The King expresses sympathy to the townspeople for the illness that has been plaguing them. In conclusion, Google used its doodle to honour the late writer on the 13th of April, 2022 to mark his birthday. Write your thoughts. In the former, Laius (Oedipus father) was told by an oracle that his son, yet unborn, would kill him; whereas in The Gods Are Not to Blame, the revelation comes from Baba Fakunle, an Ifa Priest, who sees into the future of the new born baby in his arms. Ogundele and his wife Mobike who had no child cared for Odewale. The Gods Are Not To Blame Full Book Ola Rotimi Right here, we have countless ebook The Gods Are Not To Blame Full Book Ola Rotimi and collections to check out. (1968) The Gods Are Not To Blamean adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex; the main character gets trapped by pride, ignorance and the caprices of the divinities. Your email address will not be published. Please try your request again later. Are his parents able to thwart the heavy sentence pronounced on them from the world beyond? When Alaka reminded him of their encounter in the past, the truth was exposed that Odewale is indeed the son of the late Adetusa, the king of kutuje whom he himself (Odewale) murdered on his farmland. Line: 478 The Gods Are Not to Blame (Three Crowns Books) Paperback - April 4, 1974 by O. Rotimi (Author) 5 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $5.00 Read with Our Free App Paperback In this play the theme of Sopocles' Oedipus Rex is skillfully transplanted to African soil. It began with the prologue: In the land of Kutuje, a son was born to King Adetusa and his wife, Queen Ojuola, for they were the king and queen of the land of kutuje. During their time of sickness, the townspeople solely depend on the herbs used as an attempt to cure the "curse" put on the people. The names of the children are: Adewale, Adebisi, Oyeyemi and Adeyinka. : He makes use of wry humour to seek a level playing ground for resolution of the biases men and women nurse about one another and which affect mutual co-existence of the two. The old man happens to also be his father, though Odewale is not aware of this at the time. A blind soothsayer, Baba Fakunle, is brought in to share with Odewale the murderer of the old king. Line: 24 Kindly share this article via the links below: LinkedIn Viewed from a sociolinguistic perspective, Yoruba proverbs exemplified by those used by Ola Rotimi in The Gods Are Not to Blame and Kurunmi especially, reveal the values of good conduct, respect for elders, the place of royalty, cordiality and cooperation for peaceful co-existence among the Yoruba. Gbonka was present when King Adetusa was slain at the hands of Odewale. The Epilogue: Two unpublished plays of Ola Rotimi. Each chapter will include a brief sketch of the authors life, a resume of the plays, and the development of major and minor characters. During their time of sickness, the townspeople solely depend on the herbs used as an attempt to cure the "curse" put on the people. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, set in an indeterminate Yoruba kingdom, the story centers on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to get somehow caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events. At birth his parents joy was cut short when they find out from the oracle that their first son was destined to bring them calamity! Yet, instead of a Greek village, the author sets the story in the fictional Yoruba town of Kutuje, while referring to real places in Western Nigeria, such as Osun, Ilorin, Ibadan, and more. He could not, of course, assume prior knowledge of the story on the part of the The enemies of kutuje (which are the people of Ikolu) seized this opportunity to attack kutuje, but Odewale championed the war by leading the people of kutuje into battle. He felt that the future of Nigerian culture cannot continue to be blamed forces from the past, much like Odewale would blame the suffering of his people, in his kingdom, on the sins of the old king, Adetusa. The above further reveals that the destinies of the duo are tied and can't be untie. King Odewale's progress towards knowledge of the murder and incest that must be expiated before his kingdom can be restored to ealth is unfolded with a dramatic intensity heightened by the richness of the play's Nigerian setting. Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear());, All rights reserved. Later, Ojuola explains that Baba Fakunle made her kill her first born son, convinced that her first son had brought bad luck. I believe this scholar is claiming to the idea that proverbs deal with issues in the Yoruban culture. 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. Disobeying the gods of the land through an act of compassion, Gbonka, The kings special messenger was sent alone to do away with the child in the evil forest. Please read on Essays: Learn how to write Essays here. Odewale says to the land that the biggest trouble today is not their sickness but instead the plague in their hearts. Odewale further said that he could no longer stay on his farmland because human blood had been shed on it. , Word Wise Odewales character experiences different phases of confusion, almost painful in its helplessness, that the reader will become sympathetic to his plight, cursing fate for dealing him with such a heavy hand. It's a masterpiece where justice is given a core value in our society and how justice and equity cannot be undermined. A classical tale (play here) transposed onto African soil, as it were. One of the great dramas held me captivated. Rotimi's play has been celebrated on two counts: at first scintillating as theatre and later accruing a significant literary aura. The story centres on Odewale, a man born with a destiny he tries to run away from, but inadvertently fulfills them, anyway. When the frog in front falls in a pit, others behind take caution. On Kindle Scribe, you can add sticky notes to take handwritten notes in supported book formats. When crocodiles eat their own eggs, what will they not do to the flesh of a frog? However, he would not tell him whom his real parents were. : He brings his sick children for the town to see, that way they know that his family is also suffering. She also gave birth to four children for Odewale, her first son who had murdered his father. Written by Otun Rasheed in 2011, the theatrical adaptation The Gods Are Still Not to Blame brings Rotimi's drama to the twenty-first century. One of the things I loved the most about Rotimis version was the infusion of the Yoruba culture, and how parables and incantations were stated. Required fields are marked *. Learn more. Simply suggest, the use of language is part of culture. But beautiful, beautiful twists I didn't see coming. [1] An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centres on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events by the gods of the land.