A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF PROVERBS IN SELECTED WORKS OF OLA ROTIMI

CHAPTER ONE      

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1        Introduction 

This chapter is concerned with the background to the study, statement of the problem, research questions, aim and objectives of the study, justification for the study, scope of the study, methodology and organisation of the study. The chapter provides a basis for a proper understanding of the thesis.

1.2        Background to the Study

Language is an avenue through which cultures can be understood. Language and social reality are strictly tied together, hence language is said to be culturally transmitted (Heath, 2003). This implies that changes in produce change in language because peoples‟ cultural orientation, attitude, belief, disposition, worldview and social value among others are reflected in their language (including proverbs). Proverbs are products of human experiences and mostly culture specific. They (proverbs) are concise in structure, often known by heart, loaded with philosophical meaning and passed from one generation to another.

The role of proverbs in societies where discourse is laced with assorted forms of proverbs for different communicative functions cannot be over emphasized. Proverb is one of the means through which the cultural background of a group of people could be known. It reveals a people‟s historical development, worldview and attitude. Proverb is a special way by which social behaviour is controlled in order to ensure mutual intelligibility among the interlocutors. Proverbs provide hard hitting messages in a profound way rather than in a nasty or demoralizing manner. They pass very weighty messages in a mild or gentle way. The persuasive and highly philosophical nature of proverbs makes them a special means of communication in any discourse. 

Proverbs softly appeal to the subconscious level of human reasoning because they symbolize the accepted code of behaviour in a society, by praising social virtues and condemning vices. They are the standard bearers and epitomes of what is right and wrong. Proverbs transcend the boundary of religion as even the people who have no attachment to any faith use proverbs from time to time. They are also common products in both formal and informal discourses provided that they are appropriately used. It is against this backdrop that Nigerian writers such as Chinua Achebe, Zulu Sofola, Zainab Alkali, T. M. Aluko, and Ola Rotimi among others deploy proverbs in their literary works a way of passing (weighty) messages with societal approval . This perhaps explains the reason for the growing interest on researches on use of proverbs among linguists, philosophers and sociologists.

Within the past few decades, a number of scholars (African and non-African) have demonstrated great interest in proverbs. Proverbs have been, and remain, the most powerful and effective instrument for the transmission of culture, social morality, manners and ideals of a people. The reason behind the efficacy of proverbs is that as aphorism or wise saying, they are based upon people‟s experiences, reflects the social values and sensibility of such people.  According to Adedimeji (2007), proverbs are especially elegant in the conciseness of their forms, the peculiarity of their structures, the logicality of their meanings and the universality of their messages.

Earlier works on proverbs such as Taylor (1931), Arewa and Dunde (1964) and Freyha (1974) among others were concerned with the meaning and nature of proverbs. Proverbs arecomplex to define and this explains why there is no single universally accepted definition of the concept. For instance, Archer Tailor (1931) cited in Ahmed (2005) attempts to explain the meaning of proverbs in more than two hundred pages, and concludes that it is impossible to give a definite definition of it. According to Ogunbowale (1970) cited in Abdulraheem (2008), proverb is “a criticism of life and a product of the particular mind, which reflects prevalent attitude with didactic intent”. The concept of a particular mind in the above definition is synonymous with a specific context of use. However, contextual use of proverbs equally depends on a number of social factors. Put differently, to understand the pragmatic import(s) of a proverb, there is the need to consider the socio-cultural variables which affect the mutual contextual belief, presupposition and intentions of the language users. Therefore, an investigation of the didactic nature of proverbs in selected works of Ola Rotimi, using a linguistic (pragmatic) model with emphasis on a people whose culture is projected in the selected texts is the main thrust of this thesis.

