Features that make the play African

Soyinka emphasises the theme of the corrupted African culture through the play, as well as how the youth should embrace the original African culture in order to find African identity. The central theme of the play is progress versus tradition which is explored through the dueling perspectives of schoolteacher Lakunle and village chief Baroka, as they vie for Sidi’s hand in marriage. Lakunle is the representative for the side of progress. He believes that the traditional beliefs and behaviors of the people in the village of Ilujinle are old-fashioned and harmful. In the opening scene, he refers to the other residents of the village as a “race of savages” (3) and proclaims: “For now, it is this village I shall turn / Inside out” (5). It is Lakunle’s expressed desire to drag Ilujinle into the 20th Century despite Sidi’s complaint that he should “Go to these places where / Women would understand you / If you told them of your plans with which you oppress me daily” (5) rather than staying in Ilujinle. It is never made explicitly clear in the play why Lakunle does not follow this advice: why it is that he wishes to stay in a village which he considers to be so offensive, rather than moving to somewhere where the other residents share his progressive outlook.