PLAYRIGHT: EFUA T. SUTHERLAND
BOOK: EDUFA
GENRE: DRAMA
PLOT OVERVIEW
Edufa is very rich man, who on meeting a diviner learns of his death in the nearest future. Selfishly he takes the option to let someone else die in his place to avoid his own death.
Unfortunately for him, the life has to belong to someone who loved him well enough to die for him. He throws the question to his family and his wife replies with love to die for him. The charm takes effect on his wife, and on nearing his death day becomes terribly ill. All his effort proves abortive as her health sinks daily.
On a day, when few women of the town are carrying out a cleansing of the community, Ampoma, his wife becomes well; well enough to dine with them. Though happy at his wife ‘recovery’, Edufa can’t help but notice that her hands shake her speech mostly incoherent and she keeps falling. Finally she retires to her room where she dies the death of her husband. This drives Edufa mad.
Consequently, Edufa loses the very wealth he fought to keep by avoiding his own death, because the death of his wife drives him mad.
PROLOGUE
The play starts with Abena, the sister of Edufa, staying awake at night to collect dew into a pot. She sings and laments at the present state of her brother’s house from the start of his wife’s illness. The fact that her brother’s house was open all day to all and laughter bounced every day, but now was filled with emptiness and quietness hurts her.
“Abena: … Here in this house, where there was always someone laughing, suddenly no one feels like smiling… From rising until sleep claimed us again at night, people came through our gates… Why then does my brother shut our gates to stop such flow of friends? … True that Ampoma, his wife, is unwell…”
ACT ONE (SCENE ONE)
Edufa picks up the pots of dew and stream water that Abena keeps at the end of the prologue, and orders Seguwa to pour it over some herbs. He hears a group of people singing funeral chants; he tenses and asks Seguwa if the secret between them is now public. She answers negatively and tries to advice him to get help for his wife, Ampoma, but he disagrees.
“Seguwa: It seems to me that the time has come to seek some other help. All this bathing in herbs and incense burning; I don’t see it bringing much relief to your wife Ampoma in there.
Edufa: Calm yourself…
Edufa: We are doing everything we can. Also, it is Ampoma’s wish that no one should be allowed to see her.”
ACT ONE (SCENE TWO)
Ampoma appears suddenly and Edufa rushes to her side to support her. From her looks and speech, she is like one near insanity. She speaks on and on, lamenting her fate and the children she will leave motherless.
“Ampoma: … Like two little goats. I’m leaving them… I see their eyes glowing in the dark; lonely. Oh, my little boy! And you, my girl with breasts just budding! What hands will prepare you for your wedding? [She sobs quietly].
Ampoma: I am dying too young, don’t you think?”
She makes him promise to protect their children from harm and also not to marry another woman. Edufa, after promising her, laments her fatal promise to him.
“Edufa: … Oh, wife of my soul. You should never have made that fatal promise.
Ampoma: That I loved you? My love has killed me.”
ACT ONE (SCENE THREE)
It is a very short scene. Seguwa is angry as her vow of secrecy weighs her down. She is angry at Edufa, for gambling with his wife’s life.
“Seguwa: Oh, we should ask Edufa some questions; that is what I say. You should all ask Edufa some questions… I wish I could break this lock on my lips. Let those who gamble with lives stake their own. None I know of flesah and blood, has right to stake another’s life for his own. Edufa! You have done Ampoama wrong…”
ACT ONE (SCENE FOUR)
Kankam, Edufa’s father arrives after three years and demands to see Edufa. Seguwa at first hesitates, saying Edufa, doesn’t want to see anyone. Authoritatively, he orders her to call him. With relief and hope, she begs him to help the family, even though she can’t tell him why. Edufa comes down and recoils seeing his father. He asks him what his mission was, seeing his declaration of him being unfit to be his son almost ruins his reputation.
Kankem goes straight to the point. He accuses Edufa of using his wife for rituals, making her die instead of him. When Edufa denies, he tells him he declares the seeing of a Diviner. He calls Edufa a coward, who fearing death, uses someone else’s life to replace himself.
“Kankem: … Your diviner saw death handing over your life – a normal mortal condition… But what happened, coward, what happened, when he said you could avert the danger by sacrifice of another life?”
Kankem tells him the story, everything leading to Ampoma’s illness, and suggest a way for her receive healing, but Edufa standing on his ground refuses his grandfather’s advice.
“Kankem: … It had been raining without relief since the night before… Suddenly you jumped up and rushed out into the raging storm. That was the day you did your evil and killed your wife…
Kankem: Towards evening you returned. The rain has stopped and we of the household were sitting here… How could we have known you were carrying on you the hateful charm? … How could we have known it was not a joke, when you suddenly leaned back and asked which of us loved you well enough to die for you…
Kankem: You had willed that some old wheezer like me should be the victim. And I was the first to speak. ‘Not me, my son,’ said I joking. ‘Die your own death. I have mine to die.’ … Then Ampoma spoke. [Pause] Yes, I see you wince in the same manner as you did when she spoke the fatal words that day and condemned her life. ‘I will die for you Edufa,’ she said; and meant it too, poor, doting woman”
Unmoving, Edufa denies all his grandfather says and refuses the method of his suggestion. Full of disappointment, Kankem leaves them to their fate. It is after his father leaves that Edufa admits to himself, his conscience pricking him.
