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John Pepper Clark's Song of a Goat: Hindsight for Foresight in Izon Culture of
the Western Niger Delta of Nigeria

Article · April 2019

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 Scholarly Journal of Scientific Research and Essay (SJSRE) Vol. 8(1), pp. 1-6, April 2019
Available online at http://www.scholarly-journals.com/SJSRE
ISSN 2315-6163 © 2019 Scholarly-Journals

Review

John Pepper Clark’s Song of a Goat: Hindsight for

Foresight in Izon Culture of the Western Niger
Delta of Nigeria
Prof. Amakievi, O.I. Gabriel*1 and Sarah Blackduke2
1Department of History and International Diplomacy Rivers State University Nkpolu-Oroworukwo
Port Harcourt, Rivers State
2Department of English and Literature in English Rivers State University Nkpolu-Oroworukwo

Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Accepted 30 March, 2019

This discourse on J.P. Clark’s Song of a Goat is based on the culture of the Ijo of the western delta in
Nigeria. It reflected features of the culture as expressed in their traditional religion, economy, customs,
beliefs among others. Their environment that is full of rivers and creeks which they explore and exploit
was well represented as they influenced aspects of their culture. The data for this study depended on
secondary materials such as books and journal articles. Song of a Goat is thoroughly a culturally based
drama even though some critics tried to give it a Greek/classical slant arising from their focus of
explaining why and how it is a tragedy. There is a need as this paper states for a comprehensive study
and understanding of Nigerian cultures for better intergroup relations.

Key words: Culture, Goat, traditional religion.

INTRODUCTION

Culture encapsulates the totality of the way of life of a
group of people whose ground rules are reflected in their
norms, mores, beliefs traditions, festivals, rituals and so
on. These regulating features are anchored in the
following seven Anthropological categories: economic,
political and social organizations; aesthetics, technology,
religion and cosmology. Individuals are enculturated
(depending on where they are socialized) and in turn,
express their culture in their careers and various facets of
human endeavour. In this way, even when a group of
people are acculturated, aspects of their indigenous
culture survive. In the literary world, various authors have
projected their culture and mirrored their societies.
Chinua Achebe in “Things Fall Apart” for example
explored and projected the Igbo society. Charles Dickens
“Great Expectation” and Thomas Hardy’s “The Mayor of
Casterbridge” depicted events and affairs in British
society, England in particular. Whole Soyinka’s Abiku
reflected the cultural belief in reincarnation among others.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: kzakieme@gmail.com.
Thus, it is usual that through literary works aspects of
people’s culture are revealed and understood.
This paper examines how the culture of the Western
Delta people was projected in “Song of a Goat” by John
Pepper Clark. Why was this significant in the 1960s and
how does this hindsight become a relevant foresight at
present and for the future. Again, what changes have
taken place over the years and how have they affected
the culture of the Western Delta izon speaking people?
The Western Delta
The Ijo people of the Western Delta have a history of
having settled in this environment for a very long time
even though the precise date is not certain. However,
Alagoa (2005) notes that there is the written evidence by
the Portuguese visitors at the close of the fifteenth
century that the Ijo occupied all the territory east of the
Forcados River and Ramos River. The Portuguese
bought slaves and cotton cloths, some panther skins,
palm oil and some blue shells with red stripes called coris
from the trade on these rivers and their Ijo neighbours.
The Portuguese, on the other hand, gave brass and

