Wole Soyinka's Death and the King’s Horseman: A Resistance to Cultural Hegemony of the West

Abstract

The Western Nations have been dominating the third world nations and their culture through the cultural hegemony and superiority. Said criticized and exposed this cultural hegemony of the west in his book ‘Orientalism’ (1978). He believed that the occidental countries have certain prejudices and misconceptions about the orient. No doubt, the approach and outlook of the West to the third world countries is negative and exotic. They assume the superiority of their culture over the culture of third world countries. However, the resistance to cultural hegemony of the west can be noticed in the form of literature. The present research paper explores such resistance as presented in the most dominant African play of Wole Soyinka namely Death and the King’s Horseman (1975). The play is based on the theme of ritualistic suicide in the Yoruba culture. The in-depth analysis of the study of play reveals how the natives follow their cultural rituals without submitting to the western cultural hegemony. The layer of the play shows a deep cultural difference between the British and the Yoruba. The paper contemplates this resistance from the native Yoruba in the form of defiance.