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Journal of Culture, Society and Development- An Open Access International Journal

Vol.1 2013

From Orality to Print: An Oraliterary Examination of Efua T.

Sutherland’S The Marriage of Anansewa and Femi Osofisan’S
Morountodun.
Uwem Affiah, Ph.D, Ndubuisi Osuagwu, Ph.D
Department of English and Literary Studies,University of Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract
African oral literature remains a veritable source of material for African literary drama through various means,
ikncluding exploitation and adaptation. By so doing, besides the aesthetic benefits, present and future
generations can learn, imbibe and practicalise the moral and social values of traditional African societies which
we seem to badly require at this time of severe moral decadent. This essay shows the exploitation of indigenous
African arts in terms of content and aesthetics by two prominent African dramatists, viz, Efua T, Sutherland of
Ghana and Femi Osofisan of Nigeria.
Keywords:Oral tradition ( oral literature), exploitation, anaseseem, anansegoro, myth.

OVERVIEW
All over Africa, for centuries now, there has existed a rich oral tradition of story telling, rendition of songs, ritual
dances and several traditional ceremonies and festivals. “If we accept the idea of literature as a creative text”
(Okpewho 1992 : 3), then noting the creative embedded in the aforementioned as well as the way they appeal to
our imagination and emotions, it immediately becomes clear to us that we are dealing with literature. The
stories, songs, dances and traditional festivals were, as they still are today, an expression of the people’s
consciousness. As Ogude (1983) asserts, “literature in this context (is an) expression of people’s consciousness
in a social situation” (1).
Different cultures the world over, have developed what is today termed their ‘modern’ literature out of
their traditional background giving rise to a situation where what “… was once only heard … can now in
addition be read …” (Ogud1 983: 1). Indeed, classical Greek tragedy is known to have developed from the
tradition of ancient Greek rituals and religious sacrifices.
In Africa “ there has, indeed, been an increasing tendency on the part of modern African writers to
identify with the literary tradition of their people in terms both of content and of technique” (Okpewho 1992:
293). A cursory mention of some examples will shed some light on the phenomenon.
The Sotho writer, B.M. Khatta’s description of train (Kunene 1970 :150 – 151) is all but a manifestation
of his application of the Sotho praise tradition. As with Sotho praise poets, he mixes a heroic portrait of the train
with a tone of protest.
The late Ugandan poet Okot P’ Bitek is known t have “remained a staunch believer in the vitality of the
oral traditions” (Okpewho 1992 : 302). All his songs, particularly song of Lawino, show his heavy reliance on
his native Acoli tradition of the poetry of abuse.
From the Yoruba of western Nigeria, we have Daniel Fagunwa whose fine works of fiction, in addition
to being written in Yoruba, are drawn from the tradition of hunters’ tale which is a major sub-class of Yoruba
oral narrative. Okpewho( 1992) asserts that Fagunwa’s works “… are fundamentally indebted to the oral
tradition in both matter and manner of narration” (305).
The incidents in Amos Tutuola’s the The Palm – Wine Drinkard carry motifs which like in Yoruba oral
tradition are familiar along the west coast of Africa. The magnitude of Tutuola’s indebtedness to the oral
tradition “forced Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie to declare Tutuola a borrower” (Okpewho 1992 : 307). Ogundipe-
Leslie adds that Tutuola did not invent much in the Palm-Wine Drinkard .
We cannot but remember J.P. Clark’s Ozidi Saga and most of Achebe’s novels which draw heavily on
the resources of the oral tradition.
Perhaps it is pertinent to state that the crossing of currents has not remained altogether one sided, from
orality to print. An examination of the matter and manner of concert parties and traveling theatres show that
they do transform material from written works into their oral dramatic performances. Take Ogunde’s Israel in
Egypt for an example. The play which explores the fortunes of a people under subjugation and oppression and
which is a metaphor of the Nigerian colonial situation is no doubt, inspired and patterned along the lines of the
biblical story of the Israelites in Egypt .
This essay is a study of the intrinsic relationship, the cross currents, between oral literature and modern
African drama. The essay examines Efua T. Sutherland’s The Marriage of Anansewa and Femi Osofisan’s
Morountodun in the light of this relationship and in the process validates the assertion that the vitality of oral
literature for modern society still enjoys a rich currency. The essay shows that there is ample room for the
exploitation of the resources of the oral tradition in the artistic pursuit of social, economic and political peace and
equality in our continent nay our world today.

