THE ULTIMATE INHERITANCE

Special Edition, By Cherno Omar Barry

In a few days, the lucky ones among you mill witness an extraordinary play written and directed by an illustrious Gambian lady, Mrs. Janet Badjan-Young, entitled “The Ultimate Inheritance”. For those who have seen “The Battle of Sankandi” staged in May last year at the Kairaba Hotel Conference Hall will remember Mrs. Badjan-Young, fondly called Aunty Janet, the one who has toiled hard to upkeep the basic traditions of Drama as the Elizabethan’s would have been proud to see. For more than three years now, the Alliance Franco-Gambienne has had the privilege to discover in Aunty Janet an excellent play writer and a wonderful director, who has staged plays pertinent to social issues directly touching the Gambian and international public. “The Ultimate Inheritance” met a great success in 2001 when staged twice and for the first time at the Alliance Franco-Gambienne, in English. Realizing the powerful message it portrays, Aunty Janet has redirected it in Wollof in order to reach a much larger public. “The Ultimate Inheritance” will therefore be staged on the 16^th and 17^th May 2003 at the Alliance Franco-Gambienne. Those who have never seen the play would wonder what it is all about.

“The Ultimate Inheritance” is a powerful play meant to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. However, the hilarity and the intricacies between the characters and the swift but coherent order of the scenes put spectators on the edge of their seats up to the end of the play.

“Against the backdrop of a traditional inheritance practice, which impacts negatively on women, vital information on HIV/AIDS is woven into the plot. The information includes the stigma associated with the diseases and the care of those infected with HIV.

The Stubborn Bride

The play is set in a remote village where traditions and beliefs dictate the day-to-day activities of the villagers. There will however be a conflict of ideology and belief between the villagers and the town dwellers. The story begins with the marriage between a rich member of the villager and a girl from Katchikally. The man is marrying his second wife. Bakary, as are most of the villagers, has a large farm and the wives are required to farm on it, sell the products and bring back the money to their husbands. Isatou, the first wife of Bakary, will be a willing and docile wife who will respect and conform to the traditions. Nadindin, the second wife from Katchikally, will require from her husband a piece of the husbands land in order to cultivate her own crop and earn her own money. This request has never been done by anybody, and all the villagers see it as a taboo to see a woman own land. Bakary sees that as and insult and upon explaining the issue to the Alkali, the later warns Nadindin of making such an irrational request. He equally feels that Nadindin, who has a little formal education, is inciting the women to make similar requests. In fact, as people are dying now out of strange illnesses, Nadindin is accused of being a witch as these deaths started only after she is married and brought to the village. This will bring the Alkalo and Nadindin at loggerheads throughout the play. In fact when Bakary succumbs to a heart attack at Nadindin’s room, she is confirmed a witch and shunned especially by the Alkalo.

Lamin’s Illness

Bakary’s first son Lamin is a great womanizer. He has two wives already but still follow women. When he notices boils and pimples coupled with frequent diarrhea, he rushes to a marabou for help. The marabou, after consulting his beads, recognizes in Lamin a womanizer who is up to no good. After seeing the nauseating blotchy body under Lamin’s cloths, he realizes that Lamin is incurable. In order not to discourage him, the Marabou recommended herbs for Lamin to wash with.

Pa Modou and Clotile

Pa Modou is a taf-taf young man and a bumster. He runs after the old toubab ladies at Senegambia. From time to time, he comes to the village to find young noght workers to take to town and plays the pimp. On one occasion he met Clotile, the village noght worker, and tries to convince her to come to town where business is flourishing. Clotile, a careful night worker, will try to resist to Pa Modou’s nagging request and will eventually sent Pa Modou off. Two women, Ramou and Haddy, who will see in Pa Modou a leach, will attack Pa Modou and hurl him with insults. Unfortunately, one of the two will make the mistake of sleeping with Pa Modou and the consequences will be disastrous.

Ramou and Haddy

One will notice when watching the play, that these two ladies, who are street sellers, see everything going on in village. They play and instrumental role the narrator would have played in a story. They equally bring the play to a conclusion.

Ousman, The Inheritor

After 20 years of absence, a young man arrives at the village whiles a ceremony is going on and suddenly claims to inherit Bakary because Bakary is his brother. Everybody gets a shock. Ousman will marry Isatou but Nadindin will proof to be very difficult to convince. Both the Alkalo and Ousman will continue to convince Nadindin who will keep resisting when suddenly the telephone rings. The message received will change everything.