It is interesting to note that proverbs have been fairly comprehensively studied from both language (linguistics) and literature perspectives, although, the concern of this study is on linguistics oriented studies. While Adedimeji (2003) is concerned with meaning explication in

Chinua Achebe and Ola Rotimi‟s works (through semantic and pragmatic theories), Akinwumi (2006) from a literary point of view, focuses on the use of proverbs as a tool for the restoration of social order. In other recent efforts, Sanusi and Omoloso (2008) examine the use of proverbs in preserving archaic lexical items and expressions. The preoccupation of Adeleke (2009) is the aspect of Yoruba history in proverbs, while Adejumo (2009) examines power perspectives in Yoruba fauna proverbs. The above studies are indication that some previous works have considered the didactic nature of proverbs. However, there is either no linguistic theory or principle, or where there is, a faulty method is adopted as a basis of revealing the moral significance of proverbs is revealed. From the foregoing, it is evident that proverbs occupy a vintage position in both language and literary studies, and this stimulates researches in both fields. There is also a growing interest in proverbs because of the multidisciplinary nature of Linguistics, Sociology, Psychology and Anthropology.

Having examined a few of the previous works on proverbs, there appears to be a vacuum in the existing body of knowledge because the fundamental reason for using proverbs appears to have been relegated. Therefore, this studyis concerned with the application of a pragmatic model for the explication of moral import of proverbs in the selected works of Ola Rotimi‟s works. This is imperative because the rich moral value system which Rotimi portrays in his works is being eroded on a daily basis as a result of “civilization”. The influence is largely due to globalization or what can simply be called “cultural openness” predicated on advancement in information and communication technology which has reduced the world into a global village. The concept of a global village is borne out of the fact that technology and new converging forms of economy, language and political state have resulted into shrinking and diminishing the importance of peoples‟ differences. It also means that local differences become subservient to global decisions and global powers (Jenks, 1998:63).In response to this need, a contextual (pragmatics) study of the selected proverbs is considered necessary. The study bears in mind that complex in literary texts is difficult to determine. Hence, the working definition of context in this study refers to the adaptive context as used by Ola Rotimi for the appropriation of the thematic preoccupation of the selected texts.

1.3        Statement of the Problem

There are quite a number of works on proverbs. However, very few of these are based on contextual meaning (pragmatics). Studies on proverbs from the semantic, stylistics and discourse analysis point of view are easy to come by than the ones from the pragmatic point of view. In the same vein,studies on pragmatics generally and proverbs in particular often do not consider cultural diversity of the language users as a basis of meaning explication. Most of these studies either failed to address the relevance of context to meaning explication or adopted a Universal Pragmatics (UP) principle which erroneously posits that the same socio-cultural reality underlies the use of language across the globe. Works such as Malinowski (1920, 1923, 1935), Hymes (1966), Yule (1996), Mey (2000, 2006) as well as Olukoju & Eno-Abasi (2013) have successfully proved that without context, expressions either lack meaning or difficult to be understood. 

The above is particularly true of proverbs which are highly context dependent and culture specific because of their metaphorical sense, philosophical intent and didactic significance. Proverbs are products of human societal experiences and culture defines the society. Hence, there is no way proverbs can be studied with a universal linguistic approach. They (proverbs) must be studied within groups that use them if we must understand why so many diverse people have been attracted to such sententious inventions (Abraham, 1972 as cited in Okunowo 2012). In line with above, there is also the (growing) need to emphasis and re-emphasis the moral import of proverbs in African culture in order to checkmate the impact of the threat of cultural erosion staring us in the face on a daily basis. It is in line with this submission that the use of proverbs in the works of Ola Rotimi deserves more attention than it has ever received in order not only to preserve the moral values of the proverbs but also to encourage this unique way of passing weighty (traditional) messages with some degree of societal backing or approval. This is because proverbs are beyond individual as they are considered to be the representation of a people‟s collective wisdom. The above mentioned gaps are the vacuum which the present study intends to fill.