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Vol.1 2013

ANANSESEM
The word Anansesem literally translates to Ananse stories. Anansesem is the story - telling art of the
Akan - speaking people of Ghana. Originally a domestic activity, it is known today to have been given full
theatrical expression by some specialized, professional groups. The result of this is the presence today of
established conventions for its practice. The word, Anansesem is used to refer to the body of stories and to the
art. Dibba ( 1978 ) opines that Anansesem had “previously fulfilled certain community aesthetic, moral and
cultural needs among the Akan – speaking people of Ghana” (2).
Sutherland herself throws some light on the practice when she says:
The stories are composed with performance demands in mind and in a number of different forms
and styles.
Most are in a combination of narrative prose and a poetry which is meant to be sung or
rhythmically recited on the basis of solo and choral response. Stories in the tradition are under
content revision for renewal and development. Also, contemporary interest inspires the
composition of completely new stories to replenish the repertoire. ( 1975 :v-vi)
Anansesem seems to serve a dual purpose, namely: didactic and religious. It is used in instructing the younger
generation in moral behaviour and social norms on the one hand and to explain phenomena which were
otherwise inexplicable on the other. Some scholars posit, arguably though, that the preponderance of the
formulae of recurrent songs is indicative of Anansesem originally being part of the ritual of exorcism and social
purgation.
From this Akan story – telling tradition, Sutherland has evolved a tradition of modern drama practice
which she calls Anansegoro.

BASIC STRANDS IN THE NATURE OF ANANSESEM

Succeeding scholars and critics have isolated and crystallized certain basic strands in the nature of
Anansesem. They include the storyteller or narrator, music, dance, mime and praise – singing.
Sutherland (1975 ) sees the storyteller as “ the owner of the story with a conventional right to know
everything” (v). He is the overseer of the whole story and the commentator whose comments give insight into
the events of the story. He ensures audience participation as well as imitates the songs. Like performance to oral
literature, so is the storyteller to Anansesem - central and crucial.
Another basic strand in the nature of Anansesem is music. Whereas some scholars prefer to consider
music, song, hand-clapping and gong – rhythm as separate and different strands, it would seem to me that it is
better to see all of these as one strand which we can call music. Let me attempt to proffer reasons for this
preference. Firstly, it ensures a small, neat and manageable number of strands. Secondly, and most importantly,
if we accept music to be series of sounds, whether by instruments or voices, made in an exciting or pleasant
way, it becomes apparent that handclapping gong - rhythm and songs can be accommodated under music. In
Anansesem, the songs which are traditionally called Mbuogo are an integral part of the performance. Usually,
they contain the central ideas of various episodes, offer opportunity for audience participation and break up the
main action and offer some relief to both the storyteller and the audience while illustrating the actions of the
story.
Dance, mime and praise-singling are used in varying degrees but usually to a lesser degree in
comparative terms with the storyteller/narrator and music.

SYNOPSIS OF THE MARRIAGE OF ANASEWA

The Marriage of Anansewa does not adopt wholesale the traditional trickster tale format of friendship followed
by agreement after which a contract is entered into and then one party breaches the contract (betrayal), a
betrayal which is later discovered and which in turn leads to revenge and followed by an end of the friendship.
Notwithstanding, it relies substantially and follows the traditional plot line of the ananse tales, a heritage of
trickster tales among the Akan-speaking people of Ghana.
Ananse is broke and in financial difficulties. Even his daughter’s school fees connot be paid as the
family slips into misery. Inspired by a seeming desire to ameliorate the problem, Ananse enters into a secret pact
with four chiefs, severally, promising each the hand of his daughter, Anansewa, in marriage. When Anansewa
discovers the scheme she is alarmed but is persuaded by the cunning Ananse to cooperate so as to ensure the
material well-being of the family. The scheme is a huge success as the suitors pour in cash and gifts.
Matters come to a head when the four chiefs arrive severally to legalise the marriage and take the
young woman home. Ananse comes up with a scheme, convinces his daughter to act dead while he sends
messages to the four chiefs informing them of the death of Anansewa.
By their various reaction to Anansewa’s ‘death’, the scheme produces the one most qualified to have
her hand in marriage. Even a cursory reading of the play leaves the reader with no doubt about the playwright’s
indebtedness to the tradition of the oral narrative performance of Anansesem.

