Additional research sources

The Dark Continent

The Dark Continent is a poem written by Mthoko Mpofana. The poem is all about Africa and its social situations. The title of the  poem itself suggests that what kind of continent is Africa and one can understand the condition prevails. Poet speaks that for him everything is Africa .Africa bears his hopes and fear poverty, famine, crime and AIDS are the words which spoil Africa’s name and bring shame .When some try to make Africa better some others won’t allow it. The poet feels shame on them. Those people continue to destroy what little Africa has. Now mother Africa is weeping. Still there is some sort of hope and there are chances for corrupting good nature. He hope that Africa will rise in the name of all that is good. The poet tries to bring out the real African condition and the nature of different kind of people who are residing in Africa.

Refugee Mother and Child

Refugee Mother and Child is a poem written by Chinnua Achebe. Refugee Mother and Child is a realistic picture of a woman reduced to the state of a refugee by political situation or natural calamities like famine. The poet does not give the location of the situation because this pathetic condition could be seen anywhere in Africa where people were left homeless either on account of the political situation or calamity. Whatever the reason may be the refugees are in a wretched state in their camps. The poet compares the refugee mother to the Virgin Mary holding her child Jesus in her arms. The second part of the poem presents a conventional picture of grief. The situation is helpless and nothing can be done to change it. The poem ends with a simile: her parting of the child’s hair is like putting flowers on a tiny grave. It cannot be denied that death is pathetic but the knowledge of approaching death is tragic. The refugee mother is portrayed in this tragic condition, and  the poet seems to suggest that what she experiences is beyond what even Virgin Mary faced.

Coming-of-Age Rituals in Africa: Tradition and Change

This essay written by Annika S. Hipple mainly deals with one of the social conditions of the dark continent. There are some movement as a part of ritual for boys and girls. There are some movements as a part of rituals for both boys and girls. Girls wear copper coils around their legs and boys were put under some hard experience as a ritual purity. These are the examples of the elaborate coming-of-age rituals with which traditional societies throughout Africa have marked the passage from childhood to adulthood. These ceremonies has great influence on changing social, economic and political conditions. African-coming of age rituals have traditionally consist of three main phases: separation from community, a period of transition and reincorporation into society. Many cultural aspects have fallen away and the procedures is performed seems decreasing throughout Africa. African women’s groups are working to establish alternative rituals that revive the cultural elements.

Ritual,Anti-Structure,and Religion:A Discussion of Victor Turners Processual Symbolic Analysis

Mathieu Deflem  in his paper offers a outline and discussion of Victor Turner’s anthropology of religion and ritual. This will elaborate on some important issues in the study of ritual and religion. He focussed on the functions of ritual. Rituals, performed by cult-associations cross cutting the boundaries of lineages and villages creates wider networks of associations. He speaks mainly about Ndembu rituals. Turner interestingly discover how ritual works, what ritual does, and how people handle symbols during ritual performances. In Turner’s approach ,religious belief seems to  correspond with the nature of reality itself.

THE STRONG BREED

THE STRONG BREED

                             

The play can be looked upon as a tragic ritualistic one. The playwright, Wole Soyinka had tried his maximum to bring out the significance of rituals which prevailed once. Wole Soyinka tries to bring out the superstitious belief that exists in the minds of people. In every part of the world there exists a similar kind of ritualistic practices which we can see in this play.  

The plays begin with Sunma effort to convince Eman to leave the village before the New Year festival begins at night.  As she know the practice of his village is to select a stranger as a carrier to cleanse the village from it’s   sins and regain spiritual health for the following year. The play creates confusions at certain points through introduction of certain characters like the girl who has some disease.Sunma’s  character  seems   indigestible to  me. Her behaviour towards Ifada reveals her  true nature.This play  mainly deals with  some   serious incidence  which  provoke the readers  thoughts and make them think about such issues .

