Ọba kò so
Ọba
kò so (The King Did Not Hang) is a
play by Duro Ladipo
depicting the mystical and ambivalent personality known as Shango of Yoruba
mythology.
Background
Shango
is the protagonist of the play. According to some historians, he reigned as the
king of Oyo
and was a figure feared by both his subjects and, across the Niger, by the Borgu
and Nupe
empires. He was known for his warring and tyrannical tendencies during his
life, and was later deified in tribal history and worshiped by some. His era
was one of turbulence and also of intrigue. Duro Ladipo was influenced by the
writings of the Rev. Samuel
Johnson, a Yoruba historian who used a lot of old Oyo sources for his book on
the Yorubas. Duro's play created the image of Sango as a tragic hero.
Plot
The
play tries to revisit history by portraying a stout and commanding Sango at the
height of his powers as a king. Ever mindful of the wishes of the people and in
his desire to please them, he set two of his most powerful chiefs against each
other. The chiefs, Gbonka and Timi, had grown too powerful and were becoming a
nuisance to the kingdom. However, the plot ends up dividing his cabinet and
many of his advisers, friends and a wife, Princess Oya, leave him.
Shango's
friend Mogba, rather than join the traitors, desires to redeem the battered
image of the king. Mogba invokes incantations, causing thunder and lightning to
damage the homes of Sango's enemies.
References
- Ogundeji, "Philip Adedotun: The Image of Sango in Duro Ladipo's plays". Research in African Literatures, 1998, pp. 57–75.
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