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FROM ORALITY TO PRINT: THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA AND THE DEBT TO ANANSEM.
The theme of the play is drawn straight from the trickster tales of the Anansesem tradition. Its
relevance in time, which emphasizes its contemporaneous image, again, underscores the relevance of oral
literature even today. It answers the often asked question: which is more important? The sensibilities transmitted
in a work of art or the mode of transmission?
In different communities different animals represent the trickster. In some communities it is the tortoise.
In others it is the hare, and yet in others it is the spider. In the Anansesem tradition of the Akan-speaking people
it is the spider. Whether the trickster be the tortoise or the spider, they manifest the same traits. They are all
crafty, cunning, selfish, greedy, deceitful and conceited. George Kweku Ananse has a generous dose of these
traits. These traits, in turn contribute to the development and realization of the theme: (modern) man’s quest for
materialism by hook or crook.
The entire play centers around the cunning, trickish Ananse. He is a crafty modern individual who
converts every little opportunity into an illegitimate avenue to amass wealth. In the words of Dibba “it is with
falsehoods solely that he manages his life" (1978:29). A Machiavellian figure with absolute faith in
Machiavellianism, Ananse as an embodiment of the thematic concern of the play, represents modern man's
approach to life be it in commerce, politics or socials.
In Anansesem, we all the time encounter a cunning Ananse applying illegitimate and unconventional
means to smoothen his existence. In The Marriage of Anansewa we see 'modern' Ananse with 'modern’
cunningness applying still illegitimate and unconventional means in pursuit of materialistic gains.
In moving from orality to print Sutherland had to be guided by the format of modern drama. This implies
some modernization. The play is, thus, structured into acts - four acts in all. Sutherland employs some other
elements to give the play contemporary appeal.
Anansewa is intelligent and educated. She attends a secretarial school, which was very much the vogue
for young girls in the 1960s. Ananse is eager to go to church and show off his newly acquired wealth. This seems
to be a sub-theme as Sutherland actually seems to pillory the nouveaux riche who ostentatiously flaunt their ill-
gotten wealth. The dramatist refers to Miss Christina Yeboah (Christie) as a fashionable lady. Christie is indeed
a sharp contrast to what is traditional. She uses affected language and serves, also, as a vehicle for the
modernization of Ananse (the spider) as she sometimes calls him 'Georgie' or 'darling' or 'sweetie'. Ananse even
avails himself of secretarial services and in so doing pushes his modernization further. In one of
Anansewa's suitors, the "Chief whose name is mentioned in the ear" (Sutherland 1975:14), we possibly
have the image of the military leadership of the 60s to the nineties. These contemporary elements are
imperatives of modernizing the play but serve a functional purpose of promoting comic effect. Nonetheless,
these elements do not detract from the traditional origin of the play.
Beyond the theme coming straight out of the trickster tradition, Aya and Ekuwa, Ananse's mother and aunt
respectively, represent tradition. Spiritually and socially, Aya is traditional. She believes strongly in the out-
dooring ceremony which is the ritual representing the passage from girlhood to womanhood. Through Aya and
Ekuwa, the playwright links the traditional with the modern and creates a balance between the two sensibilities.
Vincent (1975) contends that " drama is the supreme example of collaborative effort" (80). The Marriage of
Anansewa is the outcome of a collaboration between oral and modern African drama. It seems the highpoint
of this collaboration on the part of oral drama is the relocation of the storyteller to the Anansegoro format from the
narrative format. Just as he is central to the action in Clark's The Ozidi Saga, so is he central to the action in
Sutherland's The Marriage of Anansewa. We had earlier in this essay noted that he is the owner of the story. As is
typical with the storyteller/narrator of the Anansesem, the storyteller in The Marriage of Anansewa controls all
the events in the drama. He explains events, prepares us for future scenes, comments on the behaviours of
characters, engages the actors and the audience and even participates in the action.
In the oral performance, which Anansesem is, the audience is actively involved. The text is not experienced
and enjoyed in the cold comfort of one's room. The narrator carries along the audience, who are usually deeply
involved in the process of performance and who expect both benefit and delight from the performance as much as
the performer does. In The Marriage of Anansewa both the storyteller and Ananse try to carry the audience
along. The audience on its part joins in singing and also make comments and other forms of contributions.
Another significant aspect of Anansesem which has been intergrated into Sutherland's Anansegoro is the use of
Mbuogo (songs). As in Anansesem, the songs provide an opportunity for the audience to get involved in
the performance. The songs are an integral part of the stories and offer explanations or contain ideas
manifest in episodes of the story or the entire story. The songs are also used to punctuate and ventilate the action.
For all that it is worth, for providing an opportunity for the extension of the limits of traditional art form to
accommodate and express contemporary experiences and sensibilities, The Marriage of Anansewa is a good
example of orality to print, of "a good drama (of) the supreme example of collaborative effort" between orality
and print.
Let us now proceed to examine the movement from orality to print in the case of Osofisan's Morountodun. It
is proper to begin with an understanding of the concept of myth

