All Animals Are Equal: Rethinking ‘Animalistic’ Names and Yoruba Epistemology in Femi Osofisan’s “Kolera Kolej”

Ojebode, Ayokunmi O.

Abstract

This study explores animal names in Femi Osofisan’s “Kolera Kolej” (2001), entrenched in the characters’ animalistic tendencies and nonconformity to Yoruba ethics, values and norms. Despite studies on Osofisan’s theatre and satirical technique, especially the playwright’s commentary on Nigeria’s socio-economic and political crises, there is no compelling research on zoonyms (animal names) anchored on Yoruba epistemology in the work. The study adopted Onomastic semiosis within the framework of Dan Izevbaye’s (1981) sociocultural and literary naming contexts to foreground the Yoruba philosophy ìse ènìyàn n’ìse ẹranko equating animals and human beings through names and characteristics. In the Yoruba culture, animalistic or unethical behaviours contradict the Omoluabi concept of ideal citizenship. Thus, the playwright’s designation of profound Yoruba animal names ridicules African elites and political leaders’ chauvinistic and greedy nature and its consequences on a nation’s socio-politics and economy.

• Conference Name: Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences
• Conference Location: Kraków
• Start Date: Aug 22, 2021
• End Date: Aug 27, 2021
• Acceptance Date: Nov 12, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 18, 2023
• Publication Date: Nov 18, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 14, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 21, 2024
• Series Title: Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences
• Book Title: Onomastics in Interaction With Other Branches of Science. Volume 3. General and Applied Onomastics. Literary Onomastics. Chrematonomastics. Reports
• ISBN: 9788323352723
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/K7478.47/22.23.17742
• Keywords: Animal psychology, Cultural Studies, Osofisan, Yoruba Orature, zoonyms
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/31445271
• Publisher URL: https://wuj.pl/all-animals-are-equal-rethinking-animalistic-names-and-yoruba-epistemology-in-femi-osofisans-kolera-kolej