IDENTIYING THE DIDACTICS AND THEATRICAL DIMENSIONS IN TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE CEREMONY IN ARONDIZUOGU

Abstract

Drama is the representation of life. A lot of dramatic elements are embedded in the African
traditional marriage. Marriage is universal as almost all races marry and are given in marriage.
Marriage ceremony is part and parcel of the traditional African society. It is a consummation of
love where two young adults (male and female) are officially joined together as husband and wife
and they live together as one to procreate. It is celebrated with pomp and pageantry. This study
therefore seeks to expose and highlight the drama in African traditional marriage as well as the
lessons derivable from the ceremony. The work is hinged on the postulation of Peter Brook's
Theory of Empty Space which propagates for the conversion of any empty space to stage.
According to him, instead of waiting for a comfortable theatre building adorned with curtains,
lights and seats, we should convert any space available to be used as a performance space since
there is no boundary between life and theatre. This is because, theatre is life and life is theatre.
The work is qualitative and it used ethnographic research approach of participant observation
as well as the library to explore the dramatic elements in African traditional marriage. The data
was analyzed through the descriptive analysis. The result of the study acknowledged that though
traditional marriage ceremony in Arondizuogu is a cultural ceremony for perpetuating life,
embodies didactic lessons of communual coexistence and love as well as dramatic elements of
dance, costume and make up, setting, properties, languages; it also attracts large audience from
far and near to make it a total theatre. The study concludes that African traditional marriage is a
total theatre with full compliments of dramatic elements of performance space, dance, costume
and make up, properties, dialogue and a large audience from far and near. It is also a tool for
teaching community values, norms and ethics.