Ola Rotimi: The gods Are Not To Blamehttps://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-10904630286AW-10904630286/XrxkCJV-r64YE1703c80gtag('config',-'AW-10904630286')conversionidAW-10904639286

OLA ROTIMI: THE gods ARE NOT TO BLAME

 

AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND

 

Emmanuel Gladstone Olawole Rotimi was born on 13 April, 1938 in Sapele, Delta State of Nigeria. He had his primary and post-primary education in Nigeria from where he went to America for a degree in Drama at Boston University, and Yale University for a postgraduate degree in play-writing and Directing.

 

His published play include The Gods Are Not to Blame, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, Kurummi, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, If, Holding Talks, and Hopes of the Living dead. He is a professor of drama and he is married with children.

TEXTUAL BACKGROUND AND SETTING

 

The play has a Nigeria cultural setting, specifically Yoruba setting. Thus, there are references to Yoruba towns like Ede and Osogbo, and the imaginary towns (a Yoruba city) Kutuje, where the actions of the play is centralized.

 

The Gods Are Not to Blame is an adaptation of the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex-King Oedipus – written by a famous playwright called Sophocles, more than 2,000 years ago. Ola Rotimi has simply taken the plot of Oedipus Rex and has given it a Nigerian background, creating an unmistakable Yoruba setting and Yoruba characters. It is said that he wrote this play at the height of the Nigerian Civil War fought between 1967 and 1970, to draw attention to ethic distrust as the major cause of the waste of human lives resulting from the war.

THE PLOT

 

The town of Kutuje is being ravaged by a pestilence and virtually every family including the King’s family, is affected. Consultation with the oracle reveals that the murderer of King Adetusa, the former king of the land, who is in the town taking refuge, must be brought out and expelled, otherwise there will be no peace. King Odewale, the current ruler of the town, and who has been ruling for 11 years, makes up his mind to bring out the culprit at all cost. He swears by Ogun, the god of iron, that he will torture the murderer by plucking out his eyes before expelling him. Odewale sets about this task with sincerity and, of course, fear; the task of bringing back health and happiness to the town where he is king, and the fear of being plotted against since he is a stranger among the people.  His fear becomes justified as the soothsayer, invited to solve the riddle, says the king himself is the culprit.

 

`The king’s search for the murderer then turns to a kind of self-search probing his own birth, tribe and parentage. As the self-probing continues, he remembers that a terrible curse hang over him from birth. The curse is that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. It is because he did not want this curse to come true that he ran away from the supposed land of his birth and found himself in the land of Kutuje where,  after liberating the people from the frequent attacks by a neighboring tribe (the Ikolu), he was made king. He then inherited everything the former king left including his wife.

 

His probing into the past makes him to remember an earlier incident. In the course of his escape from his supposed town he met an old man whom he killed in a dispute over the ownership of a farmland. It dawn on him now that the old man must be his real father while the woman he inherits as a wife is his real mother. The woman gets to know this, and she commits suicide immediately. Odewale then inflicts on himself the punishment he had earlier sworn to give the wanted murderer. Because he commits these two sins, killing his father and marrying his mother, in ignorance, we pity him and identify with his tragedy. His is a true courageous man.

THEMES

 

 

A number of themes can be identified from this play, ranging from destiny, to crime and punishment,, self-knowledge, ups and downs of life, power and honour, and pride and hatred.

·        Destiny: This seems to be the central theme in the play. Destiny can be described as fate or that thing which must happen in one’s life. It can also mean something that seems to decide a man’s fate. The life of Odewale is a good illustration of this. He is born with a terrible curse hanging over his head, he tries to ward off the curse but to no avail.  He would have been killed very early in life but the messenger to do this took pity on him. After growing up, he learns of his 

fate and tries to prevent it but without success. The gods eventually lead him to a tragic end.

 

·        Crime and Punishment: The general belief of people is that no crime is committed without due punishment. Odewale commits two shameful crimes – killing his father and having a carnal knowledge of his mother – and he is paid back accordingly.

