DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA.

FACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ART

Course Code: THA 804

Course Title : Advanced Traditional African Drama and Theatre

Lecturer : Prof. Austine Anigala

THE AWANKERE FESTIVAL

(Drama Adaptationl)

By

IREH, Temitope.

PG/20/21/270156

JULY, 2021.
Synopsis
The Awankere festival (Umale Okere) is a season for promoting love, unity and family virtues,
but it is no easy feat for the festival to be a success; the gods must give their blessing, the arena
must be fortified, cleaned by virgins only, the gods are said to arrest the hearts of the people on
all through the season, so secrets will be revealed, forgiveness is a must, love will happen, but
most importantly, prayers will be answered.

Characters
Oshogwa Umale - Father Masquerade/Husband

Eleghe - The Queen/Mother Masquerade/wife

Okwooye - Chief Whip

Umales - Other Masquerades

Chief Priest

Priestess

Ologboshere - Prime Minister

Cheif Emiko - Okere Community Chairman

Cheif Majemite - Palace Chief

Olaraja - Oldest man in the community

Others
ACT I

The cheif priest's parlour, moderately furnished modernly but some spiritual artifacts,
ornaments and emblems are on the wall. Ologboshere, Chiefs Emiko and Majemite, and Olaraja
are seated with the chief priest.

Chief Priest : And in this dream?

Olaraja : I was hearing the festival drums, the birds were circling the food on the ground

but refusing to come down, and when I looked closely, the water by the food was

actually dirty water.

Chief Majemite : Otse-Anomumu, Shameful, This is a bad omen.

Ologboshere : Ojó, correct. (seeing the chief priest lost in thought) Bokò gha? What is it?

Chief Priest : It is not necessarily a bad omen, this morning in a vision, I saw how

beautiful the sky was everybody was happy, but I could hear something admist the

merriment... Apara!

All : Apara ?!

Chief Priest : Yes, Thunder.

Olaraja : This means trouble.

Ologboshere : (To chief Priest) And?

Chief Priest : Some forces will try to disrupt the festival, and something must be done

fast before the gods turn away and calamity befall us all.

Chief Emiko : What must we do? Should we push the festival?

Chief Priest : No, we must fortify the arena against unbecoming behaviors from

troublemakers and evil forces, but the festival will go as planned, starting on the

next Okere market day. The messenger Umales will go out today, so the people

will know to prepare.

Everyone is nodding, looking pleased but somewhat worried.

Chief Emiko : (To Chief Priest) you said it will rain that day, the rainmaker from

Ugbuwangwe passed weeks ago, so...

Chief Majemite : There is one at Alaja, I will send for him, so that is settled now.

Chief Priest : (Suddenly stands and moves toward the door, everyone follows him) Stay

Stay back, there is still much to discuss. (He goes outside)

There are masquerades outside, the chief priest is holding a Kola nut, he speaks into it inaudibly,
breaks it and throws it on the floor, the masquerade dances for few seconds and leaves.

Act II
Young ladies clad in white wrappers are sweeping the street, the chiefs are behind them
sprinkling water from a black clay pot tied with a red cloth, their whisks are also tied with a red
cloth and cowries, as they all approach the round about they see the priestess of the sacred river
wearing all white including her white treaded hair designed with cowries.

Priestess : Stop! (holding out her white staff) If you know you are not pure, drop your

broom and leave, chiefs, if you know you have issues with your wife, drop your

whisk into the pot, go and make peace with her.

Everyone is still as they watch each other with suspecting eyes, nobody making a move.

Priestess : ( with an aerial voice ) I will not repeat myself.

Two of the maidens drop their brooms, while one walks away with pride, the other walks away
shamefully, the priestess walks to the remaining ladies and looks at the lady gripping her broom
tightly.

Priestess : Penetration is not the only sexual act, what you're thinking counts too.

She drops her broom and walks away. Two of the chiefs drops their whisks into their pots, drops
it on the ground and leaves too.

Priestess : Segbare, continue.

The rest persons continue.

