Old wine, new bottle: Theatre design and transnational hybridity in Ọlóbà dance of Adó–Èkìtì, Nigeria

Abstract

Using the Ọlóbà ritual dance of Adó–Èkìtì, in the Èkìtì–Yorùbá region of Nigeria as an example, this study examines the contextual shift in the visual realization of the African dance as evidence of transnationalism. The Ọlóbà tradition, as old as the Adó–Èkìtì town, is intended for cleansing the community to ward off evil. However, the visible matters that constitute the visual designs in the ritual process are gradually losing touch with the African tradition. Traditional props in the Ọlóbà performance are now being replaced by factory–made accessories, making it a hybrid of transnational cultures. Recent studies have focused on the aesthetics of the Ọlóbà dance, without paying adequate attention to the influence of transnationalism in the design elements. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the traditional African dance, today, is faced with complex contemporary realities that tend to redefine it. Based on Roland Barthes’s intertextuality and a combination of case study and survey research designs, data was collected through in–depth and key informant interviews. Using content analysis, the study concludes that the survival of traditional African dance compels it to use material constituents that characterize it as a hybrid of multiple transnational cultures.