“Edufa: … He knows it all. .. But I could not risk confirming it… who thought the charm made any sense? Not I. a mystic symbol by which to calm my fears – that was all I could concede it.”
ACT TWO (SCENE ONE)
The Chorus approach Edufa’s house, carrying out a ritual to purge evil from the community. Seguwa hesitates when she see them, and when they ask of Edufa, she also hesitates whether to call him or not. When the conversation goes to Ampoma, she says she is lying down, and the Chorus misunderstands it to be that Ampoma is enjoying herself. Edufa comes out and sees them; during their discussion (which he orders Seguwa to check on Ampoma) she comes out excitedly screaming that Ampoma is awake and requesting for food after three days.
“Seguwa: [Running out happily]. Edufa! Edufa! She has asked for food.
Edufa: [Excitedly] For food. She has?
Seguwa: [Making fast for the kitchen] For soup. She says, I would like some fresh fish soup. Thank God.
Edufa: Thank God…
ACT THREE (SCENE TWO)
Another short scene. Still at the dining table, Edufa becomes emotional, and sends Ampoma flowers through Abena; which gives the latter so much joy.
“Edufa: [To Abena] little one… Takes the flowers to Ampoma… Tell her that I, her husband, send the…I would have presented them myself, but I have learned the magic of shyness… [Abena embraces him happily and takes the flowers from him.
[There is a sudden ripple of laughter from Edufa’s room.]
Edufa: [Eladetedly] That is her laughter…”
ACT THREE (SCENE THREE)
This is the finally scene. The chorus comes for the feast and they all sit round the table until Ampoma enters. When they welcome her, Edufa notices that her hands were trembling, but she assures him that she is ok. Senchi sings, and he and the chorus move round the table and Ampoma loses her balance and almost falls. After eating, Ampoma rises to hug her husband and she almost falls again. The night moves with tension as Edufa worries over Ampoma. She ends the feast and goes upstairs to her room. And she falls on the sun sign.
As Edufa helps her into her room, Seguwa’s emotions burst out and she surprises Senchi and the chorus with her outburst
“Senchi: … What are you fussing around like a hen wanting somewhere to lay an egg for? … Control yourself.
Seguwa: I cannot any amore. She fell three times. Did you count? Oh! The thought! She fell three times, and each time she touched the ground…
Senchi: This woman is unstable… But. . . what is this sign?
Seguwa: [Terrified] I don’t know… Get out… Why did you come feasting here tonight? Get out! Get out all of you… Or, are you eager to take Ampoma’s place? Can you pay the price of sharing Edufa’s bed? Nothing less than your lives? Oh, he is most dangerous.”
Seguwa, stiil unstable tells everything to the Chorus and Senchi. At first they in it add to believe her, but with Edufa’s own confession, their disbelief turns to belief and anger, as they confirm Ampoma, dead.
“Edufa: I told her not to swear…”
THE END
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
EDUFA: He is the title character. He is very rich and influential in the community. Because of fear of death and losing his wealth, he uses the wife of his life to replace his. Edufa, refuse every help until his wife dies. In the end, even after all his wife was going through, throughout the play, he still stands his ground, of keeping all his has without losing it to anyone, not even death; which goes to say that he is unrepentant.
He is used to symbolize the suffering that comes with wealth. In the sense that, to keep hold on it, he is willing to take a life for it.
SEGUWA: A matronly member of the household. She is privy to the illness of Ampoma and it eats her up; because Edufa refuses her plea to find other help. In the end, as the secret weighs her down, she exposes Edufa to the Chorus and Senchi.
Seguwa, throughout the play serves as a voice of reasoning in the play to Edufa, but her voice is not heeded.
KANKAM: Edufa’s father. He disowns Edufa his son, because of his selfish actions. He comes back to reason with and proffer help to Edufa, but his own suggestions meet deaf and proud ears. He is the character that exposes the truth about Edufa, telling the entire story and bringing the audience/reader into the light about the origin of Ampoma’s illness.
Kankam, for the only scene he appears, acts the part of a voice of reasoning, but his also, falls on deaf ears.
ABENA: Edufa’s sister. She is a secondary character in the play. She runs the errand for Edufa; of fetchinmg dew drops, stream water and herbs in the forest. She is one of the happiest at the brief stableness of Ampoma’s health.
AMPOMA: Edufa’s wife. Due to her love for her husband, she accepts to die for him, though ignorant at first. She still retains her love for her husband and accepts her death throughout the play.
She shows undying love towards her husband, and even in the face of death (because of his selfishness), she still retains her love for him. Her death drives Edufa mad in the end.
SENCHI: Edufa’s friend. Senchi is a wanderer and an artist. He visits the family oblivious of their state of peril. But his presence is most welcome as he brightens the mood, even though for a little while.
CHORUS: The chorus is made up of women from the town. They perform a religious rite round the town, stopping at Edufa’s house. They happily welcome the invitation to eat at Edufa’s house, unknown to them about the state of the house they plan to dine.
POEM
Dig up to the heavens and pin your wealth,
Don’t let it go, the wealth of family.
With life and joy to keep it,
with a wife and children to trim it.
Edufa lost wealth when he killed wealth
Personal death is personal
-Amabebe Alexander (The Minder)
Nice work
ReplyDeleteIt has happened me understand the book better. It has helped me do my coursework.