copper bracelets in exchange. The Itsekiri, Urhobo,
Isoko, and so on were Ijo neighbours with whom they
enjoyed trade and various forms of social relationships.
The Ijo with their mangrove belt of the Western Delta
exchanged their major products such as fish, crayfish,
salt and earthenware for agricultural products of their
hinterland neighbours (Ikime 1980). Canoes made of a
single trunk from timber that was plentiful in the locality
was the vehicle for transportation on the rivers and
creeks for intergroup relations between the Ijo and their
neighbours (Alagoa 2005). Again, contacts specifically
those involving cultural exchange, migration and
marriage as Alagoa,(2005) notes are significant for the
existence of the Western Delta Ijo and her neighbours.
It is therefore in this environment that J.P. Clark’s
drama, Song of a Goat is set. Song of a Goat has also
been examined and discussed from several perspectives
such as that of Universal Tragic Vision by Odoh Onyela
Emeka, symbolic water imagery and two directorial
approaches by Dr Saviour Nathan Agoro and Robert M.
Wren’s complex and comprehensive study of J.P. Clarks
works (drama and poetry). Wren understood the
environment where J.P. Clark was socialized but his
analysis did not revolve majorly around the culture of the
Western Delta as this discourse intends. Consequently,
the concept of culture and its characteristics would be
discussed in order to understand the focus of this paper.
Culture
All aspects and experiences of human beings underscore
culture. For this reason, it is an integrated whole of their
behaviour, ideas, products and so on. These are as Ajayi
(2005) observes, expressed in religion, language,
philosophy, music, dance, drama, architecture, political
organization, technology and so on. Everything made by
human beings is encapsulated in culture in which they
live, that is their cultural setting. Changes to culture occur
in different ways as human beings in a particular
environment interact with their neighbours and the
features of their environment such as rivers, streams,
lakes, and other water bodies, flora and fauna among
others.
Culture is not static; it is dynamic as such there could
be acculturation of one group by another group.
Modifications and adjustments are made and they usher
in changes that are either positive or negative. Most
importantly, every culture is learned or acquired through
both formal, non-formal and informal means. This leads
to the discussion of Song of a Goat from Ijo cultural
perspectives.
Song of a Goat
Song of a Goat features three major movements, a final
movement and an Alternative close structure that blend
the narrative clearly for easy understanding.
Scholarly J. Sci. Res. and Essay 2
First Movement
The Masseur, Ebiere and Zifa are the major characters
that dominate this first movement. Ijo people value
masseurs who massage pregnant women and correct the
position of the foetus(es) if the need be. There are female
masseurs too even though J.P. Clark does not feature
any but they are found in cities such as Port Harcourt,
Warri and other Ijo towns in this twenty-first century. It is
the Ijo tradition, as in most patrilineal societies, to have
the woman seek a solution for her infertility; and where
such situation arises, it is the woman who is suspected to
have the problem. In this case, however, Zifa, Ebiere’s
husband knew the fault was his as he said.
“.Is it my Fault I cannot lift up my lifeless hand” (p.7)
Similarly, Ebiere knew it was not her fault that she had
not become pregnant three years after her first son and
child, Dode when out of annoyance as regards the
Masseur’s suggestion that another male member of the
family raises children for Zifa through her.
She snapped at Zifa as she said
“If you see me at your threshold again, call me As big a
fool as Zifa who sent me to you For a cure he knew was
unnecessary” (p5)
Zifa and Ebiere as individuals did not at this point accept
the Masseur’s suggestion (Ebiere did much later and
even enjoyed the union to the extent that she suggested
that they (Ebiere and Tonye who is Zifa’s younger
brother) elope.
The Masseur’s suggestion is an aspect of Ijo culture
which required a sacrifice to permit Zifa’s younger
brother, Tonye to raise children through Ebiere, Zifa’s
wife. The Masseur, an elder and very knowledgeable of
the culture said the following to convince Ebiere:
“But you are young.. and do not know
the ways of our land. Blood of a goat
So large a cowrie may pass thro’ its nose,
A big gourd of palm wine and three heads
of kola-nut split before the dead of
The Land, and the deed is done” (p.5)
The challenge here is that of secondary infertility that
probably was responsible for Zifa not being able to raise
more children, but the situation was not explored through
modern medicine. He did not also seek the Masseur’s
traditional medicines unlike his father, whom the Masseur
massaged to facilitate Zifa’s birth (p11).
From the cultural perspective, Zifa’s predicament was
