Untitled - Memorial University of Newfoundland

From the moment a child is conceived the struggle for survi val begins and it is
central to the rituals and customs observed by Africans. The cycle of birth and rebirth ,
whether of the seeds of plant or animal life, is seen as governed by the supernatural.
OdewaIe refers to his wife , Ojuola by saying: "She now is bearer I of all my four
seeds- (8). The metaphor of sowing seedsand reaping a harvest is used to represent
the significance of birth and regeneration in the African culture , which is closely
connected to the benevolence of the gods. There is a vital relationship between
Odewale 's him and the welfare of the people of Kutuje within the plo t of the play.
lust as in Sophocles ' Oedipus Rex. the main plot hinges on Oedipus ' ignorance of the
fact surroundin g his birth (he thinks be is the son of Polybus and Merope), so Rotimi
draws attention to OdewaIc ' s birth , by presenting him as a baby to Ogua, accord ing to
the Yoruba custom. It is a West African belief that the newborn baby does not belong
to the family, and therefore is not even given a name until after the seventh or eighth
day. If the child dies, it is believed that he/she has returned to the gods and the land
of the ancestors ; if the child lives . it is assumed that helshe hascome to stay . L8The
child is then presented in a ceremony to the gods that involves the ancestors and the
whole community . as the narrato r explainsin the prologue:
NARRATOR: Then they call
a priest of Ifa.
as is the custom ,
to divine
the future that this boy
has brought
with him.
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