boundaries particularly in important institutions such as marriage. The author seems to suggest that that breaking tribal boundaries in social links is a prerequisite to developing a Pan-African society” In this regard, the marriage of Sekou and Siata across tribal lines is justified by the fact that the younger generation requires a better comprehension among persons to stand firm before the external world.
“Sarif Easmon highlight the middle period of Sierra Leonean literature. More importantly, he displays the least African consciousness, despite the fact that he touches more on themes that are pertinent to the situation of the African. These themes include corruption and tribalism. Easmon Sarif’s own personal Western life-style is mirrored both in the style of his creative works and the general views of his characters” His approval goes to those who show a predilection for Western cultural forms as exemplified in the play. It is apparent that when Easmon Sarif talks of someone being cultivated and civilized, he implies that such a person has been exposed to the major components of the Western culture.
“Tribalism is also prevalent in Sarif’s work. Since the beginning of the 19th Century, the westernized people through the western yardstick had tended to regard the interior of Sierra Leone as inferiors and most provincial people, as uncivilized. The provincial people include the inhabitants of Temne, Mende and Protectorate who resented the patronizing attitude and their antagonism towards Creoles living in the original colony, was hardened through the feeling that the westernized Creoles exerted political power. However, this was a mistaken hypothesis given that the political authority was fully in the hands of the British administrators” Sarif was partially Creole and partly Susu, and as a result, he produced a thorough objective assessment of the tribal question in his novel.
“Dear Parent and Ogre highlights tribalism and class-consciousness. The first sections of the play, in which Siata, the daughter of an aristocratic and highly westernized politician wants to marry a young singer from the lower classes against the wish of her father” (Gerald 850). Sarif seems to put forward a productive meritocracy against tribal aristocracy as hope for the African future. However, in the end he appears to rally behind the westernized aristocracy, for even if Siata finally gets married to the singer, the low class singer is received into the aristocracy and gets their taste for champagne, expensive vehicles, western capitals and Byron works. Additionally, Siata has the most scathing things to say about the tribal origins and the comparative bad manners of Mahmoud, the official of the Trade Union who deserves a meritocrat. Sarif Easmon and most of key characters are drawn to the values of the westernized aristocracy “Death and the King’s Horseman is the best of Soyinka’s, a Nigerian writer, play, and it won him the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature”, “The play is about cultural arrogance of the British folks who consider their education as means to control and interpret the culture of their colony. It is about cultural clash and colonialism. The clash amid the Western colonialism and Yoruba customs emerges in hierarchical links between the people of Yoruba and colonialists. The authority dynamic the colonialists hold over the law enforcement agencies discloses the imbalance amid the Yoruba and colonialists “The play integrates European and Yoruban cultures in a distinctive form of poetic stage show.”
The play narrates the tale of the king’s Horseman, Elesin, who is required to kill himself after the King’s death” “However, Elesin get distractions from his obligation of killing himself. The British colonial authorities prevent him from undertaking the ritual suicide as required by the Yoruban culture. Soyinka as a result changes the historical accounts and put Elesin failure in his own shoulders. Soyinka demonstrates the irrationality of branding the African culture as substandard to the European culture. Through the play, colonialism seems to be compelling the African people to shun their own culture and adopt the British culture” “The colonialists are insensitive and selfish to African traditions, and they think that the Africans would be influenced by their presence. Instead, the Africans act more cultured than the British forces that employ their advanced civilization to justify their colonial imposition” “The death of Olunde signifies the breakdown of the colonial authorities and their influence in extinguishing the identity and belief systems of the African people.” Soyinka highlights colonialism using two parallel cultures. Soyinka, therefore, employs culturalism and culture as an approach to underscore colonial experience. Culture refers to the knowledge systems shared by a huge group of persons while culturalism refers to the concept that people are established through their culture, that the cultures are organic wholes that allows no individual to change or shun their own cultures.
“Death and the King’s Horseman is founded on actual event that happened in Nigeria in the course of the British colonial rule. It develops on a real tale to center on the personality of, Elesin. With respect to the tradition of the people of Yoruba, a chief’s death must be accompanied by a rite suicide of the Horseman of the chief (Soyinka 12). This is in the view of the fact that the spirit of the equestrian is significance in assisting the spirit of the chief to rise to the next life. If a rite suicide of a Horseman is not performed, it was believed that the spirit of the chief will continue wandering on earth and would cause damage to the Yoruba people”
“The Death and the King’s Horseman highlights colonialism, and a vivid episode from Nigeria’s colonial era through which the British arbitrated to put to an end the death of a chief’s Horseman in Yoruba.” The play highlights the gulf in recognizing amid the Horseman who had no problem with the ritual suicide and district officer who considers the latent suicide as barbaric. Soyinka uses the African culture to highlight the experience of colonialism. Every component of the played is classified with respect to two boundaries, and the different cultures must be viewed as one of the two extremes. Ritual suicide highlights the difference between the Yoruban and the British who are against it.
