Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.2. The source language system
2.2.2.2. Literary and textual characteristics of Cameroonian drama
category can be cited René Philombe, Guillaume Oyono Mbia, David Ndachi Tagne. Those who, like A. Kum’a Ndumbe III, conscious of the fact that classical theatre is still dominant, do everything to combat it. Finally, those who behave as if classical theatre had never existed. These include Were Were Liking and Manuna Mandjock.]
With respect to the above prevailing situation, it is necessary to consider what, today, can be considered to constitute the literary and textual characteristics of Cameroonian drama.
First, there is the costume, which is usually made of Hessian and old blackened synthetic bags. Then there is the hair-style of long unkempt plaits. Both the costume and hair-style are completed with other apparel such as animal skin and accessories such as cowries, animal horns, snakes, etc. The witchdoctor’s appearance is designed to conjure up something strange, unusual and out of the ordinary. Thirdly, there is the speech which comprises two dimensions, depending on whether he is talking to visible or invisible beings, in which case it is either ordinary speech or incantations respectively. If incantations, the language is symbolic and can only be decoded by those who have been initiated into it, since it is such language that he uses to communicate with spirits in the invisible world. The incantations are usually poetic and onomatopoeic and take the form of songs.
Apart from the introduction of the narrator/commentator and the witchdoctor in Cameroonian plays, a third characteristic of this drama is the introduction of songs and dancing by the dramatists. Anyone travelling across the Cameroonian national territory will notice that there is no event in the life of the Cameroonian that is not accompanied by singing and dancing. In the Bafut, Bamileke, Bassa, Bulu, Douala and other tribes the Cameroonian sings and dances in times of joy and in times of sorrow. One can therefore understand how difficult it is for the Cameroonian playwright not to take into account this reality in his/her dramatic composition(s). Oyono Mbia (1964) definitely takes this reality into account in his Trois prétendants, un mari the focus in the present study. In this regard he states in his preface to the play:
Mon souhait le plus vif est donc que mes pièces puissent être jouées en plein air en Afrique ou ailleurs, devant un public qui prendrait spontanément part aux chants et aux danses, suivant les adaptations locales auxquelles les metteurs en scène voudront bien procéder. Lors des représentations de Trois prétendants, un mari que j’ai données en Angleterre au cours des deux dernières années, le public britannique qui est flegmatique par définition, m’a comblé de joie en venant se joindre en masse à la grande danse de la fin. [My ardent wish, therefore, is that my plays be performed in the open air, in Africa or elsewhere, before an audience which would spontaneously take part in the singing and dancing, according to the local adaptations the producers might want to make. During the performances of Three Suitors: One
Husband in England during the past two years, the British audience, which is phlegmatic by nature, filled me with joy by massively joining the actors in the closing dance.]
The fourth characteristic of Cameroonian drama and resulting from the introduction of the narrator/commentator and the witchdoctor, is the bridging of the gap between actors and spectators. In the classical set-up as mentioned earlier, the theatre is composed of two distinct areas: the stage and the hall. The hall is for the audience, for those watching the play, while the stage is the space for the actors where the micro universe of the play is reconstituted. There is usually a barrier that separates the two spaces. In Cameroonian drama on the contrary, there is no barrier separating the actors from the audience such that the narrator/commentator or the witchdoctor can freely move from the stage to the audience in the hall, or for the audience to freely move to the stage and join in the singing and dancing. Gaining inspiration from the oral tradition, Cameroonian dramatists and directors therefore strive to eliminate the communication gap between actors and the audience such that the latter not only watches and listens but also actively participates in the drama event.
The unity of place of action as it obtains in classical drama is also violated in Cameroonian drama, particularly as in their dramatic compositions most Cameroonian playwrights tend to be fluid in the use of space and time and the plays when performed may sometimes go on for hours on end. In this connection, Mbassi (1988:109) has pointed out that:
Il y a lieu de retenir que la tendance générale dans le théâtre Camerounais est celle non du lieu unique, mais celle d’une géographie éclatée. L’action, mobile selon les événements se déroule sur une scène multispaciale et renie du coup toute parenté avec la scène classique.[It is worth noting that the general tendency in Cameroonian drama is not that of unity of place but that of several locations of place of action. The action, which is mobile and shifting depending on the events, takes place on a scene made up of several locations and has nothing in common with the classical scene].
This tendency is noticeable in Oyono Mbia’s Trois prétendants, un mari and Le train spécial de son Excellence examined in the present study.