 

·        Self-Knowledge:  This theme pervades the entire story. Odewale’s search for the murderer of the king turns out to be a search for himself. Even when the search appears to be a dangerous one, he persisted. All the other characters, except a few are unaware of Odewale’s true identity until after the harm seems to have been done. This general ignorance helps to make the creditable.

 

·        Ups and Downs of life: Life is not a bed of roses; there are moments of joy and there are those of sorrow, Odewale’s life in the story is a good illustration of this theme. He is born a prince and in spite of the curse on him, he became a king in a strange land. After some time, he falls into misery and ends up tragically.

 

·        Power and Honour: Odewale is very powerful as a king. He has honor too, because his word is highly regarded. When he pronounces his punishment on the unknown murderer of the king, everybody sees him as a man of honor who must do so as he says. At the end, when he realize he is the culprit. He takes the path of honour by plucking out his eyes and leaving the town as an exile.

 

·        Pride and Hatred: The meeting at Ede between Odewale and the Old Man illustrates this theme. The Old Man refers to Odewale’s tribe as ’bush’, and the young man becomes annoyed. In defending his tribe out of a sense of pride, he kills the Old Man not knowing he is his real father.

CHARACTERIZATION

Odewale

 

When the story opens, we see him as a man of 32 years. In the Prologue, he is an adult, ‘clad in a shabby farmer’s tunic and tight-fitting shorts.’ As a caring king, he moves into the crowd of his townspeople and grieves with them. He is a man of action, very bold and powerful. He liberates the people of Kutuje from their attackers.

 

He is a man of honor who makes no promise without carrying it it out. However, he is a highly temperamental man. He is described as a ‘scorpion’, and ‘one that must not be vexed’. This is probably why he is drawn to anger at his meeting with the Old Man, whom he kills for insulting his tribe. He is full of pride, especially ethnic pride, and he is ready to defend this to any length. He is said to be very religious, but he is superstitious enough to believe in the power of the gods.

Ojuola

She is first married to King Adetusa, hence, a queen, she has two male children for King Adetusa: Odewale and Adeeropo. She is a beautiful, well-mannered, and loving wife, and a concerned and caring mother. After the death of King Adetusa, she is inherited by Odewale, the new king, and her own son. By this custom of inheriting queens, Ojuola suffers the terrible fate of being married to her own son, Odewale, for whom she bears four children Adewale, Adebisi, Oyeyemi, and Adeyinka. She is very hospitable, as shown in her reception of Alaka; and she is a lover of peace, as manifested in her pleading with Odewale in relation to the dispute between him and Aderopo; and at such times that Odewale is about losing his temper. Ojuola is in sharp contrast to Odewale character wise - she is courteous, painstaking, and cool headed; while Odewale is haughty, and hot headed irascible.

 

She is a woman of good courage, who takes her own life by stabbing herself to death when it becomes unraveled that she has been married to her own son and raised children by him.

Aderopo

He is the second son of King Adetusa and Queen Ojuola, hence Odewale’s younger brother. He is believed to replace their first son who had been believed to have been sacrificed to the gods because of the bad fate he carried. This explains his name – Aderopo. In search of the cause and solution to the plague that befalls Kutuje, Aderopo offers to go to Ile-Ife to consult the oracle. And he brings word that a murderer is in the land, who has been the cause of the troubles. He also goes for Baba Fakunle, the blind soothsayer, in an attempt to identify the murderer. At a time, Odewale suspects him of plotting against him, therefore, the two no longer see eye to eye. Eventually, the truth comes to be known that Odewale is the actual cause of the troubles in the land. Aderopo is a gentleman who knows his rights and wants to assert them anytime, anywhere.

King Adetusa

He is the first husband of Queen Ojuola, and the father of Odewale who succeeds him as the king of Kutuje. He goes to his farm accompanied by his bodyguards in fact, and in an encounter between him and Odewale over the ownership of the farmland. Odewale kills him. He is a brave man who is also well versed in traditional warfare which relies heavily on the use of charms. In fact, in some respect, Odewale is a chip off the old block. Though, neither Adetusa and his bodyguards nor Odewale knows the relationship existing between them, the two fighters act the way they do in order for the inevitable fate of Odewale to come to pass.

