Conflicting Duties: The Choices of Elesin and Pikings Kaitlyn Barkley College

In Death and the King’s Horseman, Wole Soyinka tells the dramatized version of true events that happened in the Yoruban city of Oyo in 1946. A Colonial District Officer interrupted a traditional ritual suicide which then led to the death of both the original man committing suicide and his son who committed suicide to take his place. Although Soyinka changes some of the details, such as changing the year and adding a wedding, the heart of the story remains the same. Because of the interference of a colonist who didn’t truly understand the culture and the significance of the suicide, two lives were lost instead of one. The actions of each character, major and minor, in the play are motivated by the sense of duty. Neither Elesin Oba nor Pilkings appear to be fully committed to fulfilling their duty, but they attempt to do it nonetheless. The minor characters all also have opinions on the resolution of the two main characters’ resolution to fulfill their duties.

In the opening act of the play, Elesin Oba (here out referred to as Elesin) stands in the marketplace as he discusses life, his imminent fate, and a new bride with his praise-singer . According to Moses Adebayo Aremu, a scholar published in the Journal of Pan African...