GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Symbols occupy a prominent place in many African works. For one to understand the
messages writers are trying to get across through symbols, one has to understand the concept
of symbols. This is necessary because words they, African writers, are using are not just to
quench they will to write, but a symbolic - representing reality.
Due to symbolic pluralism, there is a proliferation of definitions of symbol. However,
some scholars see this plurality as constituting a major impasse to a clear definition of
symbol. 1
Jean Chevalier, for instance, is of the opinion that due to the amorphous image of symbol it
escapes all definition because by its nature: it breaks all established barriers and reunites the
extremes at sight.2 Definition has many implications and one of this is the possible limitation
of conception or notion of something that is defined. Thus, symbol is so universalized that a
definition could constitute undue restriction or limitation. In principle, the elastic and dynamic
qualities of symbol tend towards infinity. That is why each symbol is regarded as a
microcosm, a total cosmos.3
A.R. Radcliff-Brown defines symbol as whatever has meaning. 4 In a general
sense, symbol refers to that which “expresses, represents, stands for, reveals, indicates, or
makes known another reality.”5 In a specific sense, it is ordinarily defined as a thing
recognized as normally typifying, representing, recalling something of great practical
importance by possession of analogous qualities or by association in fact or thought. This
includes objects, activities, relations, events, gestures, and spatial units in a ritual situation. 6
The lion and the jewel by Wole Soyinka contains a myriad of symbols. Through the figures
of speech, the colors, the acts, the dances, the songs, the mimes and so forth, Wole soyinka
attempts to catch readers attention about the clash between tradition and modernism is
obvious. Tradition and modernity are jostle for place on the African continent, our analysis
will then consist in showing first and foremost symbols depicting tradition and secondly the
ones for modernism in the play.

1
Ukaegbu, Igbo Identity and Personality vis-a-vis Igbo Cultural Symbols, Salamanca: 1991, 24.
2
J. Cheavalier, et al (ed.), Diccionario de los Simbolos, Traduccion Castellana de Manuel Silvary Arturo
Rodriguez, Barcelona: 1986, 31.
3
Cf. J. O. Ukaegbu; (1991), 24.
4
A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, “Taboo”, in: SFPS (London: 1968), 143.
5
J. O. Ukaegbu, (1991), 17.
6
R. Firth, Symbols, Public and Private, London: 1973, 15.

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I/TRADITION SYMBOLISMS IN THE LION IN THE JEWEL BY WOLE SONYINKA

The Africans are known to be deeply traditionalized. Each people have its own
tradition system with a set of beliefs and practices. Deep within the being of every African, is
a feeling of an irresistible traditions imperative. Tradition makes the most absolute claim in
the life, hopes and aspirations, fears and joys of the average African person.

I.1-the representation of the symbolic of the lion and the jewel

The study of symbolism in the lion and the jewel by Wole Soyinka requires a thorough
analysis, That is to say a further reading is necessary but in the lion and the jewel, the title
itself is significant for conveys a meaningful message. To figure out this message, Patricia
Ann Lynch in her work African mythology A to Z led a deep and thorough survey about
several African traditions. The “Lion” in Africa is a wild animal considered as being the king
of the jungle, forest. “The males, with their flowing manes, are majestic animals traditionally
regarded as “king of the beasts”—although the females do most of the hunting. In many
traditions, the lion is a symbol of ritual power and is associated with royalty. Mari-Jata, the
founder of the Mali empire, was called the “Lion of Mali.” Similarly, Haile Selassie (1891–
1975), the last emperor of Ethiopia, was called the “Lion of Judah.” The Azande people of
Democratic Republic of the Congo believed that people became various animals when they
died; dead rulers became lions. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, who hunted lions, wore
scars inflicted by a lion as a badge of courage.”7 In the play, the term lion refers to baroka
who is the chief of the village of Ilujinle. Baroka is 62 years old, he has several wives, but
Baroka’s thirst for wives is unquenchable, then in the play, he woes Sidi. He wants to marry
sidi as his last wife. In the play, the part of the title jewel refers to sidi who is a true belle, the
village belle. As for the symbolic of jewel, it is a precious metals and beautiful gems that
make up jewelry spring from the womb of the Earth. Legends tell us that these gems are
mined by dwarves and that jewelry is constructed by elves and goblins. Metals and gems are
themselves full of hidden meanings. Gems symbolize not only material wealth but also
wisdom and the riches of the mind and spirit. Buddhist doctrines are called “jewels.” And, as
the song says, diamonds really are forever! Not only the stones, but also the precious
materials that go into the design of jewelry, are eternal and incorruptible. Ancient jewelry

