Introduction
Wole Soyinka, now 82, is the first African to get the Nobel Prize for literature, to his
great shock and surprise, as he admits in an interview with Simon Stanford, freelance
journalist. He was born and raised in a colonial English speaking environment and yet,
he was also exposed to Yoruba culture, through regular visits to his father’s ancestral
home in a traditional Yoruba community (McPheron). As a playwright, Soyinka is
influenced both by the western culture and traditional African theatre, the latter bringing
dance and music to the drama.
A Dance of the Forests was the first important theatre play Wole Soyinka wrote.
In October 1960, it was performed by his acting company, Masks, as part of the
Nigerian Independence Celebrations. With obvious political and social implications, A
Dance of the Forest is greatly influenced by the European modernism but also by the
Yoruba culture and theatre and it is therefore analysed from different perspectives.
Combining dialogue with music, dance, performance and even visual arts – the totem
Demoke has carved – the play is complex as well in what the form is concerned.
In this paper, I will focus on the aspects of life and death, as they are represented
in the play, and I will also try to show how the mask is an important element, which
makes the link between the two. Many of the characters, especially those who are not
real living ones – the spirits of the nature, the ants, the Triplets, the child – are all
represented by masks. We will see that there are several forms in which masks can
appear or can be interpreted and, very importantly, that they can interfere with one
another. As a ritual drama, the past, present and future generations can coexist and the
ancestors do not only come back to judge, but also to be judged by their progeny.
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1. The living and the dead
From the very beginning, seeing the list of characters, we are overtly shown that the
play is about both the dead and the living. ‘The Guests of Honour’ – the restless dead
are even called the Dead Man and the Dead Woman. The other groups of characters are
‘The Town Dwellers’ – who are actually the living, the Forest Dwellers – the earth
beings, spirits and deities and ‘The Court of Mata Kharibu’ – with characters from the
past. Many of the Town Dwellers have a corresponding self in the past, at the Court of
the King Mata Kharibu and they seem to encounter similar experiences.
Life and death can appear, as I have previously mentioned, in different forms
and representations. In the first scene, the Dead Man makes a reference to the time,
which separates them from the living: “It is such a long time and such a long way.” (A
Dance…: 3) Therefore, there was a great physical distance and a time distance between
the two dead characters and four characters of the living generation: Rola, Adenebi,
Demoke and Agboreko. Yet, they are linked “in violence and blood” (A Dance…, 3), as
we are told by Aroni, ‘the Lame One’ – a Forest Dweller. Violence and blood may
mean death, definitely being its precursors. And we are thus introduced to an egungun
mythological symbol – the blood – animal blood being used as sacrifice and, for success
in war, the commander-in-chief of the army must have a touch of blood to rub on the
soldiers’ swords (Johnson: 136). The latter seems to be more relevant, since there is also
violence involved. Not much later, the Dead Woman acknowledges the distance
between the dead and the living: “We’ve been dying since the beginning; the living try
but the gap always widens.” (A Dance…: 4) The Dead Man and the Dead Woman try to
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integrate themselves as much as possible in the living society and the physical
relationship between them proves that they are already a part of it. This is one of the
ways in which the ancestors are brought back to life.
Demoke, the carver, is probably the main character of the play. He is the one
who has carved the totem, which is considered by Obaneji “the work of ten
generations”. And he goes on: “I think your hands are very old. You have the fingers of
the dead” (A Dance…: 7). We may assume that the totem is one of the links between the
living and the dead. As Obaneji says further, the totem can redeem the living; it is
sacred and has mythical powers, it is itself a sort of mask. The totem was carved in
order to celebrate the gathering of the tribes – a celebration which only happens “once
in several lifetimes” and which is supposed to bring “home the descendants of the great
forebears” (A Dance…:32). Unfortunately, the guests were only “ slaves and lackeys”.
The woodcarvers are very important in Yoruba culture, helping the people to
communicate with their gods. But the act of creation in general is essential: “to the
African, the art of creation… is an attitude that keeps the art alive instead of prolonging
the life of the object.” (Johnson: 64) Demoke represents two fundamental principles:
creation and destruction, even self-destruction. He is the one who, in the act of creation,
commits murder. Now, we have a first example of physical death. In his fear oh heights,
Demoke had his apprentice, Oremole, climbing up on top of the tree. The latter
ridiculed his master for his incapacity; therefore, Demoke pulled him down, causing his
death. Struggling between self-pride and sacrifice made for art, the carver feels guilty
and believes he deserves to die. He even imagines his death – a fall from a great height
– this showing that despite his fear of heights, he is captivated by them. It may as well
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be linked to Oremole’s death, seeing his own death as a punishment for having
murdered his apprentice, so he would deserve the same death.