[2]. The Gods Are Not to Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. Two examples of the way proverbs do this can be cited from the Yoruba culture", Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online, "Preview: The Gods Are Not To Blame, Arcola Theatre, London", "Ola Rotimi: The Man, The Playwright, and the Producer on the Nigerian Theater Scene", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Gods_Are_Not_to_Blame&oldid=1101435945. Ola Rotimis works are also a social satire and this publication will spur renewed interest in his satires. Femi Elufowoju Jr had his first theatre experience in 1975, at the age of 11, when he saw a revival of this very play, performed in a reconstructed Greek amphitheatre at a university campus in Ife; and brought it to the UK shores as a British leading theatre director under the company name Tiata Fahodzi. Odewale moved out of the town of kutuje, with his oldest child to lead the way. Odewale immediately ordered men to bring Gbonka from Ipetu. Although his adding of an allegory of colonization and decolonization was a nice bonus, and I did love the ending scene and quote: "It is always best to keep your words soft and sweet, you might never know when you'd have to eat them". Odewale learns that there is a curse on the land, and in order for the sickness to stop going around the curse has to be purged. [nb 1]. Hazel (his wife) died and Ola Rotimi returned from her funeral in the US to the dream home they built in Ile Ife, only to die in it from heart failure two months later. The comical character Alaka, for example, represents Odewale's childhood growing up in the village of Ishokun. File size. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. Baba Fakunle tells him that the source of the kingdom's ails lay with him. , Language Instead, he is wrapped in a white cloth (symbolizing death) and left in a bush far from Kutuje. 8 years ago June 26, 2013. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, set in an indeterminate period of a Yoruba kingdom, the story centers on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events. The fourth chapter will deal with the similarities and the contrasts in . Through this act of murder, Odewale knew he can no longer live on his farmland; for it is now stained with human blood. My feelings are torn here for reasons of theater only. Alaka hails from the village of Ishokun. I had an indepth analysis of the topics and themes of this book and it is worth every bit of the paper it's printed on. Stephen (Rasheed's version of Oedipus) has been raised in the USA and sent to fight in Afghanistan before he decides to travel to Nigeria in search of his origin story. in his play 1he gods are not to blame.t Whereas the action of Soyinka's play is set in Greece, Rotimi has transplanted his play to Africa and has also changed the names of the characters. The Gods Are Not To Blame reflects critically on perhaps the most cherished myth of cultural transmission that civilization entertains about itself as a means of explaining its own perpetuation. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. [2] He comes to Kutuje to tell Odewale that the man he called father had passed two years prior and that his mother, though old, was still in good health. According to the play, this so-called uncle of Odewale referred to him as 'the butterfly who thinks himself as a bird'. Rotimi was one of the clutch of prominent Nigerian playwrights who emerged in West Africa in the 1960s, the most notable being Soyinka. It's about having power over the land and Odewale no longer has the power because the old man took it from him, which is why he turns a hoe, which is a gardening tool, into a sword. Upon returning to Nigeria in the 1960s, Rotimi taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he founded the Ori Olokun Acting Company, and the University of Port Harcourt theater. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centres on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events by the gods of the land. It was also interesting to see how Odewales destiny led him back home, especially when he turned out to be a good ruler of his people. The book began with a prologue. In 1966 he obtained an MA from Yale School of Drama, where he earned the distinction of being a Rockefeller Foundation scholar in playwriting and dramatic literature. The Gods are not to blame was first performed in Nigeria at the Ife Festival of the Arts in 1968, has since been staged with great success across Africa Europe and the USA. Focusing on the Yoruba tradition, Ola Rotimi spotlights Yoruba gods, giving Sango, Orunmila, Ifa, and Ogun prominent roles throughout the book as King Odewale, King Adetusa (Odewales father), Queen Ojuola (Odewales mother), Aderopo (Odewales brother), the Chiefs and other characters in the book refer to them often. It was through this book that I first became acquainted with Oedipus' tale. Odewale: The king of Kutuje, who had risen to power by unknowingly murdering the old king, King Adetusa, whom, also not to his knowledge, was his father. Aderopo gives good news to Odewale from Orunmila concerning the sickness going around the kingdom, but along with the good news comes the bad. Similar in nature to the Greek play, Oedipus Tyrannus his royal parents receive a prophecy from Baba Fakunle that Odewale would grow up to kill his parents. Academic Questions in Literature in English. The only way to avert this taboo was to kill the yet innocent infant. (1971) Ovonramven Nogbaisithe title character simply luxuriates in the grandeur of his office. The gods are not to blame. Odebunmi (2008) then says, language, therefore, expresses the patterns and structures of culture, and consequently influences human thinking, manners and judgement. Call, Click here to read on Len Academy Smart School Software. Fakunle, is brought in to share with Odewale the murderer of town! Reveals that the biggest trouble today is not aware of this at the time African,... 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