7
Lynch, Patricia Ann. African Mythology A to Z. New York: Chelsea House, 2010.

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often looks as new as the day it was made, and was worn by royalty as well as the common
man. There is evidence that man adorned himself with jewelry as long ago as 40,000 years,
and the very earliest kind was made of shells, animal bones and teeth. The importance of this
jewelry was such that people were even buried with it. Jewelry is not only decorative: it can
be functional, too, for instance, to hold clothing together (buckles, brooches, pins, and clips).
It stores wealth (think of the archetypal gypsy, dripping gold— this jewelry is the same as
money in the bank). Jewelry can take the form of protective amulets and talismans, with
countless designs intended specifically to avert the evil eye. It also denotes status or
membership of a group or tribe, or can give information about the wearer 8. It is clear that
since for eons, jewelry is associated to power, royalty but could be linked to individuals. It
could be the main reason why Baroka, the Lion, the chief of the village, wants to marry Sidi,
the Jewel, the village belle , so that to make his jewelry (Collection of wives) shine because
the fame of Sidi is rising all over in the village. Thanks to the deep analysis of the symbolic of
the constituents of the title of play, the lion and the jewel, one can figure out that the play
deals with the conquest of Baroka for sidi’s love. Such a conquest, in romance is always
swerved by unwilling persons and in this case, it is Lakunle, the schoolmaster, he is stubborn
and known in the play as he who embraced modernity, is also interested in marrying Sidi.
Both Baroka and Lakunle should pay the bride-price if they ever actually interested in
marrying her. Some traditional ceremonies should be hosted and these traditional celebrations
are symbolic in African tradition.

I.2/the study of traditional symbols in Lion and the jewel

Most societies, at some point in their history, have been characterized by payments at the
time of marriage. Such payments typically go hand-in-hand with marriages arranged by the
parents of the respective spouses. These marriage payments come in various forms and sizes.
Bride-price or bride wealth is used to validate customary marriages, is a common practice in
many African societies. Typically, bride price consists of contract where material items (often
cattle, pig, or other animals) or money are paid by the groom to the bride’s family in exchange
for the bride for the labour and her capacity to produce children (Oguli, Oumo, 2004) 9. This

8
- Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, HarperElement, 2008
9
- Oguli Oumo , M. (2004) Bride Price and Violence Against Women: the Case of Uganda, paper presented at
the International Bride Price Conference, February, Kampala, Uganda.

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practice of bride price has different names in different countries and regions of Africa. In
among the Zulus, it is known as Lobola, the Tiv of central Nigeria call it kem. Increasingly in
urban areas, the practice is changing so that money (rather than animal) is more commonly
given inform of non-refundable gifts. However, in rural (though varying by ethnic/tribal
group, tradition and culture), more traditional bride price practices remain traditionally
common and tend to be accepted as cultural norm. In the past, tradition of bride price is
believed to have operated beneficially to give formal recognition to marriages and protect
wives against abuse, stabilize the partnership and to join the two families together.
Today, however the practice appears to have become commercialized and to have lost much
of its traditional value in many instances. Bride price can now appear to be buying a wife as a
commodity which results to abuse of women if she does not fulfill her value or she attempts to
leave the bride cannot be repaid (Matembe 2004, Ndira, 2004)10.
Bride-price payment is then significant in most African traditions. Wole Soyinka, seems
enhancing that fact in his play because whom among Lakunle and Baroka should pay the
bride price so that to marry the village belle, Sidi. In addition, several terms related to
tradition in the play such as “Drum” “wrestling” are not to be laid aside, their significant
shouldn’t be played down because the wrestling and drumming taking place in Baroka’s
house when Sidi enters are used to reinforce Baroka’s established masculinity which he hides
in order to rape Sidi.
“ Historically, drumming has accompanied various modes of communication, including
singing, dancing, and storytelling. In western Africa, people used drums to send and receive
spiritual messages, to communicate over long distances, to aid healing, and to celebrate ritual
events and the change of seasons. Specific drum rhythms and their associated dances continue
to have significant meaning in Africa. Drums accompany most ceremonies and social
rituals—including birth, puberty, marriage, death, and burial. In many world cultures, both
within and outside Africa, drums have accompanied poetry. For the Akan-speaking people of
Ghana, however, drums themselves have traditionally been used as a means of transmitting
poetry. On state occasions, poems were drummed to the chief and to the community as a
whole. The explanation for how drums could “talk” is that many African languages are tonal.
The relative tone of a word—high or low determines its meaning. Since drums have only tone