In the past, Demoke is the Court Poet who lets his novice fall while rescuing the
queen’s canary from the rooftop. Again, he has to face the heights and again, somebody
falls down, probably the reason being the same: Demoke’s (alias the Court Poet) selfpride. He brings the bird back, in order to impress Madame Tortoise, the one who was
his inspiration for the totem. When he talks to Rola, he realises that she is actually
Madame Tortoise, the one who provided continuity for his sculpture. And it is obvious
that the dead who are brought from the past are actually alive and they are strongly
linked to the present.
2. The totem – symbol of authority
Despite the sacrifice made for the totem, Eshuro considers it an insult towards him. It
was carved in a tree, which is sacred to Oro. The araba tree is the tall white silk cotton
tree, whose branches can “scrape the sky.” Choosing the tree was not the least wise
thing Demoke could have done. But cutting it shorter was definitely an act which
disturbed the gods – in our case, Oro. His cult was responsible for punishing those
practicing the witchcraft. It also represents the punitive, the vengeful principle. And
this is exactly what Eshuro is seeking: revenge on Demoke and Ogun. Eshuro is not a
Yoruba god, it is Soyinka’s combination of two gods: Oro – already mentioned – and
Eshu – a trickster god, the cruel troublemaker. He indeed wants to “be revenged”
because the tree, which sheltered the spirits of the dead, was disturbed. And now, there
are signs of ferment, even signs of war: red winds, women crying, children being bathed
in ram’s blood, the anger of the silent wind and so on (A Dance…: 49). And towards the
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end of the play, when Demoke performs the dance of the Unwilling Sacrifice and
climbs the tree, Eshuro actually sets fire to it. Fortunately, Ogun enters and catches
Demoke as he falls.
It is very important, in Yoruba festivals that there is an object that is central to
the process. This will help, in fact, to establish the authority (à«÷), which is essential for
the performance:
“The Yorùbá concept of authority is considerably more fluid and transactional
than the power hierarchies of postcolonial theory. This transactional character is
visible in the active, performative dimension of sculptural arts. The authority
concentrated in a particular piece of sculpture exists partly as an effect of the
community having authorized the creation of such a sculpture and depends on
the audience interpreting the sculpture correctly. In turn, however, the sculpture
gains authority through its ability to enforce its own correct interpretation on the
audience in the form of a curse or blessing.” (Odom: 27)
However, the totem in A Dance of the Forests does not seem to achieve its role. It is
actually the subject of controversy and even hatred between Eshuro on the one hand,
and Ogun on the other hand.
As for the real life, the totem is supposed to represent the new Nigerian society,
which is being born. And this society – the authority mentioned before – would lead its
people to a better future, in times of transition. However, this does not happen in reality
as it does not happen in the play either. The metaphorical totem will be burnt, people
will fight against each other, betray each other and try to take over the power.
3. Mythology and ritual
Considered “one such myth which is part of the Yoruba pshyche” (More: 27), Ogun is
the symbol of the dualism of human existence: life and death – which can also stand for
another essential dualism: creativity and destruction. Both Ogun and Demoke flounder
between these two. Creativity means life and by carving the totem, the dead were
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supposed to come back to life through the Gathering of the Tribes ceremony. Instead,
during the act of creation, Demoke, following Ogun’s “bidding”, destroys a life. As
Soyinka argues, life becomes inadequate when destructive energies take over. Starting
from Nietzsche’s theory, he shows Ogun’s place in Yoruba culture:
“…it is an act of hubris to be born; it is a challenge to the jealous chthonic
powers, to be. The answer of the Yoruba to this is just as clear: it is no less an
act of hubris to die... to dare transition is the ultimate test of human spirit, and
Ogun is the first protagonist of the abyss” (Soyinka: 32),
where the abyss represents the transition between various stages of existence. These
stages may be birth, life, death, but also assimilation with other entities or phenomena.
And he is also the only god who dares to unite the gods with mankind, therefore the
living with the dead.