The Social Worker

She plays the most important role in the play, as she is the one who will enlighten the villagers of the dangers of HIV/AIDS. She will however encounter a lot of difficulties because the villagers are ignorant of the disease and its implications.

The Dancers

The production of “The Ultimate Inheritance” in Wollof is a rich tapestry of music, professionally choreographed African and Modern dances and drama. Credit is given to the Choreographers Eddie Mendes-Cole and Koto Ngum.

The Dance of Katchikali a dance drama by Aunty

Article written by Cherno Omar Barry

Published on the Daily Observer on Wednesday, April 30, 2008

It’s through the mesmerizing dance and the properly measured steps in cadence under the spell of rich and melodious African music that the Katchikali story is told. It tells of the secret pool bearing its name in Bakau. It tells of the spirits of the pool and the Bojangs, custodians of the pool.

Katchikali is linked to the history of mankind and of a nation The Gambia. It is the source of wealth, fertility, success and happiness. It provides hope to the despair, a smile to the sad and a remedy to the ills. It is the cradle of humankind in ways that humans have no knowledge of. The dance drama to be presented will give a captivating story of Katchikali, the crocodile pool of Bakau, The Gambia.

The Ebunjan Theatre Troupe presents a dance drama in a one-act play with six scenes. The play is ‘based on a Gambian legend on how the Bojang family became custodians of Katchikali’. ‘It underscores the harmonious relationship between humans and their environment.’ The narrator, a griot, who is also the upholder of oral traditions and history, will begin to disclose the sacred story of Katchikali and of its coming to being.

He will relate, in a melodious voice accompanied by music, an excellent choreography and some onomatopoeia, the different stages of the existence of Katchikali and of its ‘children’ spirits. As the story unfolds, the spectator will be enthralled by colourful choreography and beautiful music. Shadows will rise to take form and translate the narration into reality.

Beautifully choreographed by Eddie Mends-Cole, skilfully narrated by Felix Downes-Thomas and accompanied by an excellent kora player, Alhagi Mbye, the Dance of Katchikali will grip its audience from the first scene all through. By the end of the story, the spectator will be in such trance that it will be hard to believe such a wonderful production can end.

Certain questions would have been answered though: what is the import of the crocodiles at the Katchikali pool? Why are women going there and talking to the crocodiles? Why is the Bojang dynasty the only curators of such a weighty and historic place such as the pool? Has the pool any particular tie to the people of Bakau or The Gambia at large? What are the forces that connect the pool to the Bakau inhabitants? Is it possible that it has special allure that we do not know of? If so, what are they? Answers to these questions can be found in this wonderful drama.

It is not surprising though that this piece of drama is of excellent taste and skilfully dramatized. The playwright and director is none other than Janet Badjan Young, fondly called Aunty Janet by all who know her. Aunty Janet has produced excellent pieces of drama in the last decade to qualify her as the most brilliant Gambian dramaturge of our time. She is presently the Chairperson of the board for the National Centre for Arts and Culture. Some of her plays have stirred great emotions and have received loud accolade from masters of the theatre and experienced persons in the area of literature.

She has set her mark and like all skilful dramaturge, she has taken pleasure in producing for the love of the theatre. Those who have seen The Battle of Sankandi staged in May 2002 at the Kairaba Hotel Conference Hall will remember Aunty Janet. It is a play based on the history of a battle between the indigenous people and the colonial masters caused by an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Aunty Janet is also the producer and director of the brilliant drama, The Ultimate Inheritance that was finally funded and filmed in real life setting in English, Wolof and Mandingo for its excellent taste and strong message. The Ultimate Inheritance tries to portray a traditional inheritance practice, which impacts negatively on women. The play also gives an account of the stigma associated with the diseases and the care for those infected with HIV.

Today, its film version is being projected throughout the country to sensitize people. Some of her other prominent works are the The Hand of Fate?, a play about early marriage, A Man for All Seasons and Sizwe Banzi is Death, the last two adapted from the senior secondary school recommended literature textbooks written by Robert Bolt and Athol Fugard respectively. The first of the last two is a classic play centred on the struggle of a man of principles and strong belief against a King and the last play is about racism and identity crises among blacks in the South Africa.