 

Adetusa’s short appearance in the play as seen in the flashback, is full of actions, and it acts as a catalyst to realization of the terrible fate which Odewale has brought with him from the gods.

Alaka

He is the hunter from Ijekun-Yemoja apprenticed to Ogundele, a master-hunter. He is the one who pick Odewale up in the bush where he has been left to die. He teaches Odewale everything about Ogundele’s household and he is a confidant to Odewale. He searches Odewale after the death of Ogundede so as to give him the news. His appearance in the play changes the course of events as he reveals unknown to him, many facts that have remained unknown about the circumstances surrounding the death of King Adetusa (being the only one that Odewale tells the story of the man he kills on his farm which makes him flee to Kutuje) and that Ogundele and Mobike, his wife, are not the true parents of Odewale, and that he picked Odewale up in the bush where he had been left to die.

 

Alaka, son of Odediran, is indeed a humorous and talkative man who does not only provide comic relief to the audience but also serves as a line between the past and the present. By his careless talk, Alaka helps to put an end to the endless search for the cause of the troubles in Kutuje.

 

Baba Fakunle

Baba Fakunle is an old blind soothsayer. Advanced in age, he leans on a walking stick for support and uses a small boy, who is apparently an apprentice to him, as a guide. Baba Fakunle has seen the good and the bad sides of life; therefore, he speaks the truth always and remains fearless in the face of humiliation. As his profession demands, he gives people the knowledge of the past and the expectations for the future as revealed to him by the oracle. He divines that Odewale will kill his father and marry his own mother, points accusing finger at Odewale as the cause of troubles in Kutuje, and calls him a ‘bed sharer’.

Baba Fakunle is highly revered in the art of divination, and his instructions are followed in order to avert problems. He is believed to possess the knowledge of all the secrets known only to the gods. He plays a significant role in the play by telling the fate of Odewale at his birth, and by fishing him out as the cause of the plague in Kutuje.

 

Gbonka

He is the bodyguard to King Adetusa who is asked to carry baby Odewale to the evil grove and kill him. He takes the unlucky boy to the evil grove but refuses to kill him because he does not have the heart for that, especially, when he considers the boy to be innocent. He is also one of the five bodyguards that accompany King Adetusa to his farm where he dies in an encounter with Odewale; and the only one who returns to Kutuje to break the news of the King’s death. He leaves Kutuje for Ilorin when Odewale becomes the king of the land. In the search for the murderer who has been the cause of the calamities befalling Kutuje. Gbonka is sent for him; and on his return to Kutuje he confirms that he did not kill the boy given to him by the Ogun priest to be taken to the evil grove for that purpose.

 

Gbonka’s refusal to kill Odewale as an unlucky child shows that fate is inevitable. This singular act of sparing Odewale’s  life leads to the fulfillment of what the gods have fated for the unlucky child. But for Gbonka, it would have been extremely difficult to ascertain if indeed the baby was killed in the evil grove or not, and the search for the murderer would not have ended as it does.

The Narrator

The narrator is an omniscient character who has a comprehensive knowledge of the story. He gives information concerning the events that have taken place and about other things to encounter in the play. The narrator has already prepared the audience on what to expect and to inform them of circumstances in the past leading to the present happenings.

The Ogun Priest

The Ogun priest is the mediator between the people of Kutuje and Ogun , god of iron. Ogun is the deity worshiped in the land, and he is appeased when the need arises.(p.24) Odewale swears by Ogun. The people worship Ogun because they are hunters and farmers who necessary work with items made of irons. The Ogun priest is therefore considered important and he is highly respected. In fact, his age and status command respect. He is very close to King Adetusa and supported him in his actions. He carries baby Odewale during the divination concerning the fate he has brought with him; and when the unfortunate fate of the boy is known he ties his feet with a string; of cowries and gives him to Gbonka to kill in the evil grove.

 

The Ogun priest ought to have carried out this assignment himself, but so that the wishes of the gods would come to pass he fails to do this. He is seen throughout the play at crucial moments that need decisive stands.

