Olunde's Sense of Tradition in 'Death and the King’s Horseman': The Father Is Overshadowed by the Son’s Loyalty Casey Baker College

As seen in the Death and the King’s Horseman, by Wole Soyinka, the Yoruba culture and tradition have very strong, unusual customs and values. This play is centered around one particular custom: when a king dies, his servants and horsemen must die also so that the king is not alone going into the afterlife and so that he is peaceful. In the play, the horseman (a chieftain) who is supposed to die, Elesin, ends up captured and thus unable to fulfill his duty; however, Elesin’s son, Olunde ended up killing himself as to not bring bad spirits on the Yoruba people. Thus, even though Olunde fled his home and culture to go to England, he still has more loyalty and respect to his culture than his father does, as Olunde is present for and respectful to the rituals, while his father is careless and basks in the glory that the ritual brings him. The play shows many instances where Olunde cares significantly about the Yoruba rituals, and many instances where Elesin does not take them seriously, but instead lets the power blur his vision of the ultimate goal, each showing why Olunde is more faithful to Yoruba culture than his father.

When we are first introduced to Olunde, it is when he shows up to talk with Pilkings, the District Officer,...