And one way this is happening is towards the end of Part One of the play, in the
dance scene, when the dead, returning to life, need their space. The Dirge-man gives the
command “Let the dead some room to dance” (A Dance…: 39-41) five times. This way,
there will be space for possible mystery, supernatural, but also will “allow the mental
possibility that the spirits are taking direct action” (Odom: 64). In order for this to be
possible, a performance with dance and music is needed; and, of course, all the
ceremony that comes with it: the drummers, the acolyte girl, the flogger and the
divination board, the bowl and the kernels. All these elements may be related to the
mystery of Ifa worship, Ifa being the great oracle in the Yoruba country. According to
Rev. Samuel Johnson, in The History of the Yorubas, in order to consult Ifa, “16 palm
nuts are to be shaken together in the hollow of both hands, whilst certain marks are
traced with the index linger on a flat bowl dusted with yam flour, or powdered
camwood.” (Johnson: 33) Agboreko calls it the “oracle to the living and silence” (A
Dance…: 39), which reveals that they (the Town Dwellers) are the dead’s children.
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Again, it is confirmed that there is a connection between the dead and the living. And
the performance makes it possible for them to meet.
4. Born to die
Another link – probably the strongest – between life and death is the Half-Child. He is
mentioned as early as the first scene of the play when the Dead Woman complains
about having carried it “for a hundred generations” (A Dance…:5). And the Gathering
of the Tribes is her chance to return the child to the living, to return, as she calls it “the
living to the living” so she could have a lighter sleep. The mother is of course a symbol
of life. The Dirge-man refers to this symbol in the song from the previously-mentioned
procession, mentioning the breasts – which keep a child alive – and also “the plantainbreasted Mother. The scene with the spirits is the first one when the child gets to speak,
whining about his condition, aware of his curse – to be born dead:
“I who yet await a mother
Feel this dread,
Feel this dread,
I who flee from womb
To branded womb, cry it now
I'll be born dead
I'll be born dead.” (A Dance…: 74)
The Half-Child is an abiku – a symbol of the life and death of nations, a symbol of
death-in-the-soul. The Dead Woman is struggling between her responsibility as a
Mother and her responsibility as an ancestress. As a Mother, she needs to give the child
to the living – for the child’s sake and also for her sake. On the other hand, as an
ancestress, she wants the living to take responsibility for their (self)-destruction.
Self-destruction, or just destructions seems to have always been an issue for the
living. People are violent in the name of religion, whether this is paganism, Christian,
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Islam or other. Soyinka notices that even today, when the man has discovered the
wonders of the Universe and has put Nature at his service, we constantly hear about
inhuman acts and destructive conflicts (Soyinka: 14).
There is a belief in the Yoruba culture according to which, children who die at
birth or in infancy are always the same children – their purpose being only to get born
so they could die again. Ian Watson compares this with the superstition that a devilchild can return to his mother’s womb, dying shortly after birth to torture her. (Watson:
26) In the play, the Half-Child’s life is still to be decided. However, the Spirits’
testimonies sound more like a curse, anticipating that something bad is going to happen.
Eshuro wants to decide the child’s fate by playing a game – they throw seeds into a hole
– but the Half-Child does not score anything. The egg the child finds later (A
Dance…:80) is without doubt a symbol of his life (or death?). On the one hand, the egg
represents a chance to life if it is hatched, but on the other hand, it represents death if
nothing comes out of it. And this is in fact the Half-Child’s fate, which will be decided
again, through the dance. The child tries to reach his mother while Eshuro tries to grab
his hand. They continue to play with the child as if it were a ball, throwing him from
one to another. This scene was actually modified for the 1960 production in order to
avoid the child being tossed over again. In both versions, Demoke is the one to give the
child back to the Dead Woman, hoping to save him for being caught between two
worlds.
5. With and without a mask
As a central metaphor in the play, the cyclic view of life links the past, the present and
the future, by bringing the living and the dead together (More: 19), therefore the earthly
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and the spiritually. This link is made through the Egungun procession, which transcends
time – which can be also related to life and death. This process is continuous, it can be
repeated again and again. The so called Egungun Society has the role to protect people
and to assure them about the immortality, trying also to lessen their fear of death by
organising these ceremonies where the ancestral spirits come among the living. Gerald
Moore, mentioned by Chinmai More reminds us that “if death has no meaning, then life
can have none either. If death can be made into a total gesture of being, then a man’s
end can sometimes have dignity that was never apparent in his life.” (More: 21) For the
Yoruba, the gods are a measure of eternity, while humans are earthly ephemera.
