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ARTS AND AFRICA

No. 264

ALEX TETTEH-LAR.TEY
Hello this is Alex Tetteh- Lartey welcoming you to another edition of
' Arts and Africa'. And today we t·lk to a controver~ial young Sierra
Leone playwright about his new play dealing with the Poro Society.
MUSIC - PORO DRUMS
The sound of Poro drums. Poro one of the oldest of African s·e cret
Societies. Its the biggest und most powerful Secret Society in
Liberia and Sierra Leone especially among Mende people. More than
400 years ago ~uropean visitors wrote of the extent and power of Poro
and today it can exe rt its influence on the modern political scene.
MOSES DUMBUYA
In areas where Po~o was fairly stror.g. to gain any political leadership
one has to be a member or become a m2mber immediately one is selected
for a political post. And this is still the case in those ar e as ,, I
believe even now if one is vying for a political position in contemporary
Sierra Leone in an area where Poro is very strong it would be wise to
e ither join th-":lt institution or to g-iin 90me nssist.-:mce from them.
TF,TTEH-LARTEY
Dr. Moses Dumbuya of the Departm~nt of Soci0logy mt the University of
Sierrn Leone. But n s ~ Sociologist Dr. Dumbuya points to the social
contribution P~ro is mnking to the community in general.
MOST
MOSES DllMBUYA
I would cny that Poro is given morA r 2cognition by our Government now in
are~s where this institution is strongest - in places like Mendel~nd
~nd Temnelond it is p erforming o gre~t role in agriculture nnd 3elf-help
projects when you join nn institution if you·c~n 3pply for h~lp in
terms of l8bour. When on•~ looks ~t n society which is bnsed on
:?griculture c!nd people d epend on agricultural crops if these crops nre
produced in abundance, th~n the .whole society will bf~efit from · it.
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TETTEH-LARTEY
But Poro is a Secret Society, not n f:rming co-op 1-'r' ti ve. So when
the Orchestrn Muyei brought out a disc th!it blotontly m.'.'lde use of th2
Poro cry Ben Ben •••
BEN BEN MUSIC
the higher it climbed in th.:.- chDrts the more prdssure wns put on the
Government.,

MUSIC
Well, John K::.rgbo is 3 24 yeo.r old Sierr:1 Le6nean 3.nd writer who runs
the Songhai th,•·~tre plryers, a semi-profe ssionsl the~tr~, group of 30.
Formed ,just over ,':\ y,.::-:r ngo its memb,::rs are drnwn from 1:1 number of
Sierr3 Leonsan the3tre groups. So f~r the group ·has st~ged a bout
seven plays, some written in Krio 3nd English by John K3rgbo him~elf
~nd some by other plnywrights. A ch~r~cteristic of K~rgbo's plays nre
his controv&rsinl themes. - Some of his plays mve caused quite an
uproar to develop among some of hi s audiences. His most r e c ~nt
production, ·11 Let Me Die Alone", The Life And Times Of Me.my Yoko, ·
an historico.1· play b-::sed on the cr~r eer of a fem8.le par'.:'.mount chief
in Sierra Leone's Southern province has c-:iused conside r"?ble .
controversy :::i.mong local th e:.1tre audiences beccuse some of the scenes
nnd dialogue 0.1,parently r ,~flect th--: secr'et · oGths :-ind ri tu:::i.ls of the
Poro Secret Society. At the Fre,,town City Holl .ttolFmd Buck tnlk ed to
-,John K-Jrgbo for 'Arts o.nd Afrj_ca' about "Let Me Die Alone".,

JOHN K..ARGBO
Let Me Die Alone" d e:J.ls with the life rmd ·times 0f one of the grentest
11

female chiefs in Sierrn Leone, Mnd2me Yoko. WhGt m~ke3 M~dnme Yoko
so ou ts:;1nding i s the fact th'Jt 8.t the h..-.,ight of her m[l.jest, pomp end
power she decided to commit suicide.. H, r lnst ,.·0rds were "if I -'.'.lm to
d' e let me die alone". And thnt, in ~ctual fo.ct, wos- how the plo.y
got its actu~l nnme. The mc instny of Yoko 1 ·s power hn°--u0ned to be one
-0f our most revered secret s0cietits, which iG nnother Poro Society
Gnd while writing it lddecided that you c~nnot write o.bcut
M~dame Yoko without trying tn delve int0 thi~ society. In a ctunl
fnct, I ~~n see no r enson f0r - this c~nt rnvPrsy - wh~t people saw on
the st~g8 w~s nnt the Poro Society its8lf bec~use i t' s impossible to
dAlve int" t h1°~ckgr0und nf the Poro - it wns n r 0prs,"''"nt··ti0n - o
mnke believe of this p~~t t culor s0ciety

ROLAND BUCK
Cnn you give us some illustr•tion 3S to this p~rticul~r sequence in
the plny-·?