10
-Matembe, M. (2004) The relationship between domestic violence and bride price, paper presented at the
International Bride Price Conference, MP Mbarara and Pan African Parliamentarian, February, Kampala,
Uganda.

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and volume as variables, they cannot produce word-for-word imitations of speech. But drum
texts contain set phrases that drummers use; listeners who know the same language can
recognize these phrases.11”
As for the symbol of wrestling, it is regarded as fight a fight among two wrestlers which
results in a victory. He who wins is considered as being the strongest. He entitles respect from
all persons, he is honored, famous. Chinua Achebe highlights wrestling in his novel Things
fall apart when describing Okonkwo as he who thrown Amalinze the cat who was a great
wrestler. He remained unbeatable for seven years. By throwing Amalinze the cat, “Okonkwo
was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid
personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by
throwing Amalinze the Cat.12”
In addition, the Odan tree wole Soyinka portrayed in the play is a palaver tree.
The Palaver Tree is a designated location (originally a large tree such as the baobab) in many
African community where the community come together to discuss in a peaceful and
constructive manner, issues of common interest. At times the Palaver three may also
transform into a stage for performance and storytelling. The palaver tree in recent days has
become a symbol of peace and reconciliation embodied in the belief that one can change,
accept a compromise because it is what makes us human.
Village life is regulated under the palaver tree: weddings, land disputes, a young man or
woman’s good or bad behavior, good or bad harvests, news from the parents of neighboring
villages, protecting the village from witchcraft.
The Palaver Tree is a mechanism that maintains peace, social order and social cohesion
(instrument for crisis management and conflict at the heart of the community). It is a system
of social control at the heart of communities that aims to weaken the following: drugs,
smoking, alcohol, rural exodus, moral deprivation, witchcraft (followers are getting younger
and younger), disputes and disagreements that are becoming more and more frequent between
villagers who sometimes take justice into their own hands to escape corruption by officials,
etc. Its fundamental philosophy is peaceful coexistence and self-monitoring of villages.
Sango is the Yoruba orisha, a ruler, and a wielder of justice. He also uses thunder and
lightning to enforce justice. He is evoked several times in the text. First, Sadiku uses him to
threaten the obnoxious Lakunle. Second, she evokes him again when she is exulting over the
Bale's impotence ("Oh Sango my lord, who of us possessed your lightning / and ran like fire

11
- Lynch, Patricia Ann. African Mythology A to Z. New York: Chelsea House, 2010.
12
-Chinua Achebe. Things fall apart. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. October 1995

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through that's lion's tail..." [33]). Third, Baroke mentions him when he tells Sidi his views on
progress ("Among the bridges and the murderous roads, / below the humming birds which /
Smoke the face of Sango, dispenser of / The snake-tongue lightning" [52]). Fourth, Lakunle
angrily evokes Sango when he hears what has happened to Sidi ("Let Sango and his lightning
keep out of this" [60]). Every time he is mentioned, the character mentioning him is talking
about justice, retribution, and revenge. The Study of traditional approach of symbols in the
play, The lion and the jewel by Wole Soyinka is so extended that we studied what are the
most eye-catching and significant but not only symbols of traditions is talked in the play,
there is also symbols dealing with modernity.