“In the world of Yoruba, it is apparent that all aspects subsist in a huge background of recognition of the universe and the gods, and history. “Notwithstanding that, living entails a personal understanding, people are a section of reality, and every activity holds an effect on every aspect of life. The people of Yoruba are interconnected, and this explains why the Yoruban community is so attentive and close when Elesin is required to follow his chief to the next world via ritual suicide.” Apparently, the suicide of Elesin is a communal action and impacts everyone given that it has got nothing to do with the Elesin alone, but the entire community. Suicide in the Yoruba community is not a decision or a choice, but it is an action destined to take place, as it is a social activity.
“While suicide in the community of Yoruba is a communal act, in the Western World, it is an individual experience and it involves free will. As a result, there is a mark that separates the communal and personal facets of suicide in the unsubstantiated stance of the Colonialists’ activity of Yoruba” “Suicide holds similar impacts on everyone. However, there is a stark disparity in the sense that the strength of suicide to the living is physical in Britain and other western countries, but the power of suicide is metaphysical in the world of the Yoruba people. In Britain, missing a person who died too soon brings in sadness while in the Yoruban world, destruction of the world following broken traditions and culture brings in sadness.” “From this perspective, the British views everything with respect to personal experience and freedom while the Yoruban view everything according to consciousness” When all these philosophies are compelled to band together in the course of the colonial rule, the condition of Elesin is bound to take place. The contesting concepts form the conflict that develops the play. When Elesin, the King’s Horseman is offered a taste of the Western World’s free will belief, he is drawn away from his tradition and culture. The taste is too little and too much and at the back of his mind, it nags him and leads to his disgrace during his anticipated suicide. Following the views and the influence of the British, Elesin views suicide from a different perspective, and he chooses to shun his culture and take the side of the people from the West. Elesin fails the Yoruba people because of not respecting the Yoruba traditions, and he as well becomes a failure to the British. Elesin is compelled to make a dreadful choice given that he cannot understand fully the inconsistent opinions about death and life.
“Just like in Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s, I Will Marry When I Want, there is a man who is more enlightened than the others are and he empowers them. In Ngugi play, Gicaamba enlightened Kiguunda against capitalists like the Ikuuas and Kioi, and he led them into a revolt against the wealthy Kenyans and the foreign businesspeople. With respect to Soyinka’s, The Death and The King Horseman, Elesin’s failure is due to ignorance and lack of knowledge of both his own culture and the British culture. Nevertheless, Olunde appears to understand fully the two different cultures, and he is able to view open disagreements formed through the presence of the colonialists.” Olunde enlightens Elesin who later uses the knowledge he gains to restore his culture. Elesin uses his failure to redeem his culture. A breakdown for the colonialists is the restoration of Yoruba, and the breakdown for Yoruban is the restoration of the British.
“The inability of Elesin to kill himself is attraction of the beliefs of the colonialist, who he chooses to follow, hence a reverberating failure for Yoruban traditions. Elesin’s mind and decisions are influenced by the British views and culture, and he is a figure of change in the Yoruban community.” “Due to the British influence, Elesin decides not to kill himself because he cannot muddle through the African world. However, he eventually kills himself through hanging, not as a cultural requirement, but out personal and physical experience. Olunde tries to restore the metaphysical world of the Yoruba community. He conciliates the Yoruba world through sending a Horseman after the death of the king. Olunde believes that by doing so, he redeems both the Yoruba and the British culture given the death a Horseman after the king, functions to save all people in the Yoruba community (Gilbert 49). Olunde is an educated man who understands clearly the British belief of personal space and free will. The Yoruban metaphysical world overwhelms supernatural aspects in the British world” In this regard, Olunde chooses to commit suicide instead of running away from his culture, and he trust the extraterrestrial importance of the demise of Horseman of the King.
“The demise of Olunde further dilutes the principles of the British culture. His demise is a tragedy to British because he could no longer empower the Yorubans to adopt the culture of their colonialists. Following the death of Olunde, the future of the British culture in the Yoruba world is uncertain” This is because the only enlightened person who understands and can teach the British culture is no more. The Olunde’s death restores the physical world of the British through forming a superior responsiveness of the colonial rule problems. However, towards the end of the play, it is uncertain if the British people will start to recognize the significance of the Yoruban culture, or if the Yoruban culture will face redemption. Clearly, the death of Olunde, the only western-empowered Yoruba instigated the starting of the end.
African literature refers to the group or body of written or oral descriptions and narratives that progress from a communal or individual African consciousness. It therefore refers to imaginative writing formed by African. The narration is either by use of African language or other colonial languages. Ngugi, Sarif and Soyinka use the English language to demonstrate the experience of African people during the colonial period. Soyinka through his play highlight the intimidation and ignorance of the African culture by the British people who colonized West Africa and other parts of Africa. He highlights colonialism though cultural oppositions where the two culture, the British and the Yoruban culture could not reach a mutual understanding. Ngugi, on the other hand highlights the aspects of colonialism through capitalists and capitalism while Sarif Easmon demonstrates colonialism using culture, tribalism and class-consciousness.

Bibliography

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