This presentation focuses on African literature, with a particular emphasis on Wole Soyinka's play, "A Dance of the Forests." It was prepared as part of an introductory classroom presentation by me and Drashti Joshi.

1. A DANCE OF
THE FORESTS
By- Wole Soyinka
Presenters: Drashti Joshi / Hetal
Pathak

2. Points to Ponder
➔ Introduction
➔ About Author
➔ About Play
➔ Key facts
➔ Characters
➔ Plot Overview
➔ Important Points
➔ Themes
➔ Conclusion

3. Introduction
Wole Soyinka's play A Dance of the Forests was first performed in 1960
during the Nigerian Independence celebrations. In the prose passage that
precedes part 1 of the play, Aroni (the messenger for the Yoruba god
Forest Father, or Forest Head) tells the audience that he has agreed to
invite two dead people to the eponymous Dance of the Forests because
he feels sorry for them. As with much of Soyinka’s writing, the play that
follows is an allegory for turmoil in Nigerian history and the tendency of
those in power to glorify the past. The play earned the ire of many
Nigerian elites for its largely negative allegorical representation of them.

4. About Wole Soyinka
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986
- Born: 13 July 1934, Abeokuta, Nigeria
- Also Known As: Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka
- His father was a priest in the Anglican Church and principal of a school.
- His mother owned a store and was active within the women's liberation
movement.
- His family belongs to the Yoruba people, whose culture has influenced
Soyinka's works.
- After studying in Nigeria and the UK, Soyinka worked at a theatre in
London. His pointed criticism of Nigerian political regimes has contributed
to his living mostly abroad, primarily in the US, where he has held
professorships at several universities. Soyinka has six children.

5. ● Wole Soyinka is best known as a playwright. Alongside his literary career, he has
also worked as an actor and in theaters in Nigeria and Great Britain. His works
also include poetry, novels, and essays. Soyinka writes in English, but his works
are rooted in his native Nigeria and the Yoruba culture, with its legends, tales, and
traditions. His writing also includes influences from Western traditions—from
classical tragedies to modernist drama.
● Soyinka’s poetry similarly draws on Yoruba myths, his life as an exile and in
prison, and politics. His collections of poetry include Idanre and Other Poems
(1967), Poems from Prison (1969, republished as A Shuttle in the Crypt in 1972),
Ogun Abibiman (1976), Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems (1988), and Selected
Poems (2001).
● Soyinka has been a strong critic of successive Nigerian (and African at large)
governments, especially the country's many military dictators, as well as other
political tyrannies, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.

6. Wole Soyinka’s poetry reflects the contradictions in his heritage. His religious
beliefs are tribal, specifically the Yoruba pantheon of gods, and Christian, and his
cultural upbringing draws from African traditions, opposed to modernization, and
Western traditions. Although he celebrates the complexities that are Africa, he does
not romanticize his native land. He writes about the beauty of the land and the
value of the African traditions and myths, and he condemns Africans for their
materialism and politicians for their corruption. His poetry ranges from lyrical to
satiric, from sad to humorous. He writes in English and is known for his
complicated syntax and often unusual word choices. Much like T. S. Eliot,
Soyinka uses allusions from mythology and history as key elements in his poetry.
Some critics state that Soyinka’s poetry is unnecessarily complex, often obscure,
and unreadable. However, his poetry embraces a wider world beyond Africa and
speaks about the human condition, of triumph and despair, of cruelty and
compassion.
Wole Soyinka as a Poet

7. About Play
"A Dance of the Forests" is a play written by Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian
playwright, poet, and essayist. It was first performed in 1960 to celebrate
Nigeria's independence. Soyinka, who later won the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1986, is known for his contributions to African literature and his
exploration of the cultural and political issues facing Nigeria.
"A Dance of the Forests" is considered one of Soyinka's early and significant
works. The play is known for its complex and symbolic narrative, which
explores themes related to Nigerian identity, the impact of colonization, and
the tension between tradition and modernity. It delves into the rich cultural
heritage of Nigeria, drawing on Yoruba mythology and symbolism.

