A Dance of the Forests | A Dance of the Forests

At a glance:

Author: Wole Soyinka
First Published: 1963
Type of Plot: Mythological
Time of Work: Unspecified
Setting: Nigeria, West Africa
Principal Characters: Adenebi, Obaneji, Demoke, Rola, Agboreko, Dead Woman, Dead Man, Aroni, Eshuoro, Ogun, Forest Head
Genres: Drama, Postcolonial literature, Mythological literature
Subjects: Africa or Africans, Tradition, Mythology or myths, Race, Betrayal, Religion, Gods or goddesses, Rites or ceremonies, Reincarnation, Feasting or feasts
Locales: Nigeria

A Dance of the Forests presents a complex interplay between gods, mortals, and the dead in which the ideal goal is the experience of self-discovery within the context of West African spiritualism. The living have invited two glorious forefathers to take part in a feast and celebration—the “Gathering of the Tribes.” The god Aroni, however, explains in the prologue that he received the permission of the Forest Head to select instead “two [obscure] spirits of the restless dead”: the Dead Man and the Dead Woman, a captain and his wife from the army of the...

A Dance of the Forests | A Dance of the Forests

At a glance:

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