The Revival: Arts, Culture and Relevance

Tradition, the world over, has always played a significant role in shaping the way of life of a people: the way they eat, greet, dress, behave, etc. However, as the world evolves, t r a d i t i o n g i v e s r o o m f o r modifications majorly because of the migration and emigration of people resulting in interferences and facilitation of the acceptance of a completely new way of life from a different culture. Most times, these new ways are considered more sophisticated, more ideal for the human nature. 

In recent times, around here, there has been quite a number of disparities between the cultural practices of yesterday and those of this day.Worse off, it seems those of yesterday are fast going into extinction. If we look critically, we can attach this trend to two t h i n g s : e d u c a t i o n a n d abandonment. Formal education is good but when it deliberately incurs on the existing structure of our traditional beliefs, practices, way of life and even language, then, there’s a problem. Professor Wole Soyinka foresaw this and projected the future of this modern generation in The Lion and the Jewel where we see Lakunle, a fine young village teacher whose acquisition of Western education intoxicates so much that he’s hell bent on abolishing his roots and cultural practices. In sharp contrast, we see Olunde, the eldest son of Elesin in Death and the King’s Horseman whose four year stay in England, studying Medicine, has no reverse effect on his beliefs in traditional practices. Chinua Achebe did the same in Arrow of God. Funnily enough, these books were all written in the 60s and 70s. That not withstanding, how did we get here?

A Trip to the Past

The literature of African people is deeply rooted in ancient cultural beliefs and practices that were all forms of oral literature. Professor F.B.O Akporobaro in his book Introduction to African Oral Literature defines oral literature or folk-literature as the heritage of imaginative verbal creations, stories, folk-beliefs and songs of pre-literate societies which have been evolved and passed on through the spoken word from one generation to another. And being a pointer to Chinua Achebe’s (Nigeria’s ‘grandfather’ of modern story telling) assertion that we did not hear of literature for the f i r s t t i m e f r o m t h e E u r o p e a n w h o c o l o n i s e d the African w o r l d ; l i t e r a r y creativity in the form of dance, story t e l l i n g , drumming, chants and recitations are and have been part of the primal vision and social life of A f r i c a n p e o p l e irrespective of their stage in human, e c o n o m i c , a n d p o l i t i c a l development, it apparently captures the existence of the oral forms of literature from time immemorial in Africa. Amazingly, it is on this threshold (folktales, myths, dirge, epic [narratives], chants, festivals and rituals, etc.) that modern African literature is built to fulfil for modern African man what was fulfilled by the various forms of traditional literature. Simply put, today’s literature performs no other functions than those performed in primitive times. The only difference is that it captures the present happenings shaped by the new world order.

The Place of Western education

To be frank, one thing we’ll forever be grateful for in this part of the world is the Western education colonisation brought in its pouch. If it wasn’t for that, you wouldn’t be reading this and t h e l a n g u a g e b a r r i e r i n communication in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria would not have been so broken. 

Nevertheless, the extinction (of native languages and cultural values) problem we face today started a long time ago probably, the very first day formal education crept into our domain and gradually ravaged our language system. What trailed thereafter were: the documentation of cultural virtues and values in English, the anglicisation of our native languages through translations and transliteration of proverbs, riddles, idioms, incantatory chants, eulogies, folktales, fables and myths as in D.O Fagunwa’s Igbo Irunmole (The Forest of a Thousand Daemons as translated by Wole Soyinka), Amos Tutuola’s Palmwine Drinkard, Asare Konadu’s A Woman in her Prime, Professor Ahmed Yerimah’s Otaelo, Ola Rotimi’s The gods Are Not to Blame, etc.; the introduction of social issues peculiar to modernity like politics, modern warfare, taxation, medicine, etc. and the relegation of our native languages in formal places like churches, schools, government and formal occasions like weddings, birthdays, luncheons, corporate gatherings, etc. by the middle-class and the upper-class in the society. It became so terrible that people, even those on the lower rungs of social strata, were encouraged to always speak English. That’s how the trend of speaking English to babies started so they could be better speakers when they become language adults. You still wonder why most teenagers can’t speak their native languages and why some kids naturally speak bad English?

