Review of IFE IYOKU,THE TALE OF IMADEYUNUAGBON by Kwasi Shade.
Review of IFE IYOKU,THE TALE OF IMADEYUNUAGBON by Kwasi Shade.
"Obatala's patient suffering is the well known aesthetics of the saint." Wole Soyinka, Fourth Stage.
The return of Obatala is not what you'd expect and in "IFE-IYOKU, THE TALE OF IMADEYUNUAGBON" by Ekpeke Oghenechovwe Donald, the virtue of the king of the sky is creatively wielded to interrogate, at first glance, the value of community. Global or otherwise. Yet at the center of this story is a delicate want to reconcile western and African conceptual schemes. To determine, perhaps, what is Truth.
We are first presented with a community that thrives on coalescence; persons are conjoined by a sense of duty. This is underscored by the Weaver, the mother of the community, who recounts the tale of a great war among the world's greatest nations which devastates an innocent Afrika. The surviving Afrikans who gather in Ilé-Ifé, Afrika, go to Obatala, who, in turn, goes to his father, the Almighty God, to ask for help. God gives his son his DNA. Obatala returns to Ilé-Ifé with God's DNA which he blesses with his DNA. The Afrikans consume the Godly DNA and also use it to purge Ilé-Ifé of the effects of the war. It strengthens them and fortifies them in a hidden community.
Seeing the rest of the world in suffering, the merciful sculptor of men, Obatala, shares what remainder of the Godly DNA there is with the rest of the world.
*ONE GOD, MANY PEOPLE. ALL MEN EQUAL UNDER GOD. ACTS 17:25 "... And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth…"
The storyteller ends her history lesson with a promise made to the faithful and innocent; Obatala will return when they are most in need. And so introduces the primary argument, (Immanence versus transcendence) which comes too with a revelation; the community is Obatala. Obatala is their duty to survive.Â
The patriarchal figure, the father of the community, with little to no faith, misunderstanding his duty as self preservation, exploiting the sense of duty felt by the community, betrays Obatala. He exerts control thinking himself more equal than others and engenders this sensibility in the community.
The Palm wine reference signaling Ooni as Obatala's mistake is especially cute or poignant.
When Imadeyunuagbon faces him in the Forest of Fears and becomes Obatala, she knows herself and in knowing herself, is strong enough to invite the community into her person.
A compelling and nuanced narrative, the modern Orisa, Imade, champions the author's interrogation well. She asks: What is duty? What is one's duty to the community or Obatala/(God)? What is one's duty to self?Â
Our duty is Truth. Our duty to community is our duty to self: to be who we are meant to be.
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