1.4        Research Questions

This study intends to answer the following questions:  

1.     In what way can a pragmatic theory or model be used for the analysis of proverbs in literary texts? 

2.     What is the relevance of the illocutionary act(s) to the contextual meaning of the selected proverbs?

3.     What is the justification for the dominance of a particular illocutionary act? 

4.     What is the significance of context to the understanding of the selected proverbs in the works of Ola Rotimi?

5.     In what ways do the nexus between pragmatics and culture help in determining the didactic imports of the selected proverbs?

6.     What is the moral significance of the selected proverbs as used in the works of Ola Rotimi? 

1.5        Aim and Objectives

The aim of this study is to use a linguistic (pragmatic) principle for the analysis of the selected one hundred proverbs with emphasis on the cultural diversity of the people whose cultures are portrayed in the works of Ola Rotimi as a basis of revealing the moral significance of the selected proverbs. However, the study is guided by the following specific objectives:

1.     to highlight the illocutionary act(s) of the selected one hundred proverbs;

2.     to determine and explain the dominant illocutionary act(s) in the selected proverbs;

3.     to examine how the nexus between pragmatics and culture helps in revealing the social identity of the people whose culture is portrayed in the selected texts; 

4.     to explore whether the selected proverbs enhance mutual intelligibility of the interlocutors and consequently serve as a means of social control in the selected texts;

5.     to reveal the didactic or moral imports of the selected proverb as used in the texts studied 

1.6        Justification of the Study

Proverbs are considered an integral part of language, and like simple words and idioms, they are meaning making units which must be included in any complete language description (Adedimeji, 2010). According to Finnegan (1970), despite the importance of proverbs in African societies, there are no satisfactory investigations dealing with their use. It is in response to this challenge that this research attempts to investigate one hundred selected proverbs from four texts of Ola Rotimi with the primary aim of revealing their moral significance through the adoption of a linguistic principle. Proverbs have received commendable research attention from many scholars but quite a lot still need to be done, particularly in the aspect of deploying linguistic tool and theory for the analysis of proverbs. 

The study adopts a pragmatic approach because pragmatic is concerned with the contextual meaning. It is the study of the intended meaning as opposed to the formal meaning which is the principal focus of semantics. This is very imperative because proverbs are culture based and context dependent for their use and understanding. Impliedly, the same proverb can be used in a variety of discourse situations with possibly different intention, meaning and moral significance. Since any discussion on proverbs must be concerned with the context of use, and pragmatics is a branch of language dealing with contextual meaning; proverbs and pragmatics are two sides of the same coin, one part depending on the other.

The choice of literary text as a case study of the present research is because literature is the mirror through which everything about people and their society can be known. In Particular, four texts of Ola Rotimi are selected because of the preference of Ola Rotimi for the use of proverbs in his works. However, in spite of the preponderance of proverbs in the works of Ola Rotimi, adequate research attention is yet to be paid to this unique and powerful way of conveying thoughts with some measure of societal backing.  

1.7        Scope and Delimitation

The focus of this study is the determination of the contextual use(s) of one hundred selected proverbs in the works of Ola Rotimi‟s for the purpose of revealing their didactic imports. The selected texts are Kurunmi, The Gods are not to Blame,Kurunmi, Our Husband has Gone Mad Again and Hopes of the Living Dead). The hundred proverbs are subjected to textual analysis using Lawal‟s (1997) model of the aspect of a pragmatic theory towards the realization of their didactic import.  The proverbs are sourced from the four texts, two of which are tragic plays and the other two comic. The choice of the texts is informed by their historical relevance, traditional nature, moral philosophy, as well as their public patronage.Due to the traditional predilection for proverbial expressions, Rotimi‟s plays are infused with high proverbial density (Adedimeji,

2007). More so, Ola Rotimi is a prominent writer whose works reveal the cultural values of the people whose tradition is portrayed in his works. In addition, his flair for proverbs, as evident in his works, is also accountable for the choice of four of his texts as case study for this thesis. 