ACT BY ACT SUMMARY

PROLOGUE

Act One

This act tells the story of the plague that befalls Kutuje – there is sickness in the land of which many people are dying – and the town’s people’s accusation of King Odewale as being indifferent to their plight. The king tries to exonerate himself of the accusation and reveals to them that he has sent Aderopo to IIe-Ife to find out the cause of the plague and the solution to it. Aderopo returns from Ife to disclose that the oracle has maintained that unless the murderer among them is sent out, peace and health of the land of kutuje will be denied. This brings Odewale to vow that he will deal ruthlessly. With the criminal if found. Thus the search for the criminal is started right from his own household. As the search continues, he begins to have some apprehension that he himself may be the culprit, therefore he becomes uncomfortable.

Act two

Baba Fakunle, the old blind soothsayer, is invited to come and identify, through divination, the murderer in the land who has caused the land to be plagued with sickness and death. Baba Fakunle is able to identify Odewale as the murderer being searched for, but he refuses to say it until Odewale provokes him to talk. Baba Fakunle now says that Odewale is the murderer and a ‘bed sharer’. Odewale becomes agitated and he alleges that Aderopo has bribed Baba Fakunle to say what he has said of him. Odewale decides to send Aderopo out of town and back this up with an oath to Ogun.

Act Three

Following the determination of Odewale to expel Aderopo from Kutuje. Ojuola tries to intervene. In the process of their discussion, Ojuola reveals that Baba Fakunle has made her to lose her first son, that her first husband has been killed by a gang of robbers near Ede. This revelation gives Odewale some serious concern and he begins to get more worried. Then Alaka comes to inform him of the death of Ogundele, his presumed father. This news gives him some relief until Alaka tells him that Ogundele is not his father and that he picked him up in the bush, Odewale sends for Gbonka to come and confirm the story and when it is confirmed, Ojuola goes into her bedroom and stabs herself to death. Odewale also goes into the room and plucks his eyes out of their sockets with a dagger. He asks his children to lead him out of town so that peace and happiness can return to the troubled land.

LANGUAGE AND DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE

The language of this play is both local universal. Ola Rotimi’s English has a Yoruba character and also a World Standard English character. His style of writing, therefore, endears the play to Nigeria readers and other readers from outside the country. Proverbs and traditional African idioms pervade the language of the book. Examples of the proverbs used are as follows:

 

·        When crocodiles eat their own eggs, what will they not do to the flesh of a frog?

·        All lizards lie prostrate how can a man tell which lizard suffers from bellyache?

·        When rain falls on the leopard, does it wash off its spots?

 

An example of Yoruba English made use of is:

Hunger fills her stomach; sickness will not allow even the smallest morsel. Anything she puts in her month – erhhh!

In this example, the author has employed the words of English but the thoughts, feelings and flow of ideals are quite in Yoruba. 

 

Flashback has been used tremendously as a dramatic technique. This is used to present what happens within a period of 32 years of Odewale’s growth. These happenings are not acted for us on the stage. The author chooses one person to narrate the events of the past while the actors just act their parts. This technique is usually employed by the story-teller who put in some drama in their narration to sustain the interest of their audience. We can refer to pages 45-50 of the play, where the author recounts the encounter between the Old Man and Odewale during which the latter kills his father without knowing the true identity of the man. The flashback is well used here without any undue interruption of the narration.

 

Dramatic irony is also used in the play. The most striking example relates to Odewale who is searching for a criminal who happens to be himself, without knowing. This search leads to the use of many ironical statements all of which culminate in the tragedy of the hero.

Revision Questions

1.     What is the significance of the Prologue to the play?

2.     What is the role of the gods in Odewale’s life?

3.     Examine the plague in Kutuje?

4.     Describe the conflicts between Odewale and Aderopo, and what effect it has on the whole story?

5.     Comment on The Gods Are Not To Blame as a tragedy play?

6.     Describe the style and dramatic technique employed by the author in the play.

7.     Describe the use of dramatic irony in the play?

8.     Are the gods to blame for the tragic end of the hero of the play? Discuss.

9.     Give a detailed account of the following:

(i)                Aderopo

(ii)              Ojuola

(iii)            Baba Fakunle

(iv)            Gbonka  

By:

Eguriase S. M. Okaka