Language
This is a witty, light – hearted and humorous play which explores the conflicts between two cultures, the traditional African culture and the Western culture, and between the modern and the traditional ways of life. It presents the life of Sidi, a simple, innocent and naive village girl who helps to uphold the traditional value system of her community. She therefore speaks simple English that in some cases are transliterations of the Yoruba language. Other characters in the play speak in the same manner and in some cases certain words are presented in the local dialect. Some of the songs are presented in Yoruba language.
In accordance with the comic mode of the play, the language is designed to ridicule some of the characters and to evoke laughter in the audience. For instance, Baroka mimics Lakunle thus: ‘Guru morin guru morin ngh – hn! That is all we get from “alakowe” You call at his house hoping he sends for beer, but all you get is Guru morin. Will guru morin wet my throat? (16)
The play is a one-act play that is divided into morning, afternoon. and night. The language is replete with proverbs, witticism, and traditional Yoruba greetings (like Baba Kabayesi). Music, songs and dances are used extensively in the play and they are integrated to advance the theme and propel the plot.
Mo te’ ni. Mo te’ ni.
Mo te’ ni. Mo te’ ni.
Sun mo mi, we mo mi
Sun mo mi, fa mo mi
Yarabilo m’eyi t’ le d’ omo (64)
This is a song sang by Sidi at the end of the play. The song is an invitation for a closer relationship and an embrace. It states that it is only God that can determine the mating that will result in pregnancy Although she was not prepared for a marriage to Baorka, she accepts her fate and decides to make the best out of it.
Setting
The play The Lion and The Jewel has a rural setting. This explains the use of some Yoruba rituals and local songs, customs and traditions in the play. The physical setting is in the village of Ilujinle. The play compares the old and the new cultural imperatives. It, accordingly, makes use of some modem phenomena like magazine, school, photographer, pictures, English suit, etc. The historical setting is therefore the post-independence period in Nigeria, between 1960 and 1963.
Characterization
Sidi
Sidi is the heroine of the play. She is looked upon as a source of inspiration and one capable of launching the village into limelight. Her picture in the international magazine is a source of wonder and reference even to the Bale. The teacher, Lakunle, himself is amazed at the sensation that these pictures create in the village. She occupies such a prominent position in the village that even the Bale promises to insert her image in the postal stamps.
She is conservative and detests Lakunle’s new romantic ideals and kisses. Lakunle’s radical trend and insistence to avoid payment of bride-price is unacceptable to her. She cannot demean her personality just for the sake of marriage. Sidi does not appreciate western education but prefers traditional education. Sidi is a flirt. She flirts with the photographer and Lakunle before the play began and Baroka towards the end of the play. She pays for it as Baroka seduces her.
She is beautiful but is a braggart and very pompous. Hear her: “my name is Sidi, and I am beautiful. The stranger took my beauty. And placed it in my hands”(20). She is, nonetheless, a custodian of custom, for she believes that it is only what the custom says that will apply in her marriage. And that is that payment of the bride price is a pre-condition for any validly concluded marriage.
Baroka
Baroka is the Bale, the village head of Ilujinle. He is a polygamist and at sixty-two is still not only very active sexually but trickish. He is described as a ‘wiry, goated, tougher than his sixty two years’. He has to have sex with Sidi by trickery and through same means, he marries her eventually. He prevents the whiteman from building a road in the town. He is not a progressive king. He is very selfish and wants to own every good thing. He does not want any other person to be famous. This explains why he married Sidi at all costs to subdue her. Baroka is described as a crafty rouge and a fox. As if to nail him finally, Lakunle concludes: “Baroka is a creature of the wilds, untutored, mannerless, devoid of grace”(58)
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