The African World-view in Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman

German Egyptologist Hellmut Brunner translates the “Inscription of Antef,” which defines a philosopher as: “[He is the one] whose heart is informed about these things which would be otherwise ignored, the one who is clear-sighted when he is deep into a problem, the one who is moderate in his actions, who penetrates ancient writings, whose advice is [sought] to unravel complications, who is really wise, who instructed his own heart, who stays awake at night as he looks for the right paths, who surpasses what he accomplished yesterday, who is wiser than a sage, who brought himself to wisdom, who asks for advice and sees to it that he is asked advice. (Inscription of Antef, 12th Dynasty, 1991–1782 bc)” This displays that a philosopher is a multi-faceted human being, a jack-of-all trades. A philosopher is one who is able to give advice on topics of interest, and when he or she does not know, they are not afraid of searching through texts from civilizations older than themselves. They do this as a means to solve the various problems that they are given. Africana philosophy is a tool such that one is able to tap into past texts in order to provide support for those around them. In this essay I will further discuss Africana philosophy as well as its characteristics and how it differs from Eurocentric philosophy.

Adichie uses Papa Nnukwu to teach readers that different people find spiritual pleasure in different religions, and helps the reader understand that beliefs

Both chapters are full of valuable information about the indigenous religions of North Ameica and Africa. Among the rituals that grab my attention was the way how the Hopi and the Zuni people practice thier believes. In order for them be closer to the Holy Spirits, They wear some sort of masks that called them kachinas and begin to performe thier dances. The purpose of the dances is to seek for God giving such as the rain,which they believe it rejuvenates the entire cosmos, not just crops in a particular locale. The way how the Hopi practice thier Faith has a significant meaning. It explains why people are always looking for that hidden power that can guide them and mediate thier souls. The Hopi believes remind me as well about what Muslem

1. “The particular cultures and societies of Africa and of the Americas discussed in this chapter

It is always interesting to me to see what types of roles women play in popular books or novels of western history. The role of women in Things fall apart is more of a background story but their significance is deeply rooted in this book. Women play fundamental roles in education, religion and the social balance according to Achebe. In this paper, I am going to detail these roles giving references from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Novel to show how significant they actually are. You will be surprised to learn that they are very significant indeed even in a traditional African culture which at the time was being polluted by colonialism and other western influences of demoralization and demonization through missionary works.

The historical novel Segu by Maryse Condé is set in the African country of Segu during a time of great cultural change. The African Slave Trade, the spread of Islam, and personal identity challenges were all tremendous and far-reaching issues facing Africa from the late 1700s to early 1800s. Condé uses the four brothers of the Traore family, Tiekoro, Malobali, Siga, and Naba, to demonstrate the impact that the issues of Islam, slave trade, and identity had on African people through the development of each character. The oldest of the sons, Tiekoro exemplifies the influence and spread of Islam through out Africa at the time.

In a freezing class, two brilliant minds unlocked the fiery passion that is their talent one an artist the other a writer. Bringing to light a history long forgotten creating abstract thoughts arbitrary to our own. Komi Olaf the artist and Okey Ndibe the writer not only enlightening the class but also the world with each brush stroke and each word. Every creation stemming from the hands of these masters tell of issues at the heart of Africa from colonialism to existential dilemmas. Thru spoken word, hip-hop, art, music, poems and literature issues close at heart to the artists and to Africa are portrayed. This paper will focus on the art exhibit by Komi Olaf and Foreign Gods inc by Okey Ndibe as spoken by them during their discussion in the class on October 13th. Where the talks focused on the key course objectives being stereotypes, post-colonialism, youth culture, and resistance.

