Origin of african drama pdf

Written specifically to enhance theatre arts programmes in african universities, the book maintains a straightforward, demystifying style that should be a boon to teachers in britain and america as well. The ekpe masquerade has its roots in the nigerian cross river state and is used in ceremonies accompanied by cultural drama. The origin of drama is difficult to trace and its development in human society is hard to describe on the basis of verifiable facts. Moreover, african oral literature makes use of african places and names, local images and symbols from our flora and fauna, transliterated culture, idioms, proverbs, expression and ideas. Plays for african american heritage harriet tubman. It combined a brilliant sense of mime, colourful costumes, and traditional drumming, music, and folklore. The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. Yoruba literature in his pioneering study of yoruba theatre, joel adedeji traced its origins to the masquerade of the egungun the cult of the ancestor. African theatre, effectively, the theatre of africa south of the sahara that emerged in the postcolonial erathat is to say, from the mid20th century onward. Drama in this sense refers to a play that is neither a.

Jan 27, 2016 must have pdf tourism in ethiopia, our origin. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities. Ethiopia and the origin of civilization pdf download video. Clark 5859, similarly, suggests that the origins of nigerian drama which is a subset of african drama, is likely to be found in the early religious and magical. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. The text embraces awidegeographyinvestigating companies from coast to coast as well as the anglophonecaribbean and african american companies touring europe, australia, and africa. Drama is also a type of a play written for theater, television, radio, and film. Dada adelowo introduction this paper is motiated by the need. In simple words, a drama is a composition in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or dialogue. Apr 12, 2002 the theatre scene is buzzing in south africa, with over 100 active spaces across the country offering everything from indigenous drama, music, dance, cabaret and satire to west end and broadway hits, classical opera and ballet. The origin of african drama was a combination of religious or magical ritual, rhyth mic dances and the song. Bbc drama producers fiona ledger and jenny horrocks look back at the last five decades of bbc radio drama across africa. Origin of drama pdf the word drama comes from ancient greek and means quite literally things.

This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories. The first truly continentally representative collection of modern african drama in any language, this norton critical edition includes plays from egypt, algeria, the republic of south africa, nigeria, ethiopia, ghana, and kenya. Paintings, sculpture, music, dance, and drama during the upper paleolithic. Abstract teachers and students who wish to practice the arts of african theatre as well as analyse its performances and texts wili welcome michael ethertons the development of african drama. The use of drama in the narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the 19th century. Submitted by francis acquah to the university of exeter as a thesis for the degree of doctor of philosophy in theology in december 2011. Walker biography of the first black woman millionaire why the hare runs away african animal fable. Colonial boundaries ignored cultural and linguistic unities, and ancient movements throughout the continentsometimes. Oral tradition and african theatre by mineke schipper the theatre is always a mirror of human existence, and theatrical expression is always linked to a specific time and place and culture. The literature not only represents authors or writers from almost every part of the world but also it had untapped almost every major genre of writings that one could possibly imagine. Origin and forms of drama in the east african context. Clarke and cheikh anta diop and mercer cook, year1974. Mar 25, 2009 african drama as the name implies,is any drama that embodies the yearnings,experiences and the sensibility of the african people. All communities accept that their later drama has roots in.

English literature dates back exceeding five centuries. The traditional ceremony culminates in the essence of the masquerade where it is deemed that ancestors return to the world of the living to visit their descendants. African drama which have been adapted to literature and film include, songs and. African drama and performance is a collection of innovative and wideranging essays that bring conceptually fresh perspectives, from both renowned and emerging voices, to the study of drama, theatre, and performance in africa.

If you know a little bit about the history of the theatre, you will have a better chance of understanding the context of a play before you even begin reading it. The general rubric of african drama and theatre does include a contribution from david kerr on zimbabwe but misses an opportunity to include an extract from mdas theoretically rigorous and practically grounded book on development and activist theater, when. This is because africa has a history and culture that are different from those of the greek. To them, africa has no culture or history or african history and civilization are nothing more than the story of european activities in africa ademola ajayi, 10. Williams, on the periphery of the southern renaissance group of writers that include such names as william faulkner, flannery oconnor, and robert penn warren, would build many of his themes around the old souths lost aristocracy in tension with the invading materialism of the reconstructed south. There are so many versions of igbo origin and it is very difficult, or probably impossible to say which is the most real or most. Early modern african drama deployed folktraditional forms to explore this subject. Oral tradition and african theatre leiden repository. Pdf this paper examines elements of traditional drama in nigerian. Aristotle in his poetics traces the origin of greek drama to the communal celebration of dionysus which gave place to formal acting. While music is often featured in drama, in this case aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors voices as they speak. Modern african drama and improvisation mineke schipperde leeuw in his origin and forms of drama in the african context argues that modern african drama is a by product of traditional african drama. The supernatural and mythic characters, in their own actions, must portray traits which. This to him is true because, a cursory study of modern african plays reveal that they owe much of.

History and myth are very important factors of african histrionics, theatre. Invariably, most of early modern african drama dramatized the process of transition of african traditional societies into modern ones. African writing, literature, and society a commemorative publication in honor of eckhard breitinger. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and cultural values on christian muslim relations in ghana from 1920 through the present. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they watch the play. Each of these categories involves a number of required classes, many of them experiential. Pdf african american drama of the harlem renaissance. Political functions criticisms presentation of models. History of english literature pdf included periods of. Jun 21, 2017 when the african american slaves encountered the hebrew bible, the exodus story became critical to african american christianity.