JOHN KARGBO
Wel l there was e porticular scene in the play towards the end when
one 0f the bodygunrds told the Governor·s Messenger thnt he wonted
to s e "= Poro m!'.lrks and the Governor's Messenger h-~d to take-off his
shirt and show his marks. Well, members who claim t0 b e members cf
this p-'.1rticul!!r Society :-:cturclly took nffence., There wo.s c,ne man
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JOHN KARGBO
who c2me down-town ond got~ truck-lond of 0rmed policemen in an
attempt to try ond stop the production. And then there w~s one
particular inst'.:'!nce wh,m somebody h!"\d to sw,~o. r ~n onth when he s.~ys
"If I divulge this p:1rticular se~ret,(or something of the sort)
Let Poro deyils spit on my nose nnd rot it, let the b~bies cry,
blind 3.nd de:,fen me, let catnrac:ts marry my eye-balls, end let
leprosy devour my fingers, l Gt ele~honts cling to my legs the way
one clings tn the l•:gs of thP. f' rmers in the sw".'!mp" . -
. '

Well somebody modem~ to underst~nd th~t this is pr.rt of the n~th-

t ~king ceremony of ths ~ctunl Poro Society. In nctu~l fRct, this
W'J.S r"ther by accident b.:;co.use I I v
O
n r:ver belonged to the Pro
Porn Society, and n0r do I ever int.--nd t-"'> b;-come o rr:cmber of the
Soci =ty.
BUCK
New this ~~rticul~r controve rsy, how has it nffected the production -
th,· th'c?'ltric....,l pres,~nt- t ion of the nctnrs p'"lrticularly ?

KARGBO
'\!foll, in :ill f::iirness 1 I would s,. y when the he"t woe :::-:ctu:::.lly nn I
c~, lled th"? c~ r;t together in rny cnp3ci ty as Dir,::>ctnr cmd st!id thnt
this is the position - n grc1up of nrmed police p ersonne l ar,a rrnt
th-? r ,~ in the h3ll - they int,...nd to stc,p the production, so whnt is
going to hr:,ppen is that we cc,ntinue on the st'"'.ge until things
actuclly r '-· nch .'J. climez nnd the y SGid "o.k,. we're behind you". And
so the pr0ductio~ went on smoothly. In actualy fJct it ended up
with 3 fellow who r~ng for the policemen ending up in th~ police c e ll!

BUCK
I unde rstand you ar0 going to st~ge the pl~y in some nreas in the
provinces, but on th~ odvice of ~ne of the pnr~mount chiefs you
decided to wi thdr2w it. because I· beli ,:,vr~ these nre oreos
predominantly controlled by the Poro Society or its members.

KARGBO
W2ll, not ex,3 .ctly, I tr':lvelled tc the pr0vinces '3nd spoke tr, one of
the parr\m0unt chh,fs who identified himself as o member (becrus ,:: t here
2re h...,rdly any p:1r.n mount ch i ;--fs in this ccuntry who nr,~ nr,t members
of thu Poro Society). He told me th~t in ~ctual fact h~ ~~ a poor
ma.n wouldn't sny we shouldn't bring the play up to the prnvince
wh::t he w0uld o.dvise wo.s th::it hi:: s a w the script first and . try to
see hew much d.'.3.moge was done to his society.

