Dance and Theatre
Why a Yoruba dancer has to understand drum language, the aesthetic of dancing hot with a cool face, and the line from the Alarinjo masque theatre through Ogunde, Ladipo and Ogunmola to Nollywood.
Yoruba dance na response to text. The drum dey tok sometin for Yoruba, and the dancer work na to use body answer am, wey mean say dancer wey no fit follow the drum language no fit dance. Dis no be just poetic way to describe how music and movement join togeder. Na technical requirement wey dey determine who fit perform and wetin the performance mean, and na im make Yoruba audience wey dey look dancer dey receive information instead of to just dey look decoration. Na from dis performance culture theatre history take come, wey start from the Ọ̀yọ́ court masque troupe dem of eighteenth century, pass through the travelling company dem of mid-twentieth century, reach the Yoruba-language films wey dey Netflix now.
Na drum dey call the step
The clearest explanation of how dis mechanism dey work come from Oluwafemi Jacob study on bàtá dance, where e quote Oluwasogba say: every movement get im meaning, and the step na response to particular speech or command from the drummer .
The result be say the dancer dey act like translator. Jacob tok am straight: pesin wey no understand the language of the bàtá drum, but wey dey watch the dance, fit understand wetin the drum dey tok through the movement of the dancer . The dancer na the interpretive layer between the drummed text and audience wey get different levels of understanding. On the other hand, new dancer wey only watch bàtá performance dey find the steps very hard until dem teach am how to respond to different tempos, and e must get thorough knowledge of the drum different commands and punctuations instead of just to dey react to rhythm .
The contest. The relationship na contest, no be just say dancer dey obey. Jacob describe challenge wey dey between drummer and dancer, where the drummer dey give instruction and each dancer dey show during performance say dem dey in control of the test, as dem dey decode and interpret am; expert dancers dey reply with movements wey dey ask the drummer wetin e still get, wey dey show in effect say dem dey up to the task . Dis exchange na duel wey dem do with two different media.
Against the improvisation reading. Jacob quote Jacqui Malone, and the passage na useful correction to Western descriptions wey dey see African dance as free expression :
instead of to dey emphasize individual talent, Yoruba dancers and drummers dey express communal desires, values, and collective creativity. The drumming represent underlying linguistic text wey dey guide the dance performance... But make pesin no confuse dis characteristics with improvisation, wey dey emphasize the individual and boost im ego. The main duty of the drummer na to preserve the community.
Nketia add join with point on the collaboration wey dey required, say the relationship between the structure of the music and the design of the dance, togeder with the room for spontaneous variation, dey demand say musicians and dancers must pay close attention to each oder .
The body
Polycentrism. Bàtá dance dey use the head, eyes, chest, hands, shoulders, legs and toes for appropriate expressions . Multiple centres of the body dey move on independent rhythmic lines at the same time, wey be the aesthetic feature wey European observers don consistently find hardest to describe and easiest to caricature.
Ajótapá. Dem dey call Bàtá the dance wey dey fling the feet, and the proverb wey dey back am up dey exact :
Oníṣàngó tó jó tí kò tàpàá, àbùkù ara rẹ̀ ni
Oníṣàngó: a devotee of Ṣàngó, one who belongs to Ṣàngó. tó jó: who dances. tí kò tàpàá: and does not fling or kick out the feet. àbùkù: disgrace, blemish, defect. ara rẹ̀ ni: it is his own body, it is upon himself.
The failure of a Ṣàngó dancer to fling the feet while dancing will discredit him.
Translation as published by Jacob, from Oluwasogba.
Àbùkù strong pass "discredit". Na blemish or disgrace wey dey attach to pesin, and the phrase àbùkù ara rẹ̀ place am on im own body, so the Yoruba dey tok say the failure mark am physically instead of to just damage im reputation. The dance require say the performer must dey physically fit, strong, dynamic and enthusiastic .
Named bàtá dance variants include gbàmù, elése, afaṣégbòjò, elékòtó, ijó ògè and ògèsè, with gbàmù being the most popular and, according to Oluwasogba assessment, the most bastardised and abused .
The structure of bàtá performance, for Jacob five-part scheme : one clear opening sound with songs and dances; ìjúbà, salutation and homage, delivered through chants and dances; entertainment section, often in ABACADA rondo form, wey fit include acrobatics and magical display with prominent call and response, and wey on secular occasions carry less Ṣàngó material and more oríkì of prominent people present; den departure section wey be variant of the ìjúbà, wey dey thank the elemental forces; ending with recession song and two lead dancers, one male and one female, wey dem leave on stage for climax wey the lead drummer cue for final burst of energetic dance.
The ìjúbà bracket for both ends na the structural signature. Performance dey open by paying homage to the powers and e dey close by thanking dem, and the entertainment dey sit inside dat frame.
The aesthetic of the cool
Robert Farris Thompson account of Black Atlantic aesthetics dey built on the observation say African dancers dey dance hot with cool unsmiling face, wey e explain as the mind of elder inside the body of the young . Coolness for dis reading na aesthetic ideal of balance and control, wey dey expressed across sculpture, textile, dance and comportment, with roots wey e trace go Nigeria . The Yoruba word wey dey under am na ìtutù, wey mean coolness, calmness, moisture.