Early african drama explored issues bordering on the colonial distortion of african history and communal relations among african communities before the western incursion into africa. Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since aristotles poetics c. Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. Teachers and students who wish to practice the arts of african theatre as well as analyse its performances and texts wili welcome michael. Introduction the word drama comes from the greek meaning to act, do or perform, and it is in the several subtle and diverse meanings of to perform that drama can be said to have begun. West texas before and after the civil war saw an explosion of immigrants making their way through the area on their way west. Drama is a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance.

This year 2010 marks 50 years of african drama on the bbc. The origin and insufficiency of the black hebrew israelite. The african style of masquerade is an outdoor event, performed by men, and sometimes limited to the attendance of men. This could be written by an african or a non african but it most picture the experience of the people and their environment. This to him is true because, a cursory study of modern african plays reveal that they owe much of their style to oral tradition. The east african experience, serie mainzer afrikastudien, 55 65 1980 publisher. Although most of the subjects of the plays are derived from history, they. It is not possible to talk of much african theatre as if it fell into discrete historical or national patterns. Ethiopia and the origin of civilization pdf download. The africentric framework is a genre of thought and praxis based in the cultural picture and interest of people of african descent. A history of native american drama an origin story one august evening of an oklahoma summer, a thousand theatregoers gathered to celebrate the opening night of a new native american play. African literature is literature of or from africa and includes oral literature or orature, in the term coined by ugandan scholar pio zirimu as george joseph notes in his chapter on african literature in understanding contemporary africa, whereas european views of literature often stressed a separation of art and content, african awareness is inclusive. The origins of african drama are not different from greek drama or european drama.

African drama the origins of african drama are not. Imperialism imperialism is a policy in which one country seeks to extend its authority by conquering other countries or by establishing economic and political dominance over other countries. The origin of african drama and theatre with salient elements from. The origin of the igbo people is a mystery and a subject of greater controversy, more controversial than that of every other ethnic group in nigeria and probably in africa. The om jai jagdish hare lyrics in hindi pdf origin of drama is difficult to trace and its. At first, and after aristotles poetics the earliest work of dramatic theory, drama was considered as a genre of poetry, and was contrasted with the epic and the lyrics. Changes in societies generally lead to new forms of dramatic expression. The world is a stage and drama a mirror of society this expression is heard in. The term african american reflects the twoness of the black experience in north america, denoting what w. Nigerian theatre, variety of folk opera of the yoruba people of southwestern nigeria that emerged in the early 1940s. These stories are adapted with permission from ulli beier editor, the origin of life and death. The drama therapist is trained in four general areas. African theatre, effectively, the theatre of africa south of the sahara that emerged in the postcolonial erathat is to say, from the mid20th century onward it is not possible to talk of much african theatre as if it fell into discrete historical or national patterns.

The path of splitness is a major nonfiction work that will rock the scientific world it is 2,766 pages. It is one of the literary genres, which is an imitation of some action. Bakary traore and the social functions of african theatre. The origin of african drama and theatre based on traditional, history, and contemporary dramatic forms in africa which range from sacred or. Dubois aptly described as adoubleconsciousness, that is, a sense of being an african and american at the same time, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings. A chronology and a selected bibliography are included. In this lesson, we will take a brief look at early forms of african performance, such as storytelling and ritual, as well as postcolonial african theatre practices in englishspeaking africa. Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since aristotle s poetics c. Pdf cheikh anta diop and the new light on african history. Aristotle 384322 bc was a greek philosopher whose writings still influence us. Literary elements technical elements performance elements the elements of drama. The history of theatre is primarily concerned with the origin and subsequent development of the.

Things fall apart by chinua achebe, purple hibiscus by chimamanda ngozi adichie, half of a yellow sun by chimamanda ngoz. Cherly, 2006 the root of this framework is rooted in a worldview ie. Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. The butterfield stage line ran from 1857 to 1861, but the road was used by settlers, cattle drives and trade caravans long after. Eddie glaude, scholar of african american studies and religion, asserts that by the mid1840s the metaphors of exodus had indeed sedimented as the predominant political language of african americans. The book analyzes and explains the basic prehistory of the universe and how it came into being, the basic dynamics which created life, the basic. Origin and forms of drama in the african context mineke schipper. Directed toward a local audience, it uses nigerian themes, ranging from.

The elements of drama, by which dramatic works can be analyzed and evaluated, can be categorized into three major areas. Plays for the study of black history a collection midnight at the black history museum overview of key black history figures madam c. As in the carnival itself, separation must be drawn between the mask and the masquerader. A case study of nkusukumekumfienyan area of the central region. Certainly, from the last half of the twentieth century, african secular theatre has returned to its own sources, and practitioners as well as researchers have once again found in these ancient forms the roots of theatrical renewal, and have again connected african theatre to those rituals, dances, masquerades, tales and folk celebrations which. The roots of african theatre ritual and orality in the pre. How the world was created from a drop of milk at the beginning there was a huge drop of milk. Gone, perhaps mercifully, from this analysis are the listsof characteristic features used to differentiate categories of traditional, popular, and literary forms in other volumes on african drama. The good thing about the relativistic view is that it calls for an objective. African drama as the name implies,is any drama that embodies the yearnings,experiences and the sensibility of the african people. What is the origin and development african drama answers. In general aristotle in his poetics traces the origin of greek drama to the.