from the gods, who cursed him because he re-buried his
father who died of the abhorred white taint in the village.
His father had been buried in the evil grove according to
their custom (p9). Zifa as the Masseur noted brought his
Gabriel and Blackduke 3
father home too early (p10). It should also be noted that
Zifa sought help and treatment for his challenge.
Unfortunately, the gods prevailed and he needed to
adjust to the curse. He complained to the Masseur:
“I have been to all experts between Swamp and Sand.
What has any of the lot been able To do but suggest I
adjust myself to my curse” (p9)
It would appear that Zifa was ignorant of the Ijo belief
about death through the white taint, the repercussion of
exhuming the person from the evil grove and burying the
person in his home for the sake of prestige. Zifa would
have been educated on how long his father should have
remained in the evil grove before the dead could have
been brought back to be buried in his village. He would
also have been educated on sacrifices to be performed
before the deceased’s second burial. The narrative
shows that the reburial was Zifa’s unilateral decision. In
fact, Zifa’s death was proclaimed by himself in this First
Movement as reflected on the last line of page twelve
where he said “I will die First”
Second Movement
Zifa’s younger brother Tonye, his son Dode and paternal
aunt Orukorere are introduced in this second movement.
Some neighbours can also be found. Orukorere’s
challenge feature’s prominently and it is from neighbours
that the root cause of her problem is exposed. According
to the first neighbour,
“the people of the sea chose her for their handmaiden”
(p18).
The second neighbour who affirmed this also stated that:
“sure, but then she was so proud she would
Not listen to what the oracle said: (p19).
Then the third neighbour explained that:
“As a result, they have put this spell on Her.
But although she has this double vision
Nobody believes a word she says, even
Outside the gourd” (p18).
Orukorere was a very beautiful young lady who attracted
young men from all over the land to ask her hand of her
father. Indeed she was the sweetest maid in all the
creeks (p18). The sea god was also interested to have
her as a wife. In this movement, the overwhelming power
of the sea god is revealed as the spell cast on her made
her see visions which people around her did not see and
could not interprete and understand. Among the riverine
communities, even in other non-riverine communities, it is
a cultural experience that some men and women are
chosen as husbands and/or wives of sea gods.
Consequently, people see the men as those who have
“spirit wives” and women as those who have “spirit
husband”. For these persons, they hardly have stable
relationships with their physical spouses and they
experience a delay in marriage and some become
barren.
This is cultural expression through the indigenous
religion of the people. This phenomenon is still
experienced by many men and women. From the
Christian religious perspective, particularly the
Pentecostal angle, such persons go for deliverance in
order to severe relationship with the sea deity and its
control. From other religious perspectives, sacrifices are
performed to stop the negative influence of these gods
and/ or goddesses. Orukorere did not heed the demands
or directives of the oracle and so heavily remained under
the control of the sea god. Her vision of the Leopard
killing the goat revealed the family tragedy that occurred
later.
Third Movement
The physical action leading to the tragedy in this drama
took place in this third movement as Tonye and Ebiere
had sex. This relationship was neatly couched
metaphorically in Orukorere’s vision when she said to
Dode”
“And what is your poor father To do should he hear that
the Liana has Entwined his tree of Life” (p28)
Continuing, she had prophesied that there was
“A serpent in the house but nobody, as usual, will take
me seriously. Yet the hiss of the creature was up among
the eaves, down under the Stool. Last night I cried it had
coiled itself into a pad to pillow my head but the house
was full of snoring sound and as usual Everybody
snorted” (pp28 and 29). In this movement are some other
aspects of their culture such as:
(a) Children are not hit or given knocks on the head
because it is believed that such knocks make them
prone to attacks from smallpox. However, this is not
scientific proof in this twenty-first century. People’s
beliefs are a part of their culture. Tonye asserts that
such action is forbidden in his family (p23)
(b) Ebiere reveals that according to their custom those
who die childless are cast out of the company of the
fruitful whose Special grace is interment in the
township” (p25).
(c) Fishing, mending of fishing nets, attaching floats to
nets and hook lines are processes undertaken in the
fishing economy which is an aspect of Ijo culture too.
Final Movement
Zifa: I cannot believe it. I just cannot; … I’ll cut off his