The Revival

After a long walk in the wrong direction, many writers including speakers have come to the realization that English language couldn’t and still cannot bear the weight or meet our communication needs the way our local languages do chiefly because the language does not have all the equivalents of the words (and sounds) we use in everyday conversation. For instance, some overzealous speakers tend to create un-English equivalents for local delicacies like moimoi and akara (beans cake), obe egusi (melon soup), ata dindin (fried stew), dundu (fried yam), iyan (pounded yam), eyin dindin (fried egg), obe efo (vegetable soup), etc. However English these coinages sound--even though they form a part of our own variety of English [Nigerian English] that is yet to be officially recognized--it’s always embarrassing when a native speaker finds it extremely difficult to relate to their meanings. The resultant effect of this failed effort include code-mixing, c o d e - s w it c h i n g a n d d ir e c t importation of heavy lexical items into English e.g ‘askorishingly’, ‘co b a l i z e ’, ‘ j e j e l y ’, e t c . and phonological items like ‘yon’ forJohn, ‘fest’ for vest, etc.

Today, the table is gradually turning; people are beginning to realize how much damage our embrace of everything English has caused to our social growth. More importantly, the relegation of our ancestry and cultural practices. That realization has triggered varying quantum of passion in many language enthusiasts like Eriata Oribhabor whose fancy is in creating a peculiar language called naija languej out of the existing structure of ‘fragmentized’ English language to meet our language needs; Professor Akinwunmi Isola, a strong advocate of Yoruba language. In his lifetime, he deliberately wrote many articles, plays and novels in Yoruba including Efunsetan Aniwura, his first play in his undergraduate days at the University of Ibadan in 1961, O leku (1986), Ogun Omode (1990), Saworoide, Agogo Eewo, Koseegbe, among others; Rezthapoet, a spoken word artiste whose style of presentation has a large room for the love he has for his roots like we see in his Asake video and Yusuf Balogun Gemini. For Yusuf Balogun, the very first thing that catches one’s fancy is how much knowledge, understanding and grasp of Yoruba language he has in commensuration with his age and in sharp contrast with other young minds his age. 

The twist to his enthusiasm is the inculcation and the dire desire for the resuscitation of deep Yoruba cultural-cum-religious heritage that shaped the beliefs and way of life of those gone before. Before now, Yusuf Balogun started like some of his predecessors by writing about culture in English and importing heavy lexical items from Yoruba like he did in Eba Odan. As time crawled by, he became so consumed by his passion that he completely switched to Yoruba and started churning out spoken word audio in Yoruba. So far, his singles include: Ori, Lagidigba, Ipado, Atelewo and Agbe but so many controversies have trailed this brilliant effort including outright condemnation from many people who frown at certain religious practices. To corroborate the assertions of this revival, below is the reproduction of the brief chit-chat we had on the subject matter and I bet you’ll definitely agree with me that this young language enthusiast is going places.

Tell me about your family, your background

Well, I come from a tradition oriented family. My father happens to be a diviner and mother has a royal root from ancestry. One of the basic things I was taught was the essence of Yoruba culture and traditions, the beauty primarily which took me on an astral trip. And though born and bred in Lagos, I’m grounded in the things of the culture compared to those who stay in the villages (not intended to be exaggerative).

Which means your father, in clear

words, taught you how to reverence

ancestral powers?

To a large extent, yes. And asides that, what we pick from the immediate environment, what we hear, what we watch, what we believe in primarily. They all gather as a source of influence.

How did poetry begin for you?

Poetry was always there anyway. It just needed a trigger and I feel was the educational break I took after secondary school. I found myself exploring another part of the art which was complexified formally. And it was fun and all joy

And then suddenly, it veered off in the direction of culture?

