: In fufillment to their custom, the son was taken to the priest of Ifa to tell what the boys future would be. King Adetusa: Former king of Kutuje. this book is very interesting i will encourage every one to read it. 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. People made dramatic entry and exit to the stage around his casket with the man turning his casket. Saah Harris the point is that the gods wanted to make man understand that what ever has been fulfilled, cannot be tempered with. I am so glad this story was set in a period during the Yoruba Kingdom, because this is the sort of thing that I grew up with, as a Cuban, it is a part of every ethnic group's culture, one of the many things that threads us together. The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. Aside this amazing influence, it was basically Oedipus Rex, with some slight changes. Baba Fakunle tells him that the source of the kingdom's ails lay with him. I believe the problem of man is with man himself.The fact that odewale aided the people of kutuje,was not a prove of leadership mandate.The tragedy that befell kutuje people took its turn after the coronation of odewale as king by either Odewale or the people, without consulting the gods.In our days we make same conclusions when we make people who have helped us come through storms as Lord over our affairs. Please try again. What first swims up to the surface of my memory when I remember this novel is "the place where three footpaths met". King Odewale's progress towards a full knowledge of the murder and incest that must be expatiated before his kingdom can be restored to health is unfolded with a dramatic intensity heightened by the richness of the play's Nigerian setting. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_harry_book.php The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi. , Word Wise Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear());, All rights reserved. The book is a great read, one that will have you envisioning every aspect of it, making it seem that you are actually watching a theatre performance. Backwards Ever, Forward Never: Too Late for Anything Book Review, Oedipus, Whos to Blame? He brings his sick children for the town to see, that way they know that his family is also suffering. 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 comical character Alaka, for example, represents Odewale's childhood growing up in the village of Ishokun. 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. Things Fall Apart (African Trilogy, Book 1). Aderopo: Brother of Odewale, and son of King Adetusa and Ojuola. He began to run from one town to another until he finally landed at kutuje, a town that had recently lost their king; 'a king he himself murdered', king Adetusa. In The Gods Are Not to Blame, Rotimi gives the ageless story a new spin, with a fresh perspective that makes his book a classic. 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. Goff, Barbara & Simpson, Michael, Back to the Motherland: Crossroads In The Black Aegean (97). Queen Ojuola and the Ogun priest realized the truth. Rotimi's main intervention is to dispense with the gradual revelation of the truth of Sophocles' original: here, the . Try again. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Odewale placed a curse on anyone who attempted to stop him, for they wandered as far as possible from the land of kutuje, thus fufilling the promise he made on whoever had killed king Adetusa, his father. Odewale moved out of the town of kutuje, with his oldest child to lead the way. In 2000 he returned to Ile-Ife where he lectured in Obafemi Awolowo University till his demise. In the last part Odewale leaves. Near the play's end, Gbonka retells this event to Odewale, which leads to the discovery that Odewale was in fact the son of the former king, and the son of the current queen, and his birth mother, Ojuola. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. What really stricks me about this book now is the title Rotimi chose. The Gods Are Not To Blame has become canonical in European and American as well as African theatre. She is the mother of six children: two under King Adetusa (Odewale and Aderepo), and four under King Odewale (Adewale, Adebisi, Oyeyemi, Adeyinka). Rotimi seals Odewale's fate by having an omen placed over his life at birth. Out of fear and respect, Aderopo having got answers from the shrine of Orunmila in Ile-Ife was reluctant to tell the king about the outcome of his findings in public. 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 particularly highlights the emotional language used in the drama. 1220 KB. Call up your raw anger, and in the blind-ness of it, strike me dead! InOla Rotimis version of the Greek mythology about cursed Oedipus, we see a relatable Yoruba man named Odewale a strong willed man who becomes the very thing he ran away from. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at. , Enhanced typesetting My rating reflects the level of service I received - not the item itself. It is during the course of the play that Odewale reveals to Alaka why it was that he left the village of Ede, where Odewale said he would live after leaving Ishokun when he was thirteen. Rotimi spent the second half of his last creative decade reworking two of his plays Man Talk, Woman Talk and also Tororo, Tororo, Roro and the result, unpublished at the time of his death in 2002, have now been published under the title The Epilogue. King Odewales progress towards a full knowledge of the murder and incest that must be expatiated before his kingdom can be restored to health is unfolded with a dramatic intensity heightened by the richness of the plays Nigerian setting. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. [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. He is found and picked up by a farmer hunter Ogundele and raised by him along with his wife Mobe. 