It is therefore evident from the above characteristics and as asserted by Doho (1988 :80) that:
Le personnage de sorcier est une donnée dramaturgique importante sur le plan de l’écriture et de la représentation. Il entre donc, tout comme le conteur, l’espace scénique éclatée, etc. dans la grammaire dramaturgique que proposent les dramaturges Camerounais.[The character of the witchdoctor is one of the important dramatic elements in dramatical composition and performance. Just like the narrator/commentator, the multiple locations of the action, etc., he is an integral part of the dramatic language that Cameroonian dramatists present to the public.]
For his part, also talking about the content of Cameroonian plays and the way it is expressed or articulated, Eyoh (1988:138) points out that:
In Cameroonian drama, comedies and social satire abound, but while the thematic breadth is vast, the constraints are equally many. But these have led the playwrights to develop a rather subtle and elliptical style in which they work largely through allusion, implication and innuendo, often integrated into rather simple and straight-forward plots. In appreciating this drama, one has constantly got to be aware of those verbal touches which draw one’s attention to events outside the framework of the plays themselves.
Other characteristics of Cameroonian drama, some of which are clearly manifest in Oyono Mbia’s plays examined in this study, are stylistic devices and techniques, such as personalisation, song, idiophone, topical conclusion, stylistic/linguistic calques, borrowings, etc. Personalisation occurs through audience and performer identification with the story which is unravelled while song is used to enhance the quality of the performance, provide relief and audience participation as well as underline the major themes of the performance. Song is also used to indicate the passage of time, remind the audience of what has happened, suggest what will occur, and indicate the different emotional moods. Idiophones are used to describe such acts as are beyond the scope of words. These could be colour, texture, movement, state, quality, or any other thing that is not describable using words. The topical conclusion to which the play or the performance has to be brought is to give it immediacy and relevance, although this is not necessarily didactic. Stylistic/linguistic calques also abound in Cameroonian plays.
These consist of expressing a Cameroonian cultural or linguistic phenomenon/device in the mould of a French or English expression. This often confers a peculiar and distinct local colour and taste to the play. Cameroonian playwrights also borrow considerably from the Cameroonian local languages and this often consists of the direct transfer or transliteration of the local word or expression into the French or English text. The effect produced by such a stylistic device is similar to that produced by stylistic/linguistic calques.
In conclusion, one may say that it is important for any critic or researcher on Cameroonian drama as well as any translation scholar/researcher of this Cameroonian literary genre, to constantly bear all this in mind. As asserted by Cameroonian drama specialists and scholars, he should equally bear in mind that:
Le théâtre Camerounais a pour référence constante la réalité économique, sociale, politique et culturelle comme but immédiat, intermédiaire et ultime l’enseignement et le divertissement, mieux, l’enseignement par le divertissement. […]
Le théâtre Camerounais, c’est la vie Camerounaise qui se prolonge en regardant et en se regardant, pour voir et se voir, analyser et s’analyser, comprendre et se comprendre, assumer et s’assumer. C’est la totale, partiale et partielle assomption du destin de ce pays. […] Reflet de la société Camerounaise dans son irrésistible mutation spécifique, le théâtre camerounais sera ce que seront le Cameroun et les Camerounais, celui qui tout en préservant et en gardant son assurance historique, économique, sociale et culturelle privilégie l’auto-revolution [Cameroonian theatre has as constant reference the economic, social, political and cultural reality, and as immediate, intermediate and ultimate objective education, entertainment, better still, education through entertainment. […] Cameroonian theatre is the portrayal of Cameroonian life as it scrutinizes reality and in turn looks back at itself in order to contemplate and in turn mirror itself, perceive and introspect, assume its responsibilities and in turn come to terms with itself. It is the total, partial and incomplete assumption of the destiny of this country. […] A reflection of the Cameroonian society in its irresistible specific mutation, Cameroonian theatre will become what Cameroon and Cameroonians will become, a theatre which while preserving and maintaining its historic, economic, social and cultural self- assurance accords greater importance to self-revolution.] (cf.
Mbom 1988: 200-1).
Considering, as asserted in the above quotation, that Cameroonian drama has as constant reference the country’s economic, social, political and cultural realities, and that its ultimate objective is didactic and entertainment or, better still, education through entertainment, it is necessary, beyond these general considerations, to examine the specific motivations behind Oyono Mbia’s plays.