Na the face carry the main load. Yoruba dancer wey dey dance with full physical energy go maintain calm face, and the difference between wetin the body dey do and wetin the face dey do na im bring the aesthetic effect. Na the same standard with tútù for sculpture, where statues wey dey do violent action dey keep calm face with half-closed eyes, so dem dey judge the dance and the carving with the same standard.
Thompson list longer set of rules for fine form inside African Art in Motion, including terms wey dem usually call ephebism, ìtutù, the get-down quality, multiple meter, looking smart, correct entrance and exit, call and response, ancestorism, and vividness cast into equilibrium. Na only the rule of hot-body cool-face dem verify in quotable form for this file, and dem just mention the others here without explanation or page reference instead of to paraphrase them from secondary summary .
Dance and possession
The performance side of possession dey here; the religious institution side dey the òrìṣà section.
Bàtá drum na central thing for Ṣàngó worship, and tradition hold say Ṣàngó ask for drum wey go fit ginger am and suit wetin e need, and na only bàtá satisfy am, with the omele akọ wey dey play the lead role . Wetin matter for the aesthetics na say the drum pattern dem dey specific to the deity: music in general no dey move devotee, na particular repertoire wey dem address to particular power, and dem understand say na when dem play the correct text properly na im possession dey happen.
For Egúngún, the dùndún ensemble dey provide the drumming, while the ìyáàlù dey pass coded messages wey the masked dancer dey decode through movement . Na the dancer-as-decoder principle be this again, and for the Egúngún case e dey do theological work: the masked figure na ancestor wey return, and as e fit answer drummed text, e dey show say e understand, wey be evidence say na true true wetin e claim to be.
The metaphor say the devotee wey get possession na the mount or horse of the deity na standard thing for Yoruba and Afro-Atlantic religious studies, and na im dey under the title of Soyinka Death and the King's Horseman. Dem no verify any scholarly source for am for this file and dem just note am instead of to assert am; na Margaret Thompson Drewal Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play, Agency be the correct source for the performance-aesthetic treatment .
Aláàrìnjó: the travelling masque theatre
Joel Adedeji 1969 doctoral thesis for University of Ibadan na the foundational study . The way secondary literature report im account dey go like this.
E trace the origin of Yoruba theatre go the Egúngún masquerade, the cult of the ancestor, and e bring out three developmental phases: ritual, then festival, then theatre, as e dey track how dem use the egúngún for both ritual and secular occasions . Ológbìn Ológbojò, wey be descendant of the ọba, adopt the masquerade to advance im duty as retainer and head of court entertainers . Ẹ̀ṣà Ògbìn, wey take Ológbojò as im professional name, lead one band of costumed players and extend their work outside the Ọ̀yọ́ court go throughout the Ọ̀yọ́ empire . The theatre grow well well during the eighteenth century, mostly inside palace circles, and dem participate for the annual egúngún festivals . The Aláàrìnjó na well-organized troupes wey draw their entertainment styles from the old rituals .
The mechanism na the important part. Masquerade na sacred form where the masked figure na ancestor. Troupe wey carry that form travel road, perform am for money, add satire and impersonation, and separate am from the specific ancestors of specific lineage don turn rite go theatre while e still keep the mask. Everything wey follow after, including Ogunde companies and arguably Nollywood industry, come out from that conversion.
Exact date wey dem start am, the difference between Ẹ̀ṣà and Àpìdán, and the office of the Alápinni, dem no verify them for this file and dem no assert them. Na inside Adedeji thesis and im journal articles dem settle those ones.
Biodun Jeyifo The Yoruba Popular Travelling Theatre of Nigeria and Karin Barber The Generation of Plays na the other essential works, the first one on the twentieth-century travelling theatre as industry, and the second one on how dem take actually create the plays during performance .
The travelling theatre, 1940s to 1970s
Hubert Ogunde, 10 July 1916 for Ososa inside Ogun State to 4 April 1990 for London, wey dem dey call the father of Nigerian theatre .
Im first folk opera, The Garden of Eden and the Throne of God, dem perform am for 1944 when e still dey serve for the Nigerian Police Force, under the support of one African Protestant sect, as e mix biblical themes with Yoruba dance-drama traditions . That combination na the main point: the form na Yoruba masque theatre, the content na Christian, and the sponsor na African church. For 1945 e start African Music Research Party, wey be the first contemporary professional theatre company for Nigeria, wey dem rename as Ogunde Theatre Party for 1947, Ogunde Concert Party for 1950, and Ogunde Theatre for 1960 .
For 1964 Yoruba Ronu, wey mean "Yoruba, think", vex Chief Akintola, Premier of Western Region, and dem ban Ogunde Theatre for Western Region; the military government of Lieutenant Colonel F. A. Fajuyi come revoke the ban on 4 February 1966 . Theatre company wey regional premier ban because of play title wey be instruction to im own people na clear sign of wetin this theatre dey do politically.