In addition, the exploration of proverbs in both tragic and comic texts of Ola Rotimi reveals different contextual uses and semantic imports in discourse. The serious thematic preoccupation of these texts and their historic antecedence, particularly the tragic plays, is partly responsible for their selection for analysis. This provides a sound basis to understand the cultural background, norms and the general value system of the people whose culture is portrayed in some of Ola Rotimi‟s works, particularly the selected texts for this study.In the analysis, emphasis is placed on Lawal‟s (1997) classification of contexts/competencies variables. However, only four variables out of Lawal‟s identified six variables namely: linguistic, situational, sociological and cosmological are used for the analysis. The remaining two variables: psychological and social are discarded because they are obviously subsumed under other variables.  Aspects such as illocutionary acts, inference, mutual contextual beliefs (MCB) are implied in the discussion of the tabular presentation and analysis of data.

1.8 Ola Rotimi: and his Works

Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotim, born to Samuel Gladstone Enitan Rotimi, a successful director and producer of amateur theatricals, and Dorcas Adolae Oruene, an Ijaw enthusiast, wasborn in Sapele, South-South, Nigeria. Ola Rotimi attended St. Cyprian‟s School in Port-

Harcourt from 1945 to 1949, St. Jude‟s School Lagos from 1951 to 1952 and the Methodist Boys High School in Lagos from 1952 to 1956 during which time  he earned the nickname,

“Shakespeare incarnate” and “the poet” for his writing. Some of his works were broadcast on Nigerian radio and published in international magazines. On a scholarship from the Nigerian government, Rotimi studied theatre at Boston University, and from 1963 to 1966 he earned Master of Fine Arts Degree in play writing and dramatic literature at Yale University on a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. His socio-political comedy Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again was Yale‟s play of the year in 1966. In 1965, he married Hazel Mae Guagreau originally from Gloucester. Hazel also studied at Boston University where she majored in opera, voice and music.

The Rotimis were interested in the arts: Ola‟s mother excelled in traditional dance and managed her own dance group from 1945 to 1949. His father often wrote and recited, and he organized the community theatre in Port-Harcourt where Ola grew up. Ola‟s uncle, Chief Robert Dede, was the lead performer in a traditional dance troupe called a masquerade. Dede and his dancers, dressed in elaborate costumes, danced, sang and acted in what was one of the most spectacular of such troupes in Rivers State. The young Rotimi first appeared on stage at age four in a play directed by his father (Answers Cooperation, 2012).  Upon returning to Nigeria in the 1960s, he taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and University of Port Harcourt.

Partly due to political conditions in Nigeria, Rotimi spent much of the 1990s living in the Caribbean and the United States where he taught at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota. In 2000 he returned to Ile-Ife, joining the Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University where he lectured till his death in May 2000.

Rotimi‟s works stand him out as one of the best African playwrights. He is indeed a household name among educated Nigerians. The driving force of his artistic endeavour is to achieve what he calls total theatre. To do this, he extends the boundaries of traditional Western theatre by embracing dance, mime, music and song, as well as the ritual aspects of traditional African life.

He elicits audience participation, targeting as his audience the literate minority who speak English. This is simply because they are the same set of people who always determine the social course of the nation. Like other first generation Nigerian literary writers such as Achebe, Fagunwa, Alkali, etc, Rotimi through his writing is pre-occupied with his motherland, that is, Africa in general; and Nigeria in particular despite the fact that he studied in America. In an interview with Mike Lillich of the Depauw University Alumnus, quoted in Answers Corporation (2012); Rotimi says:

When I studied in America, there was no doubt that my scholarship  gained immense depth. My self confidence in writing and    teaching  grew tremendously. But I was never intimidated withmy people.  So   my immediate audience has been the Nigerian people within my own cultural context. Any other kind of writing for me would be artificial. 

Once my people accept me, the world will look at me…I tamper with   English language in order to temper its Englishes, to experiment with the English language to create an elegant simplicity.

