What is the history of alarinjo travelling theater?

Answer 1

The Yoruba Masque Theatre, popularly known as the Alarinjo, is the traditional traveling theater of the Yoruba. Originating in the Egungun masquerade cult, it dates back to the early part of the seventeenth century when Ologbin Ologbojo, who was Arokin (chief rhapsodist, cymbalist and Ballad singer) and Ologbo (staff bearer) of the royal household of King Ogbolu, the Alaafin of Oyo Igboho, set up a troupe of masqueraders and akunyungba (chorus) to entertain the king. The first accounts of the Yoruba masque theatre' are contained in the journals of Hugh Clapperton and Richard Lander. To mark their seven weeks' stay in Old QyQ (Katunga), the capital of the OQy (Yoruba) empire, the alafin (king) of QyQ, invited his guests to see a performance provided by one of the travelling troupes which at that time was waiting on the king's pleasure.

The Yoruba masque theatre emerged from three developmental phases: ritual, festival and theatre. Yoruba masque started as a funeral ritual:Shng had tried in vain to secure the remains of his father, 'Oranyan, the founder of Qyo, for burial at QyQ after the latter had died at Ife. He was told that 'Oriny'an had metamorphosed2 into a stone staff. As an alternative, $ang6 designed a new funeral obsequies for 'Orany'an at QyQ. At a special ceremony, he brought the reincarnated spirit of his father to the outskirts of OQy, set up the royal mausoleum for his worship and placed the old woman of the palace in charge of the mystery. Her duty was to worship 'Qr'anyan's spirit and to bring him out as a masquerade during an evocation ceremony.

And so this ancestor worship led to a festival called the festival of "All Souls" at which there were processions and rituals...during the festival, all ancestors were allowed to visit the homestead and walk the streets of the community for a certain period. The theatre phase emerged from the "All Souls" festivals. A special or command performance was called for the last day of the festival. This became a kind of ludus. The masquerades were expected to act plays in a form of competition. The contest was voluntary and merely intended to raise the voltage of the festival. Prizes were given in appreciation of the performance of the best masquerade.

The history of the Yoruba masque theatre cannot be separated from the rise and fall of the QyQ-Yoruba empire. As the theatre became an integral part of the government, troops began to spread across the empire. Prior to the weakening of the empire, theatre was based out of court. But during the period of social and political unrest new troops sprang up and began performing for any group that invited them. They participated in the annual egu'ngun festivals as was their custom and, on non-festival days, were able to satisfy the people's desire for entertainment and diversion; whether the occasion was a birth or a death, the troupes were specially invited to perform. In addition, they organised their own itineraries and visited places. Thus began the period of intensive professionalism, and theatre became independent of government.

he travelling dance-theatre troupes). The corroding influence of such external forces as Islam and Christianity affected the existence of the theatre in the Yoruba society more than the disruption of political life. During the first half of the nineteenth century the Moslems banned theatrical activities in the Fulani occupied areas of Yoruba to the north thereby forcing the troupes to operate in the south. Also during the second half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, Christian missionary activities which moved up-country from the south had grave consequences on the traditional, social, political and religious institutions. The missionaries found ritual ceremony intolerable, made no efforts to understand traditional forms of religion and set out to reform the mental outlook of their converts. This period marked the decline of the theatre.

II

The artistic basis of this theater is poetry. Yoruba poetry primarily takes the form of a chant, whose harmonics and melodics distinguish various subdivisions. The poetry of the guild of masqueraders, and that of the Yoruba Masque Theatre, is called esa after the first dramatist from Yoruba Masque Theatre. The esa is drawn from the biographies of certain persons, ecological features of settlements, and episodes from myth and history. The layout of the poetry does not seem to possess a rigid form, but it is believed that the general pattern follows the design established by Esa during the heyday of the theater. The form and style of presentation are described under four headings: Prologos, Ludus, Interludus and Epilogos.

This is the fruit of four hours of research. Most of this is from Joel A. Adedeji from his works.

God bless, Briana.