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THE MOREMI MYTH

Abanuka(1999) defines myth as "... a simple human attempt to explain in symbolic language the origin
of the world, human discoveries and inventions, suffering and death..." (5). This definition implies that myth is a
story invented to explain natural or historical events and occurrences. On his part, Okpewho writes that" the word
myth has also frequently been used for describing a tale in which gods, or divinities recognized by a
community of people (not just fairies or ordinary spirits) are the protagonists..." (1992:181).
The Encyclopedia Americana defines myth as "stories told as symbols of fundamental truths with societies
having a strong oral tradition" (699). A point worthy of note in the last definition is the fact that myth is closely
related to oral tradition.
Ruth Finnegan(1970) adds another element to the definition when she writes that myths are considered
to be “truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past. They are accepted on faith … taught to be
believed; and can be cited as authority in answer to ignorance, doubt or disbelief” (361 - 362). From all these
definitions, we can deduce that myths are, originally, oral narratives, serious and sacred, often with ritual
backgrounds, having gods or men or monstrous creatures with both qualities as characters .
Scholars belonging to various schools of thought have tried to explain the relationship between myth
and society. The functionalist scholars Emile Durheim and Bronislaw Malinowski assert that myths promote
social solidarity and enhance integration. Myths provide an avenue for the transmission of culture, protection of
cultural continuity and stabilizing the society.
For the creative artist, therefore, myth serves “as a means… (of) aiming for order and meaning in a
skeptical age” (Feder 1971:4). Several creative writers including Clark in The Ozidi Saga, Soyinka in The Road
and Death and the Kings Horseman and Rotimi in The gods Are Not to Blame have plotted their works against
the background of traditional myths. Some of these myths are historical while others are romantic. Osofisan plots
Morountodun against the background of the Yoruba myth of Moremi.
The Moremi myth has it that the people of lle-lfe suffered constant raids from their neighbours, the
mysterious Igbo. All effort to contain the Igbo forces proved futile. The lfe people turned to their gods for
assistance,but the gods failed them. Then, Moremi, wife of the Ife king decides to save her people. She releases
herself to be taken away by the Igbo. She becomes their king’s wife and is opportuned to learn their magic art.
In due course she escapes and returns to lle-lfe with the secret of Igbo magic art. This she reveals to the lfe
people who on account of it conquer the Igbos. However, in keeping with the terms of her covenant with
Esinmirin before leaving lfe, she had to sacrifice her only son Oluorogbo to Esinmirin river.
Osofisan combines myth and history in Morountodun as he combines the myth of Moremi with the
Agbekoya uprising of 1969. Osofisan draws the theme and the plot from the myth of Moremi but to remove the
play from the realm of myth and ritual by weaving it around the Agbekoya peasant farmers uprising. This essay
proceeds next to look at the playwright’s indebtedness to myth in Morountodun.