What is again important in the quote is his claim that he is writing for the larger Nigeria.It would thus be incorrect to tie works to a particular tribe, culture or geographical region in Nigeria because he never explicitly claims to be writing for any particular tribe. This is more important because Ola Rotimi had a Yoruba father from Ilesha in Osun State, South West, Nigeria and an Ijaw mother from Edo Sate, South South, Nigeria. This makes it difficult, if not impossible; to be judgmental on which culture influences his writing and which cultural identity he projects in his works. In addition to this, Rotimi discusses thirteen different ethnic nationalities in Hopes of the Living Dead; and this exemplifies his claim of writing for “the Nigerian people within my own context”.

In another interview with Kunle Ajibade of the “African Concord”, Rotimi affirms his commitment to traditional historical fact. This he attributes to the biased opinion and negative stereo-typed image of African history by Western scholars. Secondly, he is concerned about motivating the emulation of some heroic figures in history. With these goals in mind, Rotimi tries to answer questions of who runs the political landscape of Africa and is man a victim of his destiny? Rotimi has about a dozen published plays to his credit but only the four that are used in this study are mentioned.  These plays are The Gods are not to Blame (produced in 1968, published in 1971), Kurunmi (produced in 1969, published in 1971), Our Husband has Gone Mad Again (produced in 1966, published in 1977) and Hopes of the Living Dead (published in 1988).

1.8.1 The Gods Are Not to Blame (1971)

The play is an adaptation of Sophocles‟ Oedipus Rex, the classical Greek tragic play. Rotimi‟s adaptation of the play is to make it suitable for the socio-cultural context of his audience. The play characterises generally the religo-cultural customs and conduct of Ab-original native West

Africans, especially those who lived between the Niger and Volta, before the advent of Christianity and Islam (Shvoong (nd)). According to tradition, every child was believed to bring with it at birth, some assigned mission from the gods. The mission divined and modified or reversed by sacrificing to the gods, or by dealing with the child in certain ways. The people had firm belief in the power of the gods as the supernates who ordain and execute many things in human society such as epidemic and farming, including human‟s destiny. The text centres on a boy, Odewale, who is destined by the gods to kill his father, marry his mother and have children through her. Odewale was to be killed as soon as his bad destiny was revealed but he survives and grows into adulthood. He does everything possible to avert the bad destiny but the will of the gods prevail. Eventually, the prophecy comes to show that humans are powerless in the matter of their own destiny.

1.8.2 Kurunmi (1971)

Ola Rotimi‟s Kurunmiis a play detailing the war between two prominent Yoruba Towns over the issue of upholding a cultural practice. This play begins with a meeting comprising Alafin Atiba and his Chiefs. Sensing that he is soon to die, Alafin Atiba calls the meeting to inform his Chiefs and get them acknowledge his Crown Prince, Adelu, as his successor. The move is contrary to the custom and tradition of Oyo, which requires the Crown Prince to commit suicide on his father‟s death. Kurunmi moves against the plan of Alafin Atiba, arguing that the tradition of the land must be respected. Sensing that other Chiefs are in support of Alafin Atiba, Kurunmi leaves. Kurunmi is given the choice between the path of war or peace and Kurunmi chooses war. The Ibadan people decide to wage war against Kurunmi and the entire Ijaiye people because of what they consider as insult against the Oyo Kingdom, while the Egbas join to fight on the side of the Ijaiye people. The war eventually starts after much preparation. Kurunmi‟s side appears to be heading to victory until the tide turns against them as they witness heavy loss of lives and property as a result of wrong military tactics. Sensing that his enemies are getting closer to hold him as a prisoner of war, Kurunmi commits suicide and orders that his body be buried beneath the River Ose.

