The Clash of Cultures in Death and the King's Horseman

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The Clash of Cultures in Death and the King's Horseman
Wole Soyinka’s play Death and the King's Horseman is a tragedy that depicts the clash of cultures during the colonial period in Africa. The book is established on real events that occurred during the colonial regime of the British in Nigeria. In the story, Elsen Oba is a Yoruba chief and later becomes the king’s horseman. However, their king dies and he has to perform a suicide ritual. According to the traditions of Yoruba, when a king dies, his death was supposed to be followed by the death of his horse, dog and his king’s horseman. This was vital to the community because the spirit of the horseman was very important in helping the spirit of the king peacefully ascend into the afterlife. The play begins when Elsen is enjoying his final day before fulfilling his duty.
The message that the Yoruba community is conducting a suicide ritual reached Simon Pilkings who is a colonial leader and British resident in Nigeria at that time. He tries to stop the event because it does not resonate with his perceptions of morality and decorum. According to the British authorities, suicide is illegal and barbaric (Topper 89). However, the events lead to the escalation of tragedy because Elsen’s son, Olunde, assumes his father’s responsibility and commits the ritual suicide. His main aim is to restore cosmic order and their family honor.
There are diverse views all over the globe concerning suicide. The clash of the British and Yoruba cultures was due to the lack of adequate understanding of the African cultures by the colonial authorities (Gale 23). According to Simon Pilkings and other British people at that time, suicide was an illegal act of self-harm, senseless, archaic, barbaric and grave sin. Therefore, Pilkings and other British colonialists could do anything to sto...