FROM OARALITY TO PRINT: MOROUNTODUN AND THE MYTH OF MOREMI

Osofisan seems to cleverly select aspects of the myth of Moremi which are suitable for his purpose and
applies them in crafting the play. This appears to conform to Echeruo’s assertion that myth is an indispensable
element that develops into drama through selective elaboration, re-enactment and reinterpretation.
In Morountodun, Osofisan points out the need for self sacrifice. If people must evolve a better society
then they must be ready to make sacrifices. Osofisan cites an actual occurrence in an effort to incite people
suffering oppression to rise and revolt against the system. The allusion to historical reality is a way of rousing
oppressed people to action by saying that it is possible to do it. It also means that Osofisan is saying that
passivity, docility and complacency will not help.
In many ways, Titubi is fashioned after Moremi. After being goaded and humiliated by the
Superintendent, Titubi volunteers to help end the revolution by arresting the leader. She emulates Moremi by
allowing herself to be capture. Through Titubi’s recall of the Moremi myth, Osofisan states that since the gods
(in this case the oppressors) are indifferent to the plight of the oppressed, then the fate of the oppressed is in their
own hands.
Osofisan continues his treatment of the theme of sacrifice as he makes Titubi to experience the
degrading life of the poor as opposed to her normal luxury life. While in the camp, she experiences how the
oppressed live and is appalled at the injustices they live with:
You know before this… I could never have believed that life was so unkind to anybody
(Morountodun, 65).
And then she begins to ask questions:
… I began to ask questions. Questions. I saw myself growing up knowing no such suffering as
these. With always so much to eat … Yet here, farmers cannot eat their own products but must be
content with wind in their stomach. And then when they return from the market, the tax man is
waiting with his bill… it could not be just (Morotodun, 66).
These lead to her transformation:

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… in our house we wake to the chorus of jingling coins. And when we sleep; coiled springs, soft
foams and felt receive our bodies gently. But I have lived in the forest among simple folk;
sharing their pain and anguish … and I choose … (Morotodun, 66).
Even as Titubi achieves Moremi’s feat, she undergoes a metamorphosis. Having noted the injustice
meted by the privileged class on the suffering masses, she opts to align with the oppressed to fight and end the
injustice. Through the use of the Moremi myth, Osofisan shows that one needs to experience injustice and
oppression to be able to understand and appreciate the predicament of the oppressed. That Titubi resurfaces as an
agent of truth and justice gives hope.
Osofisan uses the Moremi myth to elucidate the moral motif in human struggle. Moremi was involved
in a self-sacrificing struggle for legitimate communal peace. Titubi’s metamorphosis is only proper for she ought
to be on the side of truth and justice. Like Moremi, Titubi becomes a symbol of hope for the ailing society.
Inherent in her change is an admission of the fact that no one can win an unjust war, and this much she admits
herself.
Her marriage to Marshall who she initially sets out to capture and handcuff raises hope that some day
the oppressors and the oppressed will become friends and equals. The marriage symbolizes the dismantling of
the barrier between the rich and the poor, the oppressors and the oppressed. While handing over the gun to
Marshall, she says: “Take the gun. Let a new life begin.” This symbolizes the fact that one day, authority, power
and government will change hands and go to the masses of the oppressed majority.
Another technique of the oral tradition used here is that of a storyteller/narrator as represented by the
director. Through him the playwright conveys some of his massages. He is the chief source of enlightenment for
the audience. He transcends the entire story and this is a quality of the folk narrator.
The episodic structure or method of “discontinuous episode”, which allows the dramatist to suspend the
progress of the story to allow for a re-enactment of aspects of the past is a story telling device of the oral
tradition.

CONCLUSION
This essay opines that quite a generous amount of modern African drama is the secularization of
traditional African ritual festivals and oral narratives. Oladele Taiwo(1967) corroborates this when he opines that
the products and activities of traditional African communities and essential elements of folk values and heritage
form the background on which written literature is based (39).
Indeed the Yoruba opera which signals the very beginning of modern drama in Nigeria draws its
essential elements from the oral base of music and dance. From South Africa Leshoai(1978) reports that the
theatre of black South Africa has had its root in traditional story-telling poetry, dances, songs, proverbs and
riddles” (1150). And though Nazareth(1978) states that Mahood sees the kikuyu dance and the funeral dances of
the Nyakyusa of Tanzania, East Africa, as ‘pre-drama’ (91), Bell-Gam concludes that the most frequently used
folk arts by modern African dramatists can be summed up as rituals, proverbs, tales, riddles, costumes, masks,
dance movement and superstition (1986:186).
The collaboration between orality and print is impressive and requires encouragement not only as a
means of giving the oral tradition a rich currency but also to ensure that modern society benefits from the
richness of our cultural heritage.

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Osofisan, Femi. Morountodun and Other Plays. Ibadan: Longman Limited, 1982.
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