                 The story revolves around Eman  and  his bitter experience  in  the  village where he is Seen as a stranger. We may get  confused as there are flash backs in the play. Being a Nigerian , WoleSoyinka goes back to the roots in culture and rituals. This play has to be noted for the variety of theme. This play is a symbolic one.Eman comes from the line of strong breeds that are usually carriers. He sees the images of  his father and dead wife Omae.He had left his village for twelve years in search of a new destiny. He had to return because his father said they were born to be carriers and he couid not escape from his destiny. He tries to rehabilitate Ifada who is a young boy  who suffers from a uncurable disease.

                                             Sunma has been picturised  as a cruel character with harsh notions notions on Ifidan . She treats them both  badly.She treats the girl  as an embodiment of some evil. While Eman carries a generous attitude towards others and their sufferings.Sunma had tried to make Eman to go away from that village but her attempts fails.We can understand Eman as a teacher at the later stage.This play is a  fine example to show that how fate follows  a person  who  wants to change the previous one.Still  fate follows him wherever he goes and atlast he has to submit himself to that fate.

                                            We can  identify the character of Eman to Jesus Christ as they have to face death for a Similar reason.Simlarly  we can identify Eman with Oedipus whose fate followed him even though He tried to escape from it.Oedipus and Eman share a common trait at some point. Wole Soyinka tried  to  bring out the significance of  such  kind of rituals in this existing worid.Wole Soyinka gave Emphasis to tragic destiny of the hero.The motif of the play is ritual and he tries to bring out the After effect of such rituals.In my opinion rituals can be accepted only when they do not harm anyone.The whole play revolves around Eman and his journey to change his fate.What I felt after reading the play is that even if we try to change something the society will not allow it to happen so.

THE HUNGRY EARTH

Maishe Maponya’s The Hungry Earth  looks different  from other dramas  .As it is an  African drama it tries to bring out how colonized people feels when they are  oppressed. This drama shares the oppressive experience of colonialism. This work is also marked by attitudes of resistance and attempts at negotiation of colonialism. Maishe takes the readers into a world which rejects the claims of universalism and  superiority of European culture.

The Hungry Earth consists of five scenes depicting conditions of working class in south Africa and each scene is introduced by a narrator. I think maishe tries to express his protest against umlungu (the white man) and their rule over them. Even though he wrote it in English he deliberately used vernacular, especially in songs. It might be because he in order  wants to  maintain patriotism and respect their language.

The Hungry Earth opens with a prologue. There are four actors playing different roles. Scene one is a Hostel room where four workers (Matlhoko,Usiviko,Sethotho&Beshwana)share their experiences and perform their history and coming of whites to the land  of Africa and the changes brought by them. Next is the second scene The Sugar Plantation and it depicts the conditions of labourers in the plantation. It reveals about low wages ,poor working condition and about child labour. Scene three, The Train, presents the picture of a men who is travelling to Egoli.On the train a cruel ticket examiner arrests the men for smoking dagga.Next is the Mine scene.It depicts the working conditions of miners:danger ,dissatisfying living standard, workers and the relationship of Makhulubaas.The last scene is The Compound. It gives us a picture of the living conditions, the loneliness and poverty. The scene ends  with a death  of a young husband on the mines. In the last scene we can see  the presence of a female character.

The song in the last scene illustrates the tone of this play. The song is of course a demand for consideration. Through the song Mashie tries to make audiences aware of the disorders during that time. The playwright tries  to expose  and challenge colonial ideology. He tries to reclaim the past and history of colonised people. This play should be read from the angle of colonized people then only one can understand their problems.

In scene one we can see Sethotho speaking in favour of the whites. The main   problem in Africa is the apartheid ideology imposed by the dominant group. In scene four The Mine there is a reference to gumboot dance. In Africa gumboot dance has got something to do with their culture and way of expressing themselves. The importance of gumboot dance cannot be conveyed through textual means. The reality and their spirit can only be understood through watching their performance.

I think the title Hungry Earth can be related to the hunger for freedom of the people of South Africa. Maishe has used simple language inorder to expiain a complex theme.It is not  a matter about black or white.But  it is all about humanity. It is high time for us to think on such matters since we were  once under colonial rule. Hence we should thank Maishe Maponya for presenting  the real life situation of South Africans.

hai

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