1.8.3 Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again

Our Husband has Gone Mad Again is a powerful dramatic comedy through which Ola Rotimi demonstrates the follies of arrogant and misinformed wealthy Africans who often dabble into politics to take advantage of its over accommodating nature. Mr. Rahman Teslim Lejoka Brown, a retired major in the military, joins politics to become the prime minister in the whole of

Africa. He neither understands the game of politics, nor does he intend to improve the people‟s living standard. His only motive in politics is to enrich himself and his political associates. According to Lejoka Brown, politics is the only way in Nigeria through which people can easily gain recognition, be influential; and more importantly, to be stupendously wealthy. The wealthy cocoa-business man (Lejoka-Brown) is the flag-bearer of National Liberation Party (NLP) for the post of prime minister with his military orientation is tagged “surprise and attack” strategy to defeat his opponent. His lack of knowledge about Nigerian political landscape which is responsible for his over reliance on the military strategy, and his domestic trouble   signal a doom for his money-making political plan. An emergency meeting of NLP is called to discuss the candidature of Lejoka-Brown and a vote of no confidence is passed on Lejoka-Brown, consequently disqualifies him from contesting the election under the banner of the political party. 

1.8.4 Hopes of the Living Dead

In his usual characteristics vivid story telling strategy, Ola Rotimi aptly transforms an historical occurrence (leper‟s Rebellion) in Nigeria between 1928 and 1932 into a dramatic master piece. The text is concerned with the fate of lepers (inmates of wards G & H). Dr. Fergusson, the Scottish Medical Doctor who is in charge of the treatment of the inmates is about to leave for his country. The Nigerian government then tries to eject the inmates from wards G & H in the interest of the public. As a result of this, the inmates, alone in their struggle for survival, fighttooth and nail to avoid eviction, demand better feeding and continuous medical treatment from the government. They vehemently resist the government confrontational and deceitful ploy to eject them. At the end, the promise of a permanent hospital in Uzuakoli by the government is fulfilled. In addition, the inmates are to be trained as medical staff, so as to be involved in their own treatment. Ola Rotimi uses the play to demonstrate how purposeful leadership can go a long way to put smiles on the faces of the people. The play also shows that all hope should not be considered dead, as even the living dead can be hopeful.

The choice of the above literary works of is informed by the fact that it is through literature that the happenings in the society can be known. Literature epitomises human society as the issues of human experience usually constitute the thematic concern or preoccupation of literary writers. This perhaps explains why literature is often regarded as the mirror of the society. It is hoped that deploying a linguistic principle for the analysis of a literary texts will be a massive contribution to the existing body of knowledge. This is in spite of the fact that context of utterance is difficult to be determined in literature as factors such as the writer, the text, and the readers have to be adequately considered in determining the prevailing context for the evaluation of literature. It is in recognition of this fact that the present study maintains neutrality as the cultural value which determined the prevailing contexts of the texts studied is not tied to any ethnic nationality in particular. In the same vain, the study neither ascribes the prevailing contexts in the texts to the ethnic nationality of Ola Rotimi (whose works arestudied), nor the places or the historical fact that are discussed in the texts. This implies that any culture whose value system is similar or the same to the one(s) projected in the selected texts can be said to be referred to by the study. 

1.9 Organization of the Study

This study is divided into five chapters as follows. Chapter one is titled general introduction. It is concerned with the background to the study, statement of the problem, research questions, aim and objectives, justification for the study, scope or delimitation of the study, and history as well as works of Ola Rotimi. The focus of chapter two is the review of related and necessary literature in order to ensure credibility of the study. Basically, the chapter deals with meaning, scope, and significance of pragmatics. It also examines various pragmatics principles and theories. In addition, the proverb as a concept is reviewed it terms of meaning, and socio-cultural function. The interface between proverbs and culture is also reviewed particularly as related to the prevailing context under which the selected proverbs in this study are used. Chapter three has as its focus the research methodology. The chapter considers sources of data, data gathering method, sample population, representative population, as well as the analytical procedure. Chapter four is concerned with data presentation and analysis. It also deals with discussion of findings. Chapter five is concerned with the summary, conclusion, recommendations and suggestions for further studies.

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