Chinua Achebe shows the reader the change of Africa as seen by the main character of the novel, Okonkwo. Okonkwo has the hardship of living in an ever-changing society. It is thru Okonkwo that the reader is able to visualize a society of immense cultural standing, and not as European colonizers would say, a society of savages. The main theme of culture is present in all areas of the novel, which helps to show to the reader all of its underlying themes, themes of tradition and themes of religion. Achebe sees the themes of culture, tradition, and religion in one bright light and European colonizers see those same themes in a totally different, somewhat snobbish dim light. However these themes are viewed, one thing is certain, change is on the horizon.

The author’s effort to display oral literature, including expressing Ghanaian English speaking and non-English speaking society, in her work reflects her own persona as a contemporary writer resembling the African oral traditions and art work. “Shall I go to Cape Coast, or to Elmina I don’t know, I can’t tell. I don’t know, I can’t tell,” (Aidoo) Language, mainly English, is promoted to throughly capture various backgrounds and events of the play. Aidoo tries to distinguish Eulalie’s American-English speech that instantly alienates her from the rest of the characters. The author also quite succeeds in reflecting Ato’s educated language with a hint of lecturing that proves he has been indeed abroad, as oppose to his Ghanaian family. It crucially exposes the impact of colonialism on communication between Africans with distinctive educational and social situations, as for instance, the married couple’s complexed struggle to not only fully accept their cultural differences but also keep and hold onto their own identities. Aidoo also catches the inflections and outcomes of oral literature by using simple songs, traditional proverbs and imagery, such as the interesting ones in the dialogue between the two old Ghanaian women. “1st W.:But you know, my sister, That my name is Lonesome. I

On the other hand, the main part of Elesin’s tragic fate originates from his own flaws. Elesin is just an ordinary person who has the pursuit of various things such as food and wine, dance and women. However, everyone believes that Elesin is the hero born with his mission to lead them peace and also with no selfish motives. When he is in the market with women and Praise-singer, he indicates that the others compare his eyes into a hawk in perpetual hunger. “Split an iroko tree in two, hide a woman’s beauty in its heartwood and seal it up again-Elesin, journeying by, would make his camp beside that tree of all the shades in the forest.”(14) This is a vivid description of Elesin’s desire of the living world. Even in the farewell, he

Elisabeth says then there will never be any solution to the problem of novel in Africa if the Africans wanted a ‘living voice’. The main problem faced by them was because the African writers unlike the French and the English were not acting as writers but were actually behaving like interpreters of their exotic cultures and that the root of their problem was ‘ Having to perform your Africanness at the same time as you write.’

Wole Soyinka (1934), Nobel Prize winner in literature, in his novels such as ‘King’s Horseman’ and ‘The Years of Childhood and Death’ portrays his life experiences and thoughts about Africa as well as Nigeria.

In his play, Death and the King's Horseman, Wole Soyinka would have us examine every clash and conflict, save for the one involving culture. Certainly this may seem the most obvious part of the play, but we would do the general understanding of Death a disservice if we ignored one of the central conflicts in the play. Every element of the play is placed in terms of two extremes, and the cultures must be considered one of those pairs. Suicide is no exception to this examination; it must be seen in the conflicting lights that Soyinka gives us: British vs. Yoruban, physical vs. metaphysical, personal vs. social; and an expression of failure vs. a form of redemption. In examining how the play

In an interview with The Guardian (2009) Wole Soyinka explained that the motivation behind writing Death and the King’s Horseman was a bust of colonialist, Winston Churchill. To Soyinka, Churchill signified the breaking of the Yoruba culture and traditions. The idea for the play came from an instance during the colonial period in Nigeria, when the British intervened in the traditional suicide of a king’s horseman.

In my reading of Things Fall Apart, it has better informed me of a culture that I did not know of before, and by reading it helped correct some broad misconceptions that I previously held of the people and their cultures of Africa. Reading the novel also gave me another perspective on the effects of imperialism/colonialism by the Europeans on the Africans. I believe Achebe has succeeded in enabling the West an opportunity to have them "listen to the weak" (Achebe interview), but whether or not Western society decides to listen will come down to the individual within the society--if they do choose to listen to the call of the "weak." In this essay I will share