University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

A Study of Efik Folk Drama: Two Plays by E. A. Edyang (Nigeria)

Essien, Arit Essien

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Description

Title
A Study of Efik Folk Drama: Two Plays by E. A. Edyang (Nigeria)
Author(s)
Essien, Arit Essien
Issue Date
1985
Department of Study
Theatre
Discipline
Theatre
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Theater
Abstract
  • Drama and theatre studies in Nigeria have given inadequate attention to dramatic scripts from among the minority groups of that country. Both critics and historians are either unaware of or simply disregard these plays. However, it is in these groups that we find a highly authentic body of works in a folk drama mode.
  • One such minority is the Efik of the Cross River State. Most Efik literature exists mainly in unpublished forms but its plays have been performed through the auspices of a community guild, The Esop Mkparawa.
  • The first chapter of this dissertation gives a general background for the study and introduces the critical approach which will be followed. The second chapter features a comparative study of two major cultural groups in Nigeria (the Ibos and the Yorubas) as opposed to the Efik culture, in order to emphasize the differences that exist in spite of certain generic traits among them. This social background is followed by two Efik plays by Ernest Edyang, translated and annotated by the writer. Chapter IV features a folkloric analysis of both plays, based on the methods of African folklore specialists such as Dan Ben-Amos, William Bascom, Kenneth Clarke, and Donald Simmons. In the concluding chapter, this work examines the plays from the perspective of Western literary creativity, noting Edyang's inventiveness in incorporating Western style techniques with cultural material. The study as a whole offers opportunity for more research into the relationship between folklore and drama. It is striking that such a dramatic work should develop among this group of people. These plays are unusual, but there is not a great deal recorded about these materials. It is hoped that future research will change that situation.
Graduation Semester
1985
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/71117

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