8. The play revolves around a community that gathers in the forest to perform
a ritual dance. Throughout the performance, various characters embody
different aspects of Nigerian society, and the narrative unfolds through a
series of symbolic encounters and dialogues. Soyinka uses traditional
African theatrical elements, dance, and music to convey deeper meanings
and messages.
As with many of Soyinka's works, "A Dance of the Forests" reflects the
complexities of post-colonial African identity and the challenges faced by a
nation transitioning from colonial rule to independence. It is a layered and
thought-provoking play that invites readers and viewers to engage with its
themes and interpretations.

9. Key Facts
● Title: "A Dance of the Forests"
● Written by : Wole Soyinka
● Premiered in : 1960
● Genre: African drama
● Celebrates Nigeria's independence
● Explores themes of cultural identity, colonization, and transition
to independence
● Utilizes Yoruba mythology and symbolism
● Set in a symbolic forest
● Characters represent diverse perspectives in Nigerian society
● Features an experimental and non-linear narrative structure

11. Characters of Play
1. The Dead Man and Dead Woman:
- Unsettled souls accusing the living of crimes.
- Man, a former army captain, castrated and reincarnated.
- Woman, his wife, executed while pregnant on Madame Tortoise's orders.
2. Aroni:
- One-legged forest spirit summoning the dead.
- Believes in confronting accusers rather than ancestral spirits.
3. Murete:
- Tree demon providing expository information.
- Likes getting drunk and often quarrels with other forest spirits.

12. 4. Eshuoro:
- Unsettled forest spirit seeking revenge on Demoke.
- Embodied in the form of an agaba tree.
5. Ogun:
- God of metal workers, Demoke's patron god and protector.
- Fights with Eshuoro over Demoke's fate.
6. Oremole:
- Apprentice woodworker killed by Demoke.
- Murdered in a fit of jealousy over surpassing his master.
7. Demoke:
- Master woodworker commissioned to create a totem.
- Fled and burned creation due to guilt over Oremole's murder.

13. 8. Rola (Madame Tortoise):
- Initially claims to be avoiding family, revealed as a local prostitute.
- Linked to past Madame Tortoise, ordering the death of the dead woman.
9. Agboreko:
- Messenger and soothsayer tasked with summoning the dead.
10. Adenebi:
- Orator for the local council witnessing others' suffering.
- Complicit in the death of 65 lorry passengers, previously condemned the dead
man.
11. Obaneji (Forest Head):
- Mysterious office clerk keeping records.
- Revealed as the human form of the Forest Head, ruler of all forest spirits.
Prefers non-intervention.

14. Plot Overview
During a Yoruba festival known as the gathering of the Tribes, a group of
seemingly unconnected villagers. At the same time, a Dead Man ( wearing a
Uniform) and Dead woman ( Pregnant ) - their soul comes out from the grave - in
the middle of the forest. They ask the villagers to take their case. But, Nobody is
taking their case. Mata Kharibu killed them.
The Character named Aroni sent Dead man and woman at the gathering, in place
of in place of the forefathers that the living are requested to join them.
Aroni selected four characters means humans to attend the four characters and to
gain knowledge about their past lives and to atone for their sins.
Rola
Demoke
Adenebi
Agboreko

15. Another character named Obaneji invites these characters for gathering and join in
a welcome dance for the Dead man and woman. Eshuoro, a wayward spirit speaking
vengeance for the death of Oremole, Demoke’s apprentice, comes and interrupts the
proceedings. A Dance of the Forests claims that Demoke killed him by pulling him
off the top of an araba tree they were carving , which caused him to fall his death.
Ogun, the god of carvers stands up for Demoke against Eshuoro’s claim. We came
to learn that Demoke encouraged the cutting of the araba tree, and also that there was
a great fire in which 65 or 70 people were killed.
As the Play moves forward we are taken back in the time of eight centuries ago , a
time into the court of Mata Kharibu where we learn that the Dead man was a soldier.
The soldier refuses to go to war against another tribe because kharibu has taken the
tribe leader’s wife, Madame Tortoise.

16. All of the characters from the earlier part of the play are seen as the court
counselors of kharibu. They do not help the soldier, who is castrated and
given to a slave dealer. The scene ends as the soldier’s wife comes in,
pregnant. It is left up to the audience to determine how she is killed.
The character of Demoke is led to climb up a totem he built by Eshuoro,
who lights the totem on fire. Demoke falls and joins his father and the other
mortals and they discuss what they have learned. But, Demoke did not reply.
That is how the Play ends.

