Many social-anthropologists assert the view that theatre and its plays mirror the culture in which they are set (Amankulor, J. 1977). This would imply that theatre reflects habits, skills, humanistic discipline and the society of a given period or peoples. This follows the conjecture that all theatre arose from ritual, which has been observed in many cultures well-nigh the world, African included. Specifically, pre-colonial African forms of theatre often dramatized myths and legends where there existed a great ritual-religious attitude. The religious class, which customarily was the same as the disposal class, laid down the rules guiding performances and decided on the rituals, if any, that should watch over particular performances (Schipper, M. 1982). It was customary to attach specific performances to festivals honouring specific theologys or heroes.
With the coming of colonisation these ancient forms of theatre were influenced and sometimes thus far changed by the colonisers to suit their own needs.
An example of this could be seen in the colonisation of Nigeria. Christian missionaries realised that the ritualtheatrical forms utilise by the native Yoruba tribes could be employ to access manque converts (Kunene, D. 2002). Long-established forms of chanting poetry (similar to izibongo in South Africa) were effectively used in the churches, and poetic patterns, until then reserved for the praise of Yoruba deities, were bespoke to praise the supposedly more wonderful properties of the Christian god and messiah.
This colonial influence of indigenous African...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay
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