ACT 1 Scene 2: The Gods Are Not To Blame By Ola Rotimi

Welcome to my blog. Here is a drama play, based on Ola Rotimi's play "The Gods  are not to blame". I will be posting from Act 1 of the play. This is a fascinating story about the people of Kutuje, who have been suffering terrible from a deadly sickness; according to this play, many had died from this deadly sickness and there seems to be no cure for the diseases.

The king of Kutuje is Odewale, who, without realizing it, killed his predecessor King Adetusa. In desperation, the King and his chiefs, searches for the reasons behind this perdermic. Read and enjoy

Cast

ODEWALE: King of Kutuje

OJUOLA: his wife

ADEROPO: son of Ojuola, and stepson of the king.

PRIEST

THREE CHIEFS

KING'S BODYGUARD

ACT 1 Scene 2

ODEWALE and CHIEFS all seated in council. Enter ADEROPO. Prostrates himself.

ADEROPO: Your highness.....

BODYGUARD: The king greets you.

ADEROPO: (To CHIEFS) Fathers of our land.

ODEWALE: Aderopo, lover of our kingdom, your resign will be happy.

PRIEST: We greet you son, you have come well.

ADEROPO: (rising) I thank you all, my fathers.

ODEWALE: The news from Orunmila, is it good or bad? (ADEROPO is silent.) The news from Ile-Ife, son.

ADEROPO: It is good, your highness.

PRIEST: The gods be praised.

ADEROPO: The oracle of Ifa at the shrine of Orunmila has found the cause of the sickness and deaths now in our midst, and it has told me what the people can do so that there may be peace of mind again in every home.

PRIEST: Thus far, your words sound like fresh wine, son - full of sweetness but lacking in substance.

ODEWALE: Details, son, give us the details.

ADEROPO: I'd rather tell you those in private, my Lord. 

ODEWALE: Private! What is private about a whole kingdom in pain?

FIRST CHIEF: Speak openly, son.

ADEROPO: It is said that the secrets of a home should be known first to the head of the home. (Goes to ODEWALE to whisper in his ear.)

ODEWALE: (shoving him off) I refuse to listen alone. Speak openly, son, before all - a cooking pot for the chameleon is a cooking pot for the lizard!

PRIEST: Speak up, son.

ODEWALE: Give us the details.

ADEROPO: Very well, then. The oracle at the shrine of Orunmila sends you all greetings.

FIRST CHIEF: (caustically) We sent you all the way to Ile-Ife to bring us greetings from Ifa. All right, we greet Ifa too. Thank you.

ODEWALE: Do not cut in, I pray you. 

ADEROPO: The oracle said that there is a curse in this land, and until the curse is purged, our suffering will go on. 

FIRST CHIEF: And what is so private about that?

ODEWALE: No arguing, I pray. This curse is it in the body of a man, in the womb of a woman, in the head of some animal, in the air - where?

PRIEST: He is asleep again.

ODEWALE: (calling) Ojuola! Ojuo....

OJUOLA: (entering) My Lord - (kneels)

ODEWALE: (raising her up) Forget courtesies, woman. Go and cure your son, he has been stricken with dumbness in Ile-Ife.

ADEROPO: I was not ---

FIRST CHIEF: (fuming) Then speak!

SECOND CHIEF: Do not force me to call you fearful names!

OJUOLA: What did the oracle say?

THIRD CHIEF: He has spoken.

OJUOLA: What?

THIRD CHIEF: Ifa sends us greetings. (Chuckles)

ODEWALE: My people, I beg of you, plead with him, or I shall lose my temper soon! (Other CHIEFS begin to grumble.)

OJUOLA: Pray, son, tell us the word from Ifa. No matter how bad it is, we are ready to hear it. The horns cannot be too heavy for the head of the cow that must bear them. To remain silent is to make light of the troubles in the land.

ADEROPO: I am not making light of them, mother. It is the word that is hard that must be said.

OJUOLA: Say it and you shall have done your part.

ADEROPO: Very well, Ifa oracle says the curse, your highness, is on a man.

SECOND CHIEF: A man!

ADEROPO: A full-grown man. 

ODEWALE: And who is this man?

ADEROPO: I don't know, your highness, the oracle did not say. 

ODEWALE: Very well, This man - the cursed one - what did he do, what offence?

ADEROPO: The man has killed another man.

CHIEFS: Killed another man?

ODEWALE: And who was this man?

ADEROPO: The oracle said -

FIRST CHIEF: (hotly) Don't you dare give us an "I don't know" answer again, young man, because Ifa oracle is not as dumb as you've been trying to make it. Hear me? If you want to be deaf and dumb, be deaf and dumb.

ODEWALE: Let's be calm, brothers. (To ADEROPO) Who was this man who got killed by this....this cursed villain? Answer quick.

ADEROPO: King Adetusa - my own father, the king who ruled this land before you. 

ODEWALE and CHIEFS: King Adetusa!

ADEROPO: Yes, your highness. He was slain in violence, and it is fearful to know that the same murderer still lives in peace this same land. The oracle warns us that we have left our pot unwatched, and our food now burns.

CHIEFS: A killer in our midst?

OJUOLA: Who are we to trust, then?

ADEROPO: That was why I feared to speak, Mother. Until the rotten tooth is pulled out, the mouth must chew with caution. 

PRIEST: Whoever he is, he shall lay for his act - life for life; death, hot death awaits him -

ODEWALE: No, on - that is no punishment for the killer of a king and bringer of so much suffering to our people.

ADEROPO: What will you do to him, then?

ODEWALE: Slowly. We will kill him slowly, so that he spends the rest of his living days dying with each moment that passes. (To a BODYGUARD) Agidi! Go summon the Townspeople here! It is time for action.

(Exit AGIDI hurriedly, striking a gong to summon the TOWNSPEOPLE.)

Wow, a fascinating play indeed. Hope you enjoyed reading. Please, drop your feedback. Thanks