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. Odewale's horrible fate, whether it had been the Seer being silent, or even his parents not ordering his death. His later dramas include The Gods Are Not to Blame (produced 1968; published 1971), a retelling of Sophocles' Oedipus Rexin imaginative verse; Kurunmi and the Prodigal (produced 1969; published as Kurunmi, 1971), written for the second Ife Festival of Arts; Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (produced 1971; published 1974), about the last ruler of the Benin empire; and Holding Talks (1979). Man Talk, Woman Talk is humorous, as quintessential comedies from the author can be. He failed in his duty and saved the life of the newly born by giving him to a stranger, Ogundele by name, who took the child to another village and served as his foster father there. ola Rotimi's book is very inspiring.i learnt that what we say,do,watch,portray and everything else around us determines our destiny.trully the gods are not to blame for whatever happens.I believe odewale's fate would have been averted if he had stayed with his real parents. Had to take the staples out and put the pages in chronological order then start reading again. Odewale closes the play by stating, the gods have lied Nathaniel. Alaka hails from the village of Ishokun. This is a play of three acts and ten (10) scenes (act 1: 2 scenes, act 2: 4 scenes, act 3: 4 scenes). Rotimi was the son of Samuel Gladstone Enitan Rotimi a Yoruba steam-launch engineer (a successful director and producer of amateur theatricals)and Dorcas Adolae Oruene Addo an Ijaw drama enthusiast. Owing, in part, to political conditions in Nigeria, Rotimi spent much of the 1990s living in the Caribbean and the United States, where he taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Instead, he is wrapped in a white cloth (symbolizing death) and left in a bush far from Kutuje. Instead, he is wrapped in a white cloth (symbolizing death) and left in a bush far from Kutuje. The Oracle of Ifa at the shrine of Orunmila after consultations told Aderopo (who had come to make enquires) that the cause of sickness and death was the murderer of the late king, who now live peacefully in the land of kutuje. Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April 1938 18 August 2000), was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors. 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. A Dictionary of Nigerian Pidgin English: with an introductory survey of the history, linguistics and socio-literary functions, A translation of the play "The Gods Are Not to Blame" into Setswana, The Masquerade in Nigerian history and culture, An interview (1975) with Ola Rotimi, senior research fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ife, Ile Ife, "Review of: Kiabr: Journal of the Humanities 1" (June 1978), Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. that we shld not let our temper let us into other bad things that we are going to regret later in the future because it is going to affect us very badly like Odewale's temper lead him to his grave that should not happen to any reasonable humanbeign who have consience. One of the chiefs was with him when this happened. Alaka also told everyone present how Odewale had been adopted by the people he thought were his parents. [5] He says that in post-colonial Africa, much of the blame over the suffering incurred by native Africans was the result of the colonial powers. In the 'gods are not to blame', the king's messenger who disobeyed the gods of the land in what he taught was a compassionate act is _____. 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. 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. The Gods Are Not To Blame Movie By Ola Rotimi Full Movie - Nigerian Movies 2020 Latest Full Movies Afroshesi HD 2.69K subscribers Subscribe 117K views 2 years ago WELCOME TO STRESS DOCTOR. : The Gods Are Not to Blame Book Review. In the Yoruban culture, like many others, have symbolic. There is a great deal of wit in the work and the setting here is the university environment where the youthful contenders are idealistic. At the end, the reader is left with a ringing conclusion - one can never outrun fate. Tororo, Tororo, Roro is a coincidental meeting of two fellows from Man Talk, Woman Talk, Tunji Oginni and Philomena James. [5] He says that in post-colonial Africa, much of the blame over the suffering incurred by native Africans was the result of the colonial powers. Write your thoughts. [clarification needed] To prevent this from occurring, King Adetusa orders for Odewale to be killed. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions. The Gods Are Not to Blame is influenced by Yoruba and Yoruban culture. The two plays were probably meant as an epilogue to both Rotimi's theatrical and comic careers, which span the entire spectrum of his career. ASIN While this book has certain similarities to the original Greek story, it finds its own originality by adding different elements and characters to the story. SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY The play is a modern dramaturgical experiment on the classical philosophical discourse concerning the concept of destiny and fate element which was started by . [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]. Later plays, such as If: A Tragedy of the Ruled (1983) and Hopes of the Living Dead (1988), premiered at the University of Port Harcourt and was a common play in OAU Drama Department. The self-styled 'Apostle' of the Destiny Church made the comments just days after the storm hit, dedicating a sermon to the topic and . His father father does to Odewale what European colonizers did to Africa. However, Odewale, the new king of kutuje decided to know who killed the late king but was told that he was murdered by robbers. : 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. 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. His last production was a staging of Man Talk, Woman Talk at the French Institute in Lagos, Nigeria. Aderopo arrives and is immediately confronted by Odewale about his suspicions. The estimated length is calculated using the number of page turns on a Kindle, using settings to closely represent a physical book. He is summoned by Odewale to ask of a way to rid the suffering of his kingdom. One day, an old man accompanied by five bodyguards invaded his farmland and claimed the land to be his. Brian Tamaki has once again blamed a natural event on the wrath of God, this time telling his followers that Cyclone Gabrielle was brought to Aotearoa by porn, abortion and gay rights. Not too long, Gbonka (an elderly man by now) arrived the palace. [9][10] It was nominated for an award at the ESB Dublin Fringe Festival 2003. Print length. 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. BadlyThe Gods Are Broken!Against the GodsThe Gods are Not to BlameAmerica's Four GodsAnalysis and Interpretation of Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to BlameThe Gods are Not to Blame, a PlayTheatre of the GodsThou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before MeMen and GodsMagicians of the GodsThe Food of the GodsWhom the Gods Would DestroyThe Epic of . The King expresses sympathy to the townspeople for the illness that has been plaguing them. Please Register here or Login here to contribute to this topic by commenting in the box below. On Kindle Scribe, you can add sticky notes to take handwritten notes in supported book formats. In the last part Odewale leaves. Page Flip is a new way to explore your books without losing your place. Odewale banishes Aderopo from the kingdom. The Gods Are Not to blame is full of irony, despair, and disillusions.

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