SUICIDE IN OLA ROTIMI’S KURUNMI
5.9 The force of tradition versus modernity and Kurunmi’s Suicide
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Kurunmi: There has been no exception to the rule, and wealthy Atiba can’t now corrupt us to grant him special favour. Time may pass but the laws of our fathers, tested and hallowed by the ways of men, live on (Untampered). That is tradition (Rotimi, 1971, pp. 19 – 20).
This clearly indicates that, for Kurunmi, any effort to tamper with tradition will constitute a big threat to the cosmic order of the Yoruba people. With the conviction of Kurunmi as expressed, Crow (2000, p.40) notes that, “tradition is the basic and crucial defining characteristic of humankind and ultimately the source of a people’s identity”. Crow again stresses that what makes up a people depends on the values and sacredness of tradition. Kurunmi demonstrates this strong value for tradition in the extract quoted once again when he says;
Kurunmi: My people… tradition… is what make us men. This is what makes us … people, distinct from mud… The pride of man my people, is in his tradition – something to learn from for the peace of his present: something to learn from for the advance of his tomorrow. The day the tall iroko tree loses its roots is the day the baby ant shits on its head. The day a people lose their tradition is the day their death begins…
they become… Doomed (Rotimi, 1971, pp.
15 – 16)
It is therefore the conflict over the succession policy to the office of Alaafin that propelled the resultant war in which the Ijaiye forces were pitched against Ibadan forces. However, the war transcends the conflict over the succession policy. Obadiegwu (1992) and Owoaye and Dada (2012) observe that, since their inception, both towns (Ijaiye and Ibadan) had been jealous rivals.
However, Obadiegwu sees Kurunmi’s act as an intra-class or socio-political struggle among the ruling élites of Oyo Empire. He concludes that the conflict over tradition and change as presented by Rotimi in the play is merely a smokescreen to mask the real aim of the ruling class of the Oyo dynasty (Obadiegwu, 2003, p.52). Again, tradition as emphasized in Kurunmi represents the instrument created by members of the élite as a form of control over the peasant class.
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Kurunmi is not only opposed to internal threat in his defence for the tradition of his people, he contends too with some external threats epitomized by Reverend Mann. This alien missionary force represented by Reverend Mann does not only pose a threat to the indigenous and primordial socio-political existence of the people, but also to their way of worship.
Kurunmi questions Reverend Mann and cautions him against trying to tamper with tradition. Kurunmi questions Reverend Mann by saying: “But you ... must you too join them to uproot the sacred tradition of our race?” (Rotimi, 1971, p.
35) With the eventual enthronement of Adelu as Alaafin, there ensues a war in which Kurunmi solicits the assistance of the Egbas in fighting against Ibadan and her allies. Thus, he leads his people to war. Olaniyan (1997) notes that in response to the neglect of the observance of tradition in the inheritance of the crown of Oyo, Kurunmi chooses war in order to protect the sacred tradition of his people that is under a great threat of dissolution. Unfortunately, Ijaiye is eventually defeated on the battlefield with the Egbas taking to their heels as the tragedy which Kurunmi earlier foresaw finally swoops on him. Kurunmi on hearing the news of this defeat, with the death of all his five sons goes in and commits suicide by taking poison. His death, therefore, marks the climax of the devastation by the overwhelming pressures that assailed him and his people.
The valuable place of tradition reinforces Rotimi’s love and portrayal of the oral tradition in his works to characterize his characters. In Kurunmi (1971) Rotimi uses the oral tradition as an essential component of the personality of characters and character types. According to Adedeji in his article; Oral tradition and the contemporary Theatre in Nigeria (1971) says:
Rotimi’s historical awareness and reflections on oral tradition match those of Duro Ladipo.
Using Ajayi’s characterization of Kurunmi, the Are Ona Kakanfo (Generalissimo) of the Yoruba about the middle of the nineteenth century, derived from his (Kurunmi’s) “Oriki”
or praise chant, Rotimi’s portrait of Kurunmi shows a deep understanding of his traditional source (Adedeji, 1971, p.141).
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The oral tradition represented in Rotimi’s Kurunmi manifest clearly and most importantly in Kurunmi’s use of proverbs which carry a deep linguistic reflection of the people’s culture. Owoeye and Dada maintain that:
Proverbs and their use in everyday speech and other linguistic engagements are an integral part of the oral tradition of Yoruba people, from where Ola Rotimi hails. These words, believed to be the stock in trade of old people, are wise sayings that deal with every aspect of life (Owoeye and Dada, 2012, p.2).
From the comments of Owoeye and Dada, it is clear that proverbs are reserved for old people because it demonstrates their wisdom far from immediate comprehension by the ordinary mind. Also, proverbs, apart from being the stock in trade of old people, is also used by the young when status places upon them the responsibilities demanded of elders. Yusuf and Methangwane (2003) add that proverbs are relatively short expressions which are usually associated with wisdom and are used to perform a variety of social function.
However, the idea of proverbs as an oral art expressed in Rotimi’s work surpasses the regular ambit of orality. What this means is that, the use of proverbs in Rotimi’s Kurunmi and the character of Kurunmi makes the play a bourgeois representation. Of course, in traditional Yoruba culture, proverbs are more closely associated with elders, kings, chiefs and the Oba’s. This is established in the works of; Owoeye and Dada (2012), Yusuf and Methangwane (2003), Okwelume (2004), Mieder (1993) and Okpewho (2004) etc. Kurunmi himself states in one of his conversations that; “When an Elder sees a mudskipper, he must not afterwards say it was a crocodile.” (Rotimi, 1971, p.42) It should be noted here therefore that when ‘elder’ ‘chief’ ‘king’ ‘Oba’ is used, it is not to be taken only literally; it also means one of power or high status, one of noble mind, a wise person, irrespective of age.
Kurunmi again uses another proverb to explain to the people the importance, power and wisdom that elders have over the young generation. In expressing this Kurunmi declares:
…the young palm tree grows rapidly, and it is proud, thinking, hoping that one day it will scratch the face
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of the sky. Have its elders before it touched the sky (Rotimi, 1971, p.35-36).
Such proverbs spoken by the monarch clearly reveal the turbulence that pervades Kurunmi’s reign throughout the period covered by the play. For example, the proverb; “When an Elder sees a mudskipper, he must not afterwards say it was a crocodile.” is rendered when the youth in Kurunmi’s kingdom rebel and insist that they would not follow him to the war, because he is too dictatorial. He uses the proverb to express the sincerity of his intention.
Rotimi creates proverbs for Kurunmi bearing in mind his reputation, his status and his influence. That is why in the action of the play, we see Kurunmi, the tragic hero in all guises of “king, judge, general, entertainer, sometimes also executioner.” In the name of tradition, Kurunmi leads his people in a ruinous civil war and brings disaster on himself as well as everyone under him.