Act III
The festival day, everyone is gathered at Okere road, there is thatch hut at the far right of the
street, from the hut there is a red carpet rolled to the middle of the street, at the entry and exit
points of the road there is a barricade to prevent vehicles, tricycles and bikes. At the left side of
the street there's a long table, in both length and width, on it there are coolers, serving and
eating utensils, under the table is drinks of all kinds, families who just arrived are seen dropping
their coolers and drinks before moving to join the others. The guests from neighboring towns
and outside the state are sitted, as well as the chiefs and elderlies, everyone else is standing.
There is cheering and singing, at the centre stage is Okwooye with his big hat and long whip,
same with the able bodied youths, Okwooye flogs the floor to make a gunshot sound, the
boys/men do the same, one after the other, testing to see whose sound is as loud as Okwooye's,
with everyone cheering for their choice. Okwooye picks his winner and the crowd claps and
cheers. Olaraja stands up to address the crowd.

Olaraja : This Awankere festival, like the past ones, is a reminder that the core values of

a man's life should be love, unity, and family. I have lived on this earth longer than

anyone in this community, my white hair and Shakey voice is not for show, so I have

seen more of this life than any of you.(Drumming begins, low but fast tempoed )

Can you hear it, it is starting, we are about to witness firsthand what I'm talking

about, from the gods themselves, our father will teach us, our mother will teach

us, they will teach us how to love each other, how to treat our wives, husbands and

children. (Drumming increases) Hear it, watch it.

Olaraja sits as the people watches the thatch hut with awe and anticipation. The drummers
increase their tempo and loudness, the Umales troop out of the hut, not stepping on the red
carpet, they get to the center stage and start dancing. After a short while, they move into the
crowd to pick people to dance with them. The dance ends with the masquerade hugging the
people dancing with them and themselves, the crowd including the chiefs and guests are doing
the same, Few of the guests does not allow their spouse to hug someone of the opposite sex as
others are doing. The tempo of the drumming slows to a great extent, everything stops as they
hear the bells and trinkets of Eleghe, everyone is reacting ; some covering their mouths, some
are crying, some holding their cheats, some kneeling, some of the sitted guests stands up in
awe, they are not seeing her, not yet, but they are mesmerized. The Oshogwa Umale steps our
first on the red carpet and then steps our of it and holds his hand to the door, Eleghe places her
hand on his, and steps out on the red carpet slowly, the crowd start screaming "aww" "so
sweet" "that's how it should be" "beautiful" and erupt in a cheer as he leads her to the middle of
the street, her steps are graceful and majestic, 3 Umales rushes to her as if her children, they all
hug, including the Oshogwa Umale, everyone cheers and claps, the Umales bows to their
parents and leaves to join the other Umales who are dancing around the Okwooye who is
threatening them with his whip. Eleghe slightly squats to greet her husband, he pays her on her
back before he leaves, a man in the crowd is seen pointing out the act to his wife . The Oshogwa
Umale is greeting the chiefs, in an instant, the children runs to Eleghe, with Okwooye and his
Cain on their heels, she protects them from him, standing face to face with Okwooye, her hands
stretched, her children behind her, the audience goes wild with praises "mother" "Eleghe"
"Queen" "Thank you" "Thank you Mother" "Ore, our mother" "Ore osa bo re, our grandmother"
"we love you mother", Oshogwa Umale turns and sees the situation, he runs to his family,
chases off Okwooye, and hugs his family, this provokes another happy reaction from the
audience "protector" "osa, our father" "Osa Kporo, Grandfather" . Oshogwa Umale touches his
family one after the other as if checking if they are fine before he leaves again to greet the
guests, as he turns to go back home to his wife, some ladies from the crowd comes at him with
their antics to entice and distract him from going home, but he breaks from them and runs
home to his wife, some are laughing at this, especially men, some are clapping, some are
screaming "yes", especially women. Oshogwa Umale takes his wife by the hand as she moves to
greet the chiefs and the guests, with a beautiful queenly wave she moves across the crowd to
the large table of food and drinks, she blesses them by touching the coolers one after the other,
every Umale is behind her, after then she touches her head in a tired fashion while looking at
her husband as if telling him she's tired, he takes her by the hand and leads her and the other
masquerades back to the hut, couples and singles run after them to touch their cloths while
muttering prayers, some touch the red carpet while praying for their own home, including the
guests, everyone, except a handful of persons, does this. The Umales enter the hut and cover it
with a thatch door, everyone rejoice and head to the food table.

Lights out.