II/ MODERNITY SYMBOLISMS IN THE LION IN THE JEWEL BY WOLE

SONYINKA

Rationalization hinders the promotion of the cultural catholicity of the Church, and
Incarnation of the gospel in African culture. The term deals with the facile assertion that
African cultures are archaic and vanishing under the impact of westernizing modernity. 13
These cultures, now regarded as ‘obsolescent’ by some western and westernized scholars,
used to be called ‘savage’ or ‘primitive.’

II.1/ A theological approach in the symbolism of colors in the play

Colors are symbolic all over the world and posses an unlimited power. In the stage direction
of the play, Wole Soyinka makes use of colors with poles apart meanings but describing only
one character, Lakunle, the schoolmaster, he who embraced modernity. He wore “ Black
waistcoat” and “Blanco-white tennis shoes”14 The playwright is then trying to get across the
readers the two-sides spears that modernity has. “For early Christian theology white and black
formed a pair of opposites and often represented the colored expression of Good and Evil.
Such an opposition relied on Genesis (light/darkness), but also on sensibilities aligned with
nature (day/night, for example). The church fathers and their successors provided commentary
and developed it further. In practice, however, exceptions did exist. Not that the symbolic
code could actually be reversed—Christianity had no notion of a negative white—but black,

13
- E. Hillman, Toward An African Christianity, New York: 1993
14
-Wole Soyinka. The lion and the jewel.

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considered alone, could be seen positively in certain cases and could express some virtue.
Monastic dress provides an old and enduring example. From the late Carolingian period the
black scorned by the first Christians tended to become the standard color for monks living
according to the Rule of Saint Benedict—which nevertheless recommended disinterest in the
color of one’s habit.49 This Benedictine black, destined for a long future, was neither
demeaning nor diabolical. On the contrary, it was a sign of humility and temperance, two
essential monastic virtues15. It was more common, however, for black to be a sign of affliction
or penitence, for example, in the case of the liturgy. In earliest Christian times, the officiant
celebrated the worship service in his ordinary clothes, which resulted in a certain uniformity
throughout Christendom, and also a predominance of white or undyed clothing. Then,
gradually, white seemed to become reserved for Easter and the most solemn holidays in the
liturgical calendar. Saint Jerome, Gregory the Great, and other church fathers agreed upon
making white the color endowed with the greatest dignity. By about the year 1000 a certain
number of customs were already common throughout all of Roman Christianity, at least for
the principal celebrations, even if important differences remained between one diocese and
another. These shared customs formed a system that all eleventh- and twelfth-century
liturgists would subsequently describe and comment upon, as would the future Pope Innocent
III in 1195 (he was as yet only a cardinal) in his famous treatise on the Mass16. This system
can be summarized thusly: white, the symbol of purity, was used for all celebrations of Christ
as well as for those of the angels, virgins, and confessors; red, which recalls the blood spilled
by and for Christ, was used for celebrations of the apostles and the martyrs, the cross, and the
Holy Spirit, notably Pentecost; as for black, it was used for times of waiting and penitence
(Advent, Lent), as well as for the masses for the dead and for Holy Friday.17”

II.2/ Symbols portraying modernity

The community is not, contrary to what is generally admitted, a premodern or antimodern

notion, but a logical operator essential in the way in which modernity thinks itself. The
community is one of the ideologies mobilized by "modernity" to think, that is to say to
become aware of itself and produce, to each of the epochs to which the recurrence, among
others, of this ideologeme makes it possible to attribute the qualifier "modern". Despite its

15
- P. Gauguin, Oviri: Écrits d’un sauvage: Textes choisis (1892–1903), ed. D. Guerin (Paris, 1974)
16
- Michel Pastoureau - Black_ The History of a Color (2008)
17
-idem