Well, background as a way of iinfluencing whatever it is we do. It’s an interpretation of oneself. I’m just someone who couldn’t help seeing my culture and traditions losing its essence. The degradation is just too much. I believe the first way I could do my quota was through poetry.

Ori, your very first recorded spoken word poetry paints a whole lot of relative life-happenings. How did you compose something that’s that deep?

I am a fatalist. And I have a large belief that everyone that happens in this cycle of a world is preplanned--whta’s regarded as fate and believed to be controlled by Ori. Well, left to me, I never considered it as deep as much as the world sees it. But then, it’s what happens when poetry hits you hard.

So far, you’ve recorded a number of spoken word poetry: Ori, Lagidigba,Ipado, Agbe, etc. but the most controversial of all are Ipado and Agbe, why is that?

Well, people regard Ipado andAgbe as being incantatory rather than being poetic. Hence, spelling the idea of a heathen and a blatant pagan. But then, isn’t incantation supposed to be a form of poetry?

A lot of people, writers basically, love to see their works referenced. Ori, as we’ve learnt, hasn’t just been referenced but adopted into a stage play by a group of Igbo students. What does that tell you?

Well, nothing gives joy than having one’s work tread lengths farther than one’s feet. It was for the sake of posterity as such that Ori was composed in English with a mixture of Yoruba and the referencing and adoption is an interpretation that there’s still hope for cultural revival with poetry as a projection.

In thi s new world order, incantations are frowned at by most people no doubt but would you say that’s why you embarked on those recordings in the first place?

No. A careful study of Ipado would reveal that it is an attestation of the women folk, the Yoruba clan basically place women at a superior level especially in the superior (spiritual) realm. It’s believed that the fall and rise of every man has a full touch of women in it. Ipado centres around t h a t a n d t h e b e a u t y of neoclassical Yoruba poetry which in the sense of its very intricacy cannot be established without the use of incantations. In fact, incantations form a cognizant part of the Yoruba beliefs. Agbe on its own part is a dirge in memory of Late Pa Akinwunmi Isola. However, the incantations in it only serve as a form of passage rites for the legend. We are not exactly evoking any strange beings or trying to be heathens has many see it. It’s just the normal course of poetry in the cultural tone.

As Yoruba, I understand the deep connotations of the incantations. However, you say the beauty of neoclassical Yoruba poetry can’t be established without incantations. Couldn’t you have talked about women without paying homage to certain terrestrial powers?

The Yoruba cosmosphere is built on homage especially when words are said to connote some things b e yond the o rdina r y understanding. It’s important to bestow honour unto the astral spirits, to avert implications or a boomerang.

But there are people who talk about these same subject matters without making reference or paying homage to spirits.

Well, level of understanding and perspective differ. Perhaps, that’s what gives the world its fun. And in the ordinary sense, respect is a tradition in the Yoruba culture. It’s a primary belief that no attempt can be successfully made without paying respects to those who duly need one. Remember, the Anglicised Yoruba system is very contrast from the genuineYoruba system which in all sense brews my present revival.

You’ve won awards in this regard right? Tell us about them.

In 2017, I got my firstrevered award not only as a poet but as a Yoruba cultural enthusiast and oral poet from voice of Yoruba organisation. This award hammers on the fact that people are rising from the dust to revive the culture again and this ain’t necessarily about me but about the Yoruba clan, what we stand for as akewi alohun. Perhaps, this is more reason that triggered my firm stand in the production of Yoruba audio. There is a firm belief that there are silent whisperers and on lookers who see and appreciate the effectiveness and neo-classical state of these works. Such is the emergence of the award and many more honours that came afterwards that wasn’t expected nor envisaged. The lamp of the Yoruba art won’t die, regardless of what may come.

Now that you’ve cleared the air on the controversies, what should we be expecting from your corner soon?

Uhh…well, I’mworking ona lotofthings. For a bit while, I’d be silent so as to see how far these works can go. But anytime from now, there should be a lookout for a Yoruba poetry audio titled Elerindodo and also, my print poetry book  which has been officially released inJune titled Invocations.

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