All forms of drama exist in Africa today, including drama from past and present, ritual and ceremony, dance mime and modern play. These forms can be found throughout the continent where traditional drama in the villages and imported amusements in films and television are found side by side. Traditional African drama is so tightly integrated into African religion and customs that identifying "theater" as a separate entity is unrealistic. There is a wide variety of staged theater in Africa, including not only written plays but also storytelling, puppetry, and ritual drama. The plays of Wole Soyinka show how traditional forms and modern forms are fused in plays that openly compare traditional culture to the culture of Europe as introduced in the age of imperialism.
In the play "The Lion and the Jewel" by Wole Soyinka, the author addresses issues of love in terms of cultural differences, comparing and contrasting Yoruba ways with those of Europeans, a comparison made more cogent by the colonial experience of Africa and the way Europeans tried to foist their ways on the indigenous population. Wole Soyinka clearly knows both his traditional culture and Western culture first-hand and makes use of this knowledge in this play.
The play is set in the village of Ilujinle, and the main character is a young man named Lakunle. He has been much influenced by European ideas of how young men should behave, which causes him to try to help Sidi by carrying her water bucket, though this job is traditionally a women's task in their society. Lakunle flirts with Sidi, and while she does not seem interested, in fact she is so long as he follows the traditions of the community and offers a bride-price to her family:
That I was forced to sell my shame
And marry you without a price (Soyinka 8).
This emphasis on tradition in love suggests something about love. Lakunle needs to join the community. For all his complaints about traditi...