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pre-modern references and its antimodernist determination, it is constitutive of the production
of modern discourses and, therefore, inseparable from the strategies of modernization of
discourse. If community and modernity traditionally constitute a pair of opposites, to look at it
more closely there has never been more question of the community than in times which try to
control their modernity. As a result, there are ambivalent effects that are translated politically
and ideologically by the interchangeability of statements between the right and the left - a
phenomenon that can be illustrated by the flourishing state of reference to the community in
political romanticism. reference that took a fatal turn under the Weimar Republic, but remains
very present in the modern political horizon until today. 18

The magazine symbolizes the reoccurring theme of technology and western culture
dominating other cultures. The magazine was also the vector for Sidi’s developing vein self-
image. The magazines that the stranger brings to Ilujinle feature photographs of the village
and its residents, including three full pages showing images of Sidi. While Sidi was the
village belle long before the magazine arrived, the magazine becomes the literal source of her
power over the course of the play, particularly since it depicts her beauty prominently while
insulting Baroka by including only a small picture of him next to a latrine. However, even
though the magazine seems to suggest that Sidi is more powerful than Baroka (the village
leader), the magazine also turns Sidi into a literal object that can be consumed, used, and
distributed by others. The magazine, then, is symbolic of women's existence in Ilujinle; even
when women believe they are gaining power, they are still seen as objects to be consumed and
controlled by others.
Postage stamps, specifically the ones that Baroka plans to print featuring Sidi's photograph,
are symbolic of the most effective way (at least in Soyinka’s opinion) for Africa to
modernize. Unlike railways or unions, which Baroka sees being forced on him, stamps and
the development of a postal system represent a way to embrace progress and modernity
without completely upending or forsaking Ilujinle's current way of life. Stamps are a modern,
Western invention, but they're also something that Baroka can use on his own terms. They
will allow him to dictate how, when, and how much Ilujinle progresses.

The railroad represents western civilization advancements in technology as well. It also is a

reappearance of Lakunle’s symbol. Thus it also represents the forcing of western ideas on the
unwilling villagers. The Railways, commonly implemented by European colonial

18
- Blay, Michel. Grand dictionnaire de la philosophie.2003

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governments, is a system of transportation, something that brings people in and takes people
out. It irrevocably opens a place up to the rest of the world, and this is why Baroka is so
opposed to it. The physical breaking of the ground represents to him a smashing of tradition
and autonomy. The stranger's camera symbolizes modernity. It is a newfangled object to the
extent that one of the village girls calls it a "one-eyed box" (10). It is able to capture Sidi's
young, beautiful image and reproduce it for everyone to see and gaze on in perpetuity.

Conclusion

Based on the findings acquired through the analysis of symbolisms in the play the lion and
the jewel, it could be concluded that modernity has detrimental effect on traditions due to the
fact African are all the amazed by new technologies, as a result leads to abandonment which
could affect African offspring.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ukaegbu, Igbo Identity and Personality vis-a-vis Igbo Cultural Symbols, Salamanca: 1991, 24

J. Cheavalier, et al (ed.), Diccionario de los Simbolos, Traduccion Castellana de Manuel

Silvary Arturo
Rodriguez, Barcelona: 1986, 31.

R. Radcliffe-Brown, “Taboo”, in: SFPS (London: 1968), 143.

R. Firth, Symbols, Public and Private, London: 1973, 15.

Lynch, Patricia Ann. African Mythology A to Z. New York: Chelsea House, 2010.

Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, HarperElement, 2008

Oguli Oumo , M. (2004) Bride Price and Violence Against Women: the Case of Uganda,
paper presented at the International Bride Price Conference, February, Kampala, Uganda.

Matembe, M. (2004) The relationship between domestic violence and bride price, paper
presented at the International Bride Price Conference, MP Mbarara and Pan African
Parliamentarian, February, Kampala, Uganda.

Chinua Achebe. Things fall apart. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. October 1995

E. Hillman, Toward An African Christianity, New York: 1993

Wole Soyinka. The lion and the jewel.

P. Gauguin, Oviri: Écrits d’un sauvage: Textes choisis (1892–1903), ed. D. Guerin (Paris,
1974)

Michel Pastoureau - Black_ The History of a Color (2008)

Blay, Michel. Grand dictionnaire de la philosophie.2003

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