Neck with my cutlass. Yet there he was sprawled on My
bed when I thought he was still out Inspecting hooks in
the bush (p30). Zifa’s statement at the beginning of this
final movement really sheds light into the narrative in this
movement. Here is the partial eclipse of the major
characters in the family. Tragedy struck as Tonye hanged
himself and Zifa drowned in the river. Ebiere supposedly
miscarried the pregnancy that resulted from her intimate
relationship with Tonye, Zifa’s younger brother.
Orukorere from her introduction in the second
movement prophesied this calamity in the family as she
revealed through her usual parables that a leopard had a
goat in its claws. The cry of this goat is the song of the
goat that has been misinterpreted as Greek based or
influenced tragedy. Tragedy is a universal phenomenon
that is not exclusive to any group of human beings. In the
indigenous African societies, gods and goddesses played
great roles in the affairs of human beings and controlled
their actions. This is cultural but not that J.P. Clark copied
the idea from Greek tragedies or those of Shakespeare.
In fact, Song of a Goat was written in a period when
English Literature was being deconstructed to project the
reality of experiences of Africans and for the Ijo of the
Western Delta. Song of a Goat, therefore, is Literature in
English. The sacrifice offered in this final movement was
to appease the gods and cleanse the compound of all
corruption (p36-37).
However, there was a need for cleansing and
Orukorere had provided a calabash with fern fronds and
the white soil of Edo for it but Zifa refused to undergo this
ritual. He rather claimed that perhaps others needed the
cleansing. The Literature on African traditional religion is
replete with rituals and sacrifices to deities as such it is
not strange that the Ijo people practice it. In this cultural
setting, a person was not expected to disobey the gods.
The consequence of such disobedience was usually
negative. Thus, before Zifa offered the sacrifice for the
cleansing of the compound Orukorere reminded him that
he was not yet cleansed and was therefore not qualified
to perform the sacrifice. If he did there would be a
repercussion that would befall the family.
Orukorere said to Zifa:
“But you are As yet not cleansed, and for that matter, all
The concession is reeking with rot and corruption” (p36)
Zifa being headstrong stated thus:
“In that case, it needs drastic Cleansing which is what we
shall now all perform” (p36).
Again orukorere warned:
“Be careful, son, and do nothing that is Rash. When the
gods ask for blood it is Foolish to offer them oil” (p36)
Orukorere was close to the sea god as she is possessed
and given information about what would happen from
Scholarly J. Sci. Res. and Essay 4
time to time. For example, she heard the roll of thunder
out into the sea which signified the death of Zifa as he
drowned. Some other aspects of Ijo culture that must be
respected and observed as reflected in this final
movement are:
(a) Men are not expected to pass under clothe lines
where women spread their under clothes. This is still
practised in some other Ijo communities such as
Nembe.
(b) Incest such as Tonye, Zifa’s younger brother having a
sexual relationship with Ebiere, Zifa’s wife without
performing the prescribed sacrifice is not accepted.
(c) Eating meals prepared by the woman involved in such
an incestuous relationship is forbidden (p34)
Alternative Close
The Masseur appears again and is hailed as the
manipulator of broken bones and flesh torn out of joint.
These are additional activities of the Masseur in the
community. He plays a significant role as a gynecologist
and orthopedic doctor, much sought after in the
traditional society.
“And you people of Deinogbo, let me tell you, rain or sun,
it has been a clean fire. No doubt There are some, as she
said, among you who will say it is I started it all (p47).
This was the Masseurs reaction to the death of Zifa and
Tonye. He proffered a solution that Zifa rejected and his
usual rejection of solutions to his challenges trailed him to
death.
According to the Masseur, the fire was not by ordinary
hand but from God which re-affirms the influence of the
supernatural. He added:
“All fire comes from God, else why the thunder? The
young woman, being tinder, caught it first, consuming
farmer And helpmate in the process. I sought To bring
them water but all I had was a basket. Now, see How
burnt to Charcoal the land Lies, even to the shrubs on the
hedge (p47).
Other Perceptions of Song of a Goat
Smith (2008) argues that the Song of a Goat contains
elements of classical Greek and Shakespearean drama.
This is a Eurocentric assertion that attempts at giving
relevance to western drama. The world of this drama as
earlier discussed is of Ijo cultural extraction that explains
aspects of Ijo culture that would make other groups to
understand them and thereby accommodate them in
external relations. This strategy facilitates communication
among the Ijo and their neighbours as mutual trust and
respect develop. Clark’s language for the drama is in
English the Lingua franca of an erstwhile British Colony,
Gabriel and Blackduke 5
Nigeria but the parables, analogies and metaphors used
all through the drama are derived from Ijo culture. This
gives ‘Life’ and meaning to the work and makes it easily
understood and appreciated.
Again, Odoh (2017) tried to situate Song of a Goat in a
universal tragic vision. Tragedy is a universal
phenomenon that must not have a fixed structure that
should be adopted by every author. There are regional
variants as can be observed in Chinua Achebe’s “Things
Fall Apart”. Odoh (2017) therefore asserts that tragedy
cannot be regionalized hence Fire hurts and ravages in
the tiny village of Nigeria as it does in a mighty city of
France. There are no specific causes of tragedy and no
straitjacket steps in the process that produces tragedy as
the authors of this discourse assert. Consequently, each
tragedy should be wholistically examined and assessed
within the cultural milieu that produces it. Sacrifice is