17. Important Points :-
The Character of Aroni introduces the Play.
Dead man and Dead Woman enters.
Other characters are introduced and there were some Discussions going on.
As the Play moves, All Spirits enter and start discussing about the human.
Forest head - character obaneji took all in a past.
The Story moves back into flashbacks, eight centuries ago - court of Mata
kharibu and the whole story of injustice comes.

18. All Spirits give speech about the condition of forest.
Woman enter with half child and the child not alive nor dead which
Symbolizes incompleteness.
Conflict between Tradition and Modernity
An Old man asks Demoke that what he learned from all these?
But, Demoke did not reply.
The Play ends there.

19. Themes :-
1. Atonement :- Atonement is a major theme of the play. The Dead Man and Dead woman are
brought back to the land of the living so that the four mortals who mistreated them in the past
will recognize their former sins and atone. While the mortals spend a great deal of the play
unaware of this, they eventually realize that the purpose of the Dead Man and Dead Woman's
visitation is to teach them a lesson, and by the end, they go through a kind of conversion,
understanding that they have sinned before.
2. The Relationship between Past and Present :- While the spirit characters may be
understood to represent specific people who are deceased, each of them also stands for larger
groups of which they had been members, especially the Yoruba tribal-ethnic group. By
extension, they represent traditional, authentic African values in contrast with modern, imposed
British ones. The potent life forces of the Dead Man and Dead Woman are necessary for the
current and future vitality of African peoples. The continued importance of the deity-spirits,
such as the Forest Father, is communicated through intermediaries such as Aroni and Agboreko.

20. 3. Corrupted Power :- We can see the theme of corrupted power through the characters of Mata
kharibu and Madame Tortoise. Punishment given by Mata kharibu. Than we can see superiority
complex. The powerful people exploits powerless. Wole soyinka tells us a story that reveals to the
reader that all power is corruptible and people are given authority it does not mean that they are good
people.
4. Truma :- The play depicts the ways that people carry around trauma and wounds from the past,
that everyone has some sensitive part of their biography that haunts and hurts them. The character of
obeneji - forest Head knows this and and attempts to bring those characters who have been hurt in
their past can also move on.
5. Nature :- The play takes place in a forest, and throughout, various elements of the natural world
come to life to take part in the reckoning that is taking place with the mortals. The Forest Head is a
spirit who presides over the forest, and during the welcoming of the Dead Man and Dead Woman,
various spirits of different natural elements are called upon to speak their piece. These include Spirit
of the Rivers, Spirit of the Palms, Spirits of the Volcanos, and others. All of these elements of nature
are personified through verse, showing us the connection between the human and the natural world.

21. 6. Birth :- One of the unresolved features of the Dead Woman is the fact that she was killed while
pregnant with a child. She returns to the world of the living still with a pregnant belly, and during the
welcome ritual, the fetus appears as a Half-Child, who is caught between being influenced by the
spirit world and remaining with his mother. The figure of the child is a tragic one. It symbolises that
wrong things happened with the Dead man and Dead woman.
7. Ritual :- Another major theme, as well as a formal element of the play, is ritual and tradition.
Throughout, we see the characters going through traditional motions in order to understand more
about their circumstances. These rituals include the ceremony for the self-discovery of the mortals, in
which the mortals must relive their crimes, the Dead Man and Dead Woman must be questioned, and
the mortals revealing their secret wrongs.
8. The Past :- The narrative concerns the sins of the past, and each mortal character has multiple
identities, representing both who they are in the present as well as who they once were in the past.
The present is layered onto the past as if to suggest that nothing from our history is ever fully gone,
that we descend from patterns and events that precede us and continue to affect us in the present. The
plot of the play concerns the ways that human beings must overcome their pasts and learn from
them.

22. Conclusion
The Play ‘A Dance of the Forests’ uses humor and irony to criticize the
idea of contemporary society and dangers of avoiding or neglecting cultural
heritage. This play is very much powerful that continues to inspire new
generations and will teach also that how one can learn from his past and
moves on in life. Along with that, Wole soyinka’s mastery of narrative
technique is a;so very evident and thought - provoking in this powerful
play.