The "Elluo" festival of the Sehwis as drama
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Date
2003-11-23
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Abstract
Following Ruth Finnegan’s statement that traditional Africa has no drama, critics, including Ghartey-Tagoe, have proved her wrong by demonstrating that funeral performances for example constitute drama. My work is an addition to the scholarly debate that indeed, traditional Africa has drama and I use the ‘Elluo’ festival of the Sehwis as my frame of reference.
The performance of the ‘Elluo’ festival, from the beginning to the end, portrays a sequence of events which gives the festival a distinct and complete plot. The performance of the various events revolves around three ideas. One of these ideas is thanksgiving to the Supreme Being and the gods of the Sehwi state. The second idea is the remembrance of the fallen heroes and heroines of the state while the third is unity among the people of the Sehwi state. Of these ideas, that of thanksgiving serves as the central one for the celebration of the festival.
The various rituals involved in the performance of the ‘Elluo’ festival are performed by various characters, individually and collectively, at various places. All these places are in the environment of Sehwi Wiawso, the traditional capital, which serves as the setting of the festival. These various places also serve as the scenes in the performance of the ‘Elluo’ festival.
The ‘Elluo’ is enriched by the artistic patterning of the Sehwi language which is rich in artistic devices. Singing and dancing are also integral parts of the festival. A critical appraisal of the festival has therefore been given to show the relationship between it and modern literature, specifically, drama.
With the study of the ‘Elluo’ festival, which is a traditional African performance replete with the essential elements of drama such as plot, theme, characterisation, language, scene, music and dance, it has been proved that traditional African performances constitute drama.
The discussion of the dramatic elements of the ‘Elluo’ festival has not only proved the dramatic nature of the festival and other traditional African performances, but it has also brought into sharp focus the rich cultural practices inherent in the festival.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Languages,College of Arts and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Arts, 2003