seen as a universal model which is a hallmark of the
play’s literariness in its identification with other tragic
works as such those universalizing models belong neither
to the Western world nor the African world, rather to
humanity in general (Odoh, 2017).
Another worrisome view that has severally been touted
is that of equating the role of the three neighbours with a
chorus in Greek plays. Specifically, Osita Okagbue as
cited in Odoh (2017) notes that J.P. Clark exhibited
ingenuity in creating African choric personages in the
characters of Zifa’s ‘neighbours’ and ‘village gossips’ who
play roles of the Greek chorus. The Ijo of Deinogbo in
Song of a Goat were not descendants of Greeks and
there was no documented evidence of their interaction
with the Greeks. A knowledge of the Ijo communities
shows that they are islands with limited land space as
such they built houses close to one another and had
limited arable land for subsistence agriculture.
Consequently, they exchanged fish and other seafood
such as crayfish, shrimps and prawns for farina, and
other agricultural products with their neighbours such as
the Urhobo, Isoko and Ukwuani who had more land
(arable land) space than them. This is found in the final
movement on page 33 of the text.
Apart from living closely that made people in the
community know the affairs of one another, there is a
belief in communalism as opposed to individualism in the
western world. For this reason, the neighbours showed
concern and were ready to render help at any time they
were needed or observed there was a need for their
services. It is not possible to rule out meddlesomeness,
gossips and cynical remarks by these neighbours and
other members of the community, who are significant
persons and who play critical cultural roles in the
community. It is from them that the root cause of
Orukorere’s behaviour among others is understood. See
how they attended to Ebiere when she fainted and they
always assisted Orukorere or called for attention to her at
the point only her close relations should offer such
assistance.
At present, particularly in this twenty-first century that
most families practice individualism a la or as in western
culture whereby adults no longer mentor and direct or
even show concern over other people’s children. It is not
surprising that in the non-welfare state as is experienced
in Nigeria many children go astray, engage in crimes that
make for insecurity in most cities in Nigeria. In the
traditional setting as J.P. Clark depicted, even though not
in an elaborate manner, members of a community take
keen interest or show concern for one another’s well
being. As the thrust of this discourse, this is an aspect of
Ijo culture. It is only a person who understands the
culture that will appreciate J.P. Clark’s contribution in
keeping Ijo culture alive’ at a time others would like to
skew their literary work to those of the Western world.
Zifa was not childless given the presence of Dode, his
first child. Therefore, the challenge was in the number of
children, not even the sex because he had a male child.
For Ebiere, the house should be full of children:
Ebiere: “Thus the elders pray: Only one seed The
elephant brings forth at a time until The house is full, yes
until the house be Full even if this takes ten falls of the
flood” (p25).
The elders’ prayer is underscored by their belief in having
many children and this is cultural. In recent times
Nigerian elites albeit the Ijo no longer anchor on this
belief for a variety of reasons, such as the financial
implications for children’s school fees, feeding, other
maintenance costs among others.
Childlessness in Europe may be a non-issue as it was
in the 1950s and 1960s Nigeria. Some families have
adjusted so much that they adopt children of the desired
sex to cushion their experience of reality. Some do not
and feel right the way they live in this twenty-first century.
Wren (1984) is among those who describe the Song of
a Goat as a classic tragedy which this discourse has
rejected. He also notes that the antecedents in Song of a
Goat are more modern than Greek tragedies. He also
tried to compare Song of a Goat with Yeats plays in order
to establish that Clark was inspired by western authors
and so on. This work credits all of Clark’s critics which
show that Song of a Goat is an interesting play by a
distinguished playwright to which their signatures have to
be registered. Most importantly it has given the authors of
this discourse the opportunity to discuss Ijo culture, which
the enculturation of J.P. Clark leveraged the drama, Song
of a Goat.
CONCLUSION
The Ijo of the western delta in Nigeria has a rich culture
that J.P. Clark who was adequately socialized in that
culture describes in his play, Song of a Goat. In the early
years of post-independent Nigeria when it was the trend
 Scholarly J. Sci. Res. and Essay 6

to be western in many facets of human endeavour, Clark REFERENCES

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Literature but Literature- in- English. Indeed Africa is rich Odoh, O.E. (2017). Towards Universal Tragic Vision in J.P. Clark’s
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Zifa, Tonye and Dode were fishermen, the predominant
occupation of men with their canoes they explored and
exploited the Forcados, Escravos Rivers and other
creeks for their livelihood. Their traditional religion,
customs, belief and other aspects of their religion had
tremendous influence or control over their activities and
spelt doom for whoever challenged them, particularly
their gods.
In this twenty-first century are a lot of changes but
some basic features of the culture, such as the Ijo
language and the Ijo names people bear hold forth and
would be sustained. J.P. Clark has therefore enriched the
contribution of others to the knowledge of various
Nigerian cultures with this drama. Ijo culture would be
understood and appreciated and facilitate intergroup
relations in Nigeria, Africa and the world.

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