Duro Ladipo. Im three main play na Ọba Moro (1962), and Ọba Kò So and Ọba Wàjà, di two na 1964 . Ọba Kò So, "di king no hang imself", show how Ṣàngó take become di òrìṣà of thunder, and e receive international praise for di first Commonwealth Arts Festival for 1965 and during one European tour . Mbari Publications publish di three play for 1964 as Three Yoruba Plays, wey Ulli Beier adapt enter English .
Beier teach for University of Ibadan and help start di first Mbari Club for there for 1961; based on wetin e see there, Ladipo start di Mbari Mbayo Club for Òṣogbo and, with Beier help, change im papa house enter art gallery and theatre . Dat building na di institutional foundation of di Òṣogbo art movement, wey be di same environment wey produce Susanne Wenger work for di Ọ̀ṣun grove and Nike Davies-Okundaye adìrẹ training.
Di role wey Beier play deserve make person take note of am, insted of to just celebrate am or wave am comot. Na European facilitator wey provide platform, publication, translation and international contacts to Yoruba artists wey use dem for wetin dem want. Dis na real contribution, and e also mean say big part of wetin reach di world as Yoruba modernism pass through di selection of one European editor.
Kola Ogunmola, Elijah Kolawole Ogunmola, 11 November 1925 to 1973, dramatist, actor, mime, director and playwright, start Ogunmola Travelling Theatre around 1948 . Im adaptation of Amos Tutuola The Palmwine Drinkard, for Yoruba as Ọmùtí, first show for stage for 1963 for Arts Theatre of the University of Ibadan with Ogunmola as Lanke, and dem perform am for di First Pan-African Cultural Congress for Algiers for 1969 . Institute of African Studies for Ibadan publish am for 1968, after R. G. Armstrong, Robert L. Awujoola and Val Olayemi transcribe and translate am . Tutuola write im novel for English as Yoruba author wey use Yoruba oral narrative; Ogunmola adaptation bring am back to Yoruba and to di stage, wey be full round trip wey make sense to note.
Moses Olaiya Adejumo, Baba Sala, and im Alawada Theatre, bring comedy come front for dis tradition and dem serve as bridge to di film era. Dem no verify di dates and details for dis file and dem no claim say na so e be.
Film, video and Nollywood
Celluloid. For late 1970s, di success of Ajani Ogun and Ija Ominira, di two pioneer Yoruba feature film, ginger Ogunde make e co-produce im own first celluloid film, Aiye, wey come out for 1979 (though some source talk say na 1980), as e call Ola Balogun make e direct adaptation of one of im stage play . Jaiyesimi follow for 1981, Aropin N'Tenia for 1982 and Ayanmo for 1988, and all of dem carry Yoruba metaphysics inside . Di direct continuity here na say stage companies wey put wetin dem dey already perform for stage inside film na dem make Nigeria first film industry.
Di shift go video. Di celluloid period run from di 1970s reach late 1980s, and video film industry come out around 1988 to 1992, wey people generally give credit for di boom to Kenneth Nnebue Living in Bondage for 1992, wey Chris Obi Rapu direct, wey dem shoot with VHS camcorder, release straight to video, produce with about 150,000 naira (roughly 12,000 US dollars dat time), and e sell close to one million copy .
Living in Bondage na Igbo-language film, no be Yoruba, and dis one dey important for accurate account. Yoruba travelling theatre don dey make film for pass ten years before am, so di Yoruba film tradition old pass Nollywood common origin story. Wetin Living in Bondage bring come na di economic model: no cinema, no celluloid, no distributor, direct-to-cassette sale inside market at a price wey mass audience fit pay. Dat model come absorb di Yoruba industry insted of say e create am.
Tunde Kelani and Mainframe Films and Television Productions na di strongest case for continuity between traditional material and di screen. Ṣaworoide (1999) na political drama wey im plot depend on one Yoruba tradition for Jogbo town, say person no fit get crown as king unless di right person beat di ṣaworo ide, di drum wey get brass jingle . Dat na film wey stand on di exact restricted-drum principle wey dem document for gbẹ̀du: di instrument na constitutional device, and anybody wey control who fit play am dey control succession. Di sequel na Agogo Èèwọ̀. Thunderbolt: Magun (2001) depend on di mágùn charm, e follow story of one Igbo person and one Yoruba person wey meet during National Youth Service .
Dem dey sometimes list one Kelani Ṣàngó of 1997; di 1997 Ṣàngó film look like wetin connect to Obafemi Lasode insted of Kelani, and dem no confirm any of di two attribution for dis file.
Di current epic wave. Kunle Afolayan Anikulapo (2022), na Nigerian epic fantasy wey Netflix distribute, and Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre follow am . Femi Adebayo Jagun Jagun, Bolanle Austen-Peters House of Ga'a, and Lisabi: The Uprising, wey come out for Netflix on 27 September 2024 with Lateef Adedimeji as executive producer . Dis cluster show shift towards epic historical storytelling inside Yoruba-language cinema for international streaming platform, wey dey draw directly from di historical material wey dey inside di history section.
Jonathan Haynes Nollywood: The Creation of Nigerian Film Genres na di standard scholarly work on di industry and im genre dem .