However, death is only a step for the existence in eternity, for the Èhìn-Ìwà (After-Life).
There are other elements representing life and death in Soyinka’s play.
5.1. Ritual masks
As already mentioned, in order for this reunion between the living and the dead to take
place, the ceremony is essential. And for the ceremony, the masks are essential. They
are not used only for their aesthetic purpose (which is unquestionable), but they give
spiritual power to the wearer. A mask can hide the real identity of a person, but it can
also tell us about the culture and its significant meanings. The use of ritual masks in
African texts is essential because this means a return to the roots (Watson: 120)
In A Dance of the Forests, Rola, Demoke and Adenebi wear masks to allow the
spirits to speak, while Eshuro wears a mask to hide his identity, first being the
Questioner and then The Figure in Red. When the three are being masked, Soyinka
explains that the mask-motif is like their state of mind – resigned passivity. After being
masked they are in some sort of trance, moving round in circles, only stopping when
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they need to speak. The mask covers the mouth and this way the Half-Child does not
know who speaks, which can be related to the secrecy of the mask. The mask itself does
not represent the spirit, but the person underneath becomes that spirit. It is like the
spirits take over the humans’ selves, as if they were possessed by the spirits. The
Egungun are wearing the ancestors’ spirits into the body of the living people. According
to Glenn Odom, this process goes even further: “the wearer of the mask becomes the
Egungun” (2015: 64) Thus the mask bestows the connection between the physical world
and the spiritual world. The external beauty of the mask - ęwà òde – conceals its power.
The man inside the mask is not there anymore, the possibilities of life being therefore
expanded. The mask transforms the vulnerable man into a powerful spirit of an
ancestor. However, the spirits are not necessarily benevolent. In the scene of the dance
of the Unwilling Sacrifice, Demoke, Rola and Adenebi act as if they were in trance
again and even put themselves (or each other) in danger. This is the destructive (or selfdestructive) character I was mentioning before. And dance, which begins as a dance of
creation, of rebirth, becomes the dance of death (Watson: 12).
The spirits appear in various forms. Many of them are related to nature – The
Spirit of the Palm, Spirit of the Precious Stones, Spirit of the Rivers, the Ants, but there
is also the Spirit of the Darkness and the Spirit of the Volcanoes. The palm and the
rivers are representations of life, whereas the darkness and volcanoes are
representations of death. Death is also conjured through the Crier’s song announcing the
Forest Man. He mentions all the frightening elements, the tools of the death: rock
devils, earth imps, tree demons, ghommids, dewilds, incubi, succubi and windhorls. (A
Dance…: 50) Interestingly, some of them are related to life elements, such as earth,
trees, rocks. But this may be because the spirits take over, they are more powerful than
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the living. For the rituals, all these spirits have to be present, as well as the dead and the
living.
An interesting phenomenon in the play is the unmasking. The Forest Head
orders the Interpreter to unmask the three: “Let them see the rest with their natural eyes,
their human sight.” (A Dance…: 79) Their human sight is more vulnerable, more
humane and they should judge the trial from that perspective, to understand where the
fault is. As for Eshuro, he wears the masks just because he wants to hide himself from
the others. He is already a spirit, he can even control the others, he does not need a
transformation. He chooses to do so because he wants to trick the others and get his
revenge.
The mask can only attain its functions through the ritual, music and dance. This
way, the invisible and impossible world becomes possible and thus visible (2011: 6) In
order to hide the earthly features, during the Egungun performances, the costume should
cover every part of the body. If this rule is broken, the person who failed to hide himself
properly, is killed and also the witnesses to this episode. The audience should also avoid
touching the Egungun dancer, and there is even someone carrying a whip in order to
keep the audience at a distance. In A Dance of the Forests, it is the Dinge-man, who
tries to keep the audience away, so the dead would have room to dance.
5.2. The “other” masks
Besides the traditional masks, there are also new ways of visualizing what a mask is.
Therefore, as for the masks we do not actually see, but we can perceive, many of the
characters wear masks. Even from the beginning, the Dead Man and the Dead Woman,
can be seen as masks. They are dead and, in order to perceive them as dead, they look
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like masks. Their masks represent their long journey in time and space, after which they
have finally arrived here.