-Mr.
BUCK
K".rgbo, you 1 ve produced quite Ill number 0 f plays. Somt: you've
wri ttr::n your-- e lf, nnd some written by 0thers, but thes ~ plnys hcve
bP.en c0ntroversi.:1l in n.'J.ture more th!;_n in e -rli e r plays, c'"'n you
explain this':'
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KARGBO
Well, '.J.S a writer I s e.-~ mys e lf mor;•· or less os o s0ciol critic.
You obs .=? rve the society w·hich y0u live in -;nd t h en you try to
criticise c ~rt r in 'Spe cts of the society. T3ke f0r ex~mple a scho0l-
girl, "The Cose Of The Pregnant School Girl" - she ditched her boy
friend and settled for what W t: usuelly term out here os 3 "sup.:.~ r
dad 11 , a m:::m old e n0ugh to b e h e r f nther. And in the end she ends
up c9mmitting suicide b e cause she c a nnot st" nd up to th& pr~ssures
6'f society. In the end she becomes n0thing but n s-:-ci.:::il outcost.
BUCK
C~n y0u tell us abut the other plays?
KARGBO
There i~ ~ sociql politicel sntir e d e ~li ng with the ~dvent cf
indep Rndnnce ~nd shattered hopes ~nd l o s t drenms, like Ethiopia
in the Afric~n context•
BUCK
Mr. Knrgbo , you s ~2m t r-, hnvG a kneck for r ~1s1:1g pr0blems . Arc~yyou
ma king c 0nscious efforts now to write ploys tho.t might n o t evoke
controversy - or cre ate unple osant circumst~ncJ s or situ~tions f0 r
both y ~urs 0lf ~nd your nctors?
KARGO
Well, ns n wri t &r I wr- uld S'.J.Y first r)f all I don't for ('ne mom:-nt
s e 0 myse lf living n lie . If y r,u ~s writer wzint t0 be F) committed
writer, nll you've gl"\t t ,~ d o is put things dnwn :1s y ,.~u s i=: e them .
S c whote ver the pressures mi ght be, who.tever the : bstncle s cf the
pr:- blems, I d c n' t think the gr··up vr mys ,.:lf w·,. uld c .·-nsid <:: r devinting
1

fr t m this pnrtlculor r . l e f 0r s ~rne thing much mer e c r mf0rt~ble~ If

Yi' U' re ~nming f r.ir s c ci<"?l chrm g e t he n there is n r, C 1 mfc rt, ~nd·
y\° u r 'ilise first e.nd f- ,r emcst th-.t we ,".Ire n · t g<' ing t - ch'.'1nge .

BUCK
Where d yr:--u g t ycur m.'."lteri nl fr!'ffi ? D0 Y" U lcr'k nt t h e si tu --:tion
in s0ci e t ' and J ust writ ~ , rr ore y0u i nspi r e d by ether writers? _
KARGBO
We ll , in the C"'Se of "Let Me Di.::.; Alone", which h:-3.ppens ·to be the most
c r,ntr0versi:'!l plc1y , I w.-:is inspirt= d m0r-' 0r lt-;;'ss by •" l brillo.nt article
in o m:1g"zine written by ~- p rE:, t. I t"'lke d it ov e r with a coll e ngue
ond then with more extensive r e s e ~rch I c ame up with t h is.

BUCK
There hos be•:::n (•the r CL'ntr oversinl writers bef;,re . Peopl e like
P::i.t Maddy ; Mustophn , and it w.-,uld S • <:m t h 3t the si tuntion h0sn ' t
0

c h ange d. Do y0u think y ,m' 11 be ~bl-:-: t ·' effe ct s r m& ch::mge ?

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KARGBO
Well, at 24 I'm not in~ position tc s~y thnt. But I think th~t in
certcin cases there is some semblGnce of chnnge. What I cJn only
S".y o. t this m0ment is tho.t nfter a po rticul8r performnnce o little
girl c::me up to m8 .'.:md S-'.}id thnt her sister wns an Ekundayo, one of
the girls who chased the "sugar de.ds", o.nd then said her sister
vowed e.fter seeing the plo.y bf.-,co.use of the wny the girl end
up, she no longer intends to gc G.fter men wh0 are old enough tn be
her fnther.
BUCK
Whr·t nre y0ur plnns fnr the future ? Are you going t0 pursue n
full-time writing c.:treer er nre yc\u g:~ing t ·· combine yrur j,..,urnolistic
c:J.reer with writing ploys, sh,--rt st---ries .3 nd pc-ems?
KJ,RGBO
When you think in terms 0f the econ,~mic ViGbili-ty c·f thE::-".tre in
Sierr~ Lecne ot the present st::ge y,u'd be the first to conjecture
thnt the futurE: might be glc('ffiY, but I think ; n time P·· ,.. ple will be
made tC' r -·9.li se th.::.t just like -the televisi0n, the newspo.per, the
r 8dio, the~tre hns an import\nt pl~ce in society in communi8otion,
more-0r-less. So I intend tc stick to writing plays and producing
plnys with journalism on the side.

ALEX TETTEH-LARTEY
S ierra Leonean controversial plnywright t:llking in Fre etc,wn ah,ut
his latest play "Let Me Die Al one - The Life And Times <'f Ma.my Yoko".
And th'.:'t's it f or this week frrm 'Arts nnd Africa', ond don't f0rget
t ·~ jcin me ag2tn next week, until then this is Alex Te tt eh-Lo rt ey
s:1ying goodbye.

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