The Slave's Rebellion: Literature, History, Orature

8. Prying Rebellious Subaltern Consciousness Out of The Clenched Jaws of Oral Traditions: Ef

145 8 Prying Rebellious Subaltern Consciousness Out of the Clenched Jaws of Oral Traditions Áfún3etán Aníwúrà The “negative” readings of the previous chapter highlight covert and overt strategies of excluding unruly subaltern presence in contemporary constructions of African traditions. That the reading exercise is even possible indicates that slaves and other bonded classes are not completely removed from cultural view after all. This chapter proposes a more positive interpretation in that it ascribes rebellious intent to what is there in Akínwùmí Ì3klá’s depiction of the tragic fate of a nineteenth-century Yorùbá leader in Áfún3etán Aníwúrà. the play: theater contra history Disagreements over the proper control of slaves in nineteenth-century Ìbàdàn constitute the primary means of reflecting on the nature of absolute power in Áfún3etán Aníwúrà. The play, which won the top prize of the Ágbf Ìjìnle Yorùbá (Yorùbá Studies Association) in 1966, dramatizes the political in-fighting that led to the assassination of the very wealthy and powerful Áfún3etán Aníwúrà, the city’s Ìyálóde, or leader of women, or “mother of pubAdeeko , Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page 145 the slave’s rebellion 146 lic affairs.”1 The play is a standard in the curriculum of the public school system in Yorùbá-speaking areas of Nigeria. It has been performed many times for television by a variety of troupes. Bankole Bello made a feature-length movie based on the play in 1981. The same year, an Ì3klá Ògún3qlá Theater production of the play was performed to “an audience of more than fourteen thousand spectators” who watched “in a festive, holiday mood” at the Liberty Stadium in Ìbàdàn. That was a record attendance in the history of the Yorùbá traveling theater movement ( Jeyifo 115). Although the source of the play’s popularity is not the subject of discussion here, I would like to say that the depiction of Ìyálóde Ffún3etán as a wealthy but childless and cantankerous woman accounts for a good part of the play’s attraction. The play may also have been very popular because it revives a version of glorious local history in its effective use of oral traditions like oríkì, spell-binding incantations , and the spectacular presentation of Ffún3etán’s tradition-defying aggressive mien. In his preface to the first edition of the published play, Ì3klá states that his motivation for writing about Ffún3etán is to comment on the unspeakable wickedness history accuses her of perpetrating on her slaves.2 A part of oríkì traditions about her is quoted as: Ffún3etán Aníwúrà, obìnrin mfta Adé-káyà-ó-já! Erùjeje tíí fBrú paléyá! Ffún3etán kkan, Ìbàdàn kkan. Abàyà-gbàngbà tí í p’Olódùmarè lfjo: Vba òkè kò tètè dáhùn, Ffún3etán gbéra láyé, ó lk bá A lorun Ffún3etán Aníwúrà, the one woman worthier than three Whose arrival sprouts fear The fearsome one who kills slaves for Eid The brazen one who challenges the Almighty to a palaver: The king above is slow to respond, Ffún3etán goes up there to hurry him up. Ì3klá uses three interlocking themes to dramatize Ffún3etán’s high-handedness : the inhuman regulations under which her slaves serve and their expressions of discontent about these rules, Ffún3etán’s complete disregard for kinship and family ties, and lastly her frontal rejection of her male colleagues in the political hierarchy. Ffún3etán owns many slaves, all of whom she uses like pieces of farm tools and keeps in check with draconian regulations . One of her peculiar rules stipulates capital punishment for any slave, male or female, caught trying to have a child. With this law, she shares with her slaves the sanction of childlessness she believes God has inflicted on her. Adeeko, Slave's Rebelion 5/5/05 3:56 PM Page 146 With this rule, she mocks God by trying to play one: “Èmi kò mq ohun tí mo fi 3e Elédùwà / Tí ó fi fqmq lá mi lójú báyìí. / #ùgbon kò burú, ohun tí à á 3e kù, / Kí òun mú òkè Re...