Madame Tortoise has a mask-like face. And even after generations, when she in
in fact Rola, she can be recognised. Despite the fact that she does not look alike her
“other face”, Demoke can still identify her. Rola has brought Madame Tortoise with
her, sharing one body. She is a prostitute in the present, but she can be regarded as one
in the past as well. Still, she is a source of inspiration for Demoke when he carves the
totem, because she provides continuity. She is a proof that people are the same, even if
they are in different times. The situation during the king Mata Kharibu is similar to the
one in the present time when the Gathering of the Tribes is being organised and is also
similar to the real situation in Nigeria at that time, maybe even as it is nowadays.
Actually, the play provides metaphors for the real-life politics.
As I have mentioned earlier in this paper, many characters from the present have
a representation in the past. Nevertheless, if we refer to the masks they wear, it is the
other way round. The body of the living is just an expression of several generations of
ancestors. According to Suzanne Preston Blier, we can talk about the yε, which is the
“spiritual essence that serves to connect each person to his or her family of the past,
present and future”. (191) It is as well the link between life and death, between the two
worlds: “While identified with death, the yε also is considered to be essential for human
life and well-being” (Blier: 191). It is not the living who are important for what they are
in this life, but it is their ancestors they bring with them in their body. Therefore,
Demoke, for example, brings all his creative spirit, as well as the destructive one, from
the past, from the dead before him. And we should not praise (or accuse) him for what
he does, but his ancestors. The spirits of the ancestors guide them in their life, but they
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also protect them in order for them to be remembered by the future generations when it
is their turn to be the others’ ancestors.
There is another type of mask we can see (or better said, perceive, imagine) in A
Dance of the Forests. It is the mask the characters put on and take off every now and
then during the play. In what Forest Head is concerned, for example, we can just guess
that his real self – the unmasked one – is revealed with his aside in which he confesses
that “the fooleries of beings whom I have fashioned closer to me weary and distress me”
(A Dance…: 82) He is talking about the futility of everything because they can not
change anything. It is his secret, he has to carry it with him as a burden. It is of course
the fate of the all the people, if we extend to reality, it is the fate of Nigeria, a country
which is continuously trying to beat the corruption. The chances for this to happen are
very reduced, but still he tries to hope in “new beginnings”. We can notice he is not
unmasked for a long time and in all his other lines and appearances, he wears different
masks.
Masks are also changed from time to time according to the situation and, more
obviously, according to the characters they interfere with. Even Ogun puts on different
masks: a human-like mask in his search for Demoke, a god-like mask when he saves
him, but also an evil mask in his interactions with Eshuro. It is hard to tell which one is
real and maybe this is one aspect that can occur after wearing a mask: there is no real
self anymore, it is just another mask.
Conclusions
The Gathering of the Tribes concerns them all: dead, living or spirits. They all have to
be there to celebrate. It is supposed to be about all inclusive new Nigeria which is
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coming into being. It will not be a celebration in the end or, at least, not as they have
expected it to be, as Nigeria’s future is not going to be bright.
The relation between the living and the dead can take place on various levels. There are
visible levels but there are levels that can only be activated through rituals involving
dancing, singing, costumes and masks. In this paper I tried to analyse the different
aspects of life and death, the ways in which they are linked and also the role of masks in
this interaction. Dead or alive, they are all connected and they all wear masks. Some
just wear physical masks, the ones you can actually see and then the audience know
when they play with or without a mask. But others, most of the characters, wear the
invisible mask, the one that you need to see even if it is not physically there. And it is
not easy to know when they do not have a mask on or when they have a different mask
on.
Totally distinct from the mask worn on stage – when actors need to take a
different role than the one they play in life – people have started to wear masks in
various situations, maybe even forgetting to take them off and be themselves for a
while. However, this might not be the case anymore, there might not be a real self – just
a different mask.
Starting from the relation between the living and the dead, the play takes the
readers in different times and spaces, through various rituals and ceremonies. It reflects
the Yoruba culture and one needs to have a thorough knowledge of this culture in order
to understand the significance of all the elements involved. Moreover, a good
knowledge of history and politics in Nigeria would be very useful, in order to
understand all the hidden meanings of the play and of the plot. Soyinka might have got
his inspiration from the Greek culture and mythology as well, because in Greek dramas,
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actors wear masks. There is also the Chorus of the Waters, which may be the voice of
fate, or even a curse on the others.
Even though history and politics are very present in Soyinka’s works,
mythology plays a very important role as well. As he declared in an interview in 2005,
“the mythological figures are in fact humanity to the ninth degree and Yoruba
mythology in particular has the fascination of being one of the most humanized
mythologies in the world.”
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