IJAPA"- a musical pantomime presented by the Steve Rhodes Voices has brought to the surface the versatility of the group in the field of entertainment-and has added yet another feather to the cap of the director of the group, Mr Steve Rhodes.
The pantomime, based on the stories of Ijapa (tortoise) has been presented in different parts of Lagos and watched by a large number of enthusiasts. When it was first produced at Glover Memorial Hall in January 1974, it was watched by the former Military Governor of Lagos State, Brig. Mobolaji Johnson and other dignitaries at the Glover Hall, Lagos .
The pantomime was also staged in churches like Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David and the National Theatre.
The Steve Rhodes Voices, noted for their singing treats which earned them a third position at the '72 International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, came out this time not as a singing group but as an acting group. With the successful presentation of Ijapa tales on stage the SRV have set an example for others to copy.
Ijapa tales are as popular among the Yoruba people as the Ananse (spider) tales are among the Twis and Ashantis of Ghana. These tales relate various human behaviours as portrayed by Ijapa's prowess, cunning, wickedness, wisdom and other traits in a satirical form.
The action of the pantomime, set in 2673 with a flash-back to the year 1973 in three acts of seven scenes relates, among others, the adventures of Ijapa in the animal kingdom where there is drought, the land of plenty, the land of the spirits and in the fish queendom.
Apart from the adaptation of the tales for the stage, the colourful costumes used to depict the various animals are worthy of commendation. Many hours must have been devoted to the creations.
IJAPA
WHY THE TORTOISE?
Most of the myths and fables of Africa have some animal or other at their core. Of the thousands of animals which inspired many of these fables, folktales and myths, none seems to have featured more prominently (and frequently) than Ijapa - the Tortoise.
Much has been written on the significance of these folk tales; many are the comparisons drawn between Ijapa tales and the spider (Anansi) or the Hare (which later became transmogrified into the Brer Rabbit of Uncle Remus in the U.S.A. ) Indeed some eminent scholars are now paying more attention to these Ijapa tales, but perhaps we may have to wait yet a while for an account of the actual origins of Ijapa tales. Then perhaps the answer to the question - why Ijapa would emerge
In the meanwhile, one is left to conjecture, intelligent deductions, theories - and the major source materials must remain the tales themselves.
Dr. Geoffrey Paminder (in AFRICAN MYTHOLOGY) has suggested that the human. feelings attributed to Ijapa were in fact projections of human desire”
Couriander and Eshugbayi, apparently following on from this, have suggested (in IJAPA THE TORTOISE, AND OTHER TALES) that Ijapa's cunning, prowess, wickedness and other traits were reflections by the original authors of these tale
on human behaviour generally. But these are (for the most part) "outsiders" looking into the "inside" of African Mythology, and trying to extract significance and meaning in Western European terms.
For us non-scholars, Ijapa is, and will always remain a source of endless amusement, philosophical and thought-provoking instruction – and as long as these continue, how really important is the why?
Projections of human desire or reflection on human behaviour or by whatever other learned phrase Ijapa's exploits are described, for every human failing, every foible, every success, every frustration, there is, somewhere, a story that "proves" Ijapa has done it before.
If all this sounds a little too facile, too glib to you, I will answer back, in the words of my favourite Ijapa tale, (incidentally, this may well provide a clue as to why the "why" has eluded us for so long):
Ijapa ni "O yo"
Omo re ni oun bo 0
Ijapa ni "kini o bo?"
Omo re ni "kini o so pe "o yo?"
Ijapa said
"I t has emerged '
His son said
'"I've covered it"
Ijapa asked
"What have you covered?”
His son retorted "What did you say emerged?" |
