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THE AFRICAN MODERN MAN IN CONFLICT: WESTERNIZATION AND
CULTURAL ALIENATION IN
SONG OF LAWINO, SONG OF OCOL
AND
THE LION & THE JEWEL
MS. Ani cham
PG S uden , Depa men o English
E hi aj College o Women, Chennai
ani [email protected]
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17283313
Abs ac
A ica as a con inen was subjec ed o agg essi e coloniza ion in he la e 1800s when Eu opean
educa ion sys ems, Ch is iani y, and go e nance s uc u es dis up ed A ican socie ies, c ea ing con lic s
be ween Wes e n and indigenous belie s o A ica. This s uggle led o he ambi alence o A ican iden i y
among he educa ed A icans in he ea ly 20 h cen u y, allowing hem o s and be ween he c oss oads o
mode ni y and indigenous adi ions. In he poe y collec ions, Song o Lawino & Song o Ocol, Oko p’Bi ek
ies o po ay he ension h ough he cha ac e o Ocol. The Nige ian playw igh Wole Soyinka ies o
in oke a simila ly delusional mode n man h ough he cha ac e o Lakunle in his play The Lion and he
Jewel. These wo cha ac e s can be conside ed as an embodimen o he A ican in ellec ual shaped by
colonial educa ion and caugh in he con adic ions o he pos -independence e a. This pape ies o explo e
he ension be ween Eu ocen ic ideals and indigenous belie s in Song o Lawino & Song o Ocol by Oko
p’Bi ek and The Lion and he Jewel by Wole Soyinka h ough he cha ac e s o Ocol and Lakunle. I u he
ies o examine how A ican w i e s c i ique he incomple e p ocess o decoloniza ion and e eals he
endu ing psychological and cul u al s uggles aced by pos colonial socie ies in ede ining hemsel es
beyond colonial amewo ks.
Keywo ds: Hyb idi y, Pos -colonialism, Cul u al Aliena ion, Wes e niza ion, Mimic y, Ambi alence
In oduc ion
Colonialism was a pa o A ica his o y since he age o G eeks and Romans who es ablished
a ew colonies in No h A ica. Bu he colonisa ion o A ica in ensi ied in he la e 19 h cen u y
when Eu opean powe s di ided and occupied he con inen ollowing he Be lin’s Con e ence
(1884–85). This e en is conside ed as he ‘Sc amble’ o A ica (Maz ui). Na ions such as
B i ain, F ance, Belgium, Po ugal, and he newly uni ied Ge many exploi ed A ica’s esou ces
and labou o ul il hei ma e ial equi emen s while en o cing Wes e n poli ical, economic, and
cul u al sys ems and ideologies on o he indigenous popula ion. A ica, he c adle o ci iliza ion,
s a ed o g adually loose i s cul u e and iden i y due o he a e ma h o impe ialism and
colonialism (Pakenham).
As Michelle Le Ba on no es, “cul u e is always a ac o in con lic , whe he i plays a cen al
ole o in luences i sub ly and gen ly. Fo any con lic ha ouches us whe e i ma e s, whe e
we make meaning and hold ou iden i ies, he e is always a cul u al componen ” (LeBa on and
G undison). A e Independence, A ican you h sough o eclaim hei inhe en iden i y, ye he
las ing in luence o colonial ule on A ican cul u e, educa ion, and he i age led many o he
u u e gene a ion o mimic he ai s o hei o me opp esso s (Pa ke and Ra hbone 91-100).
The pos -colonial heo is , F an z Fanon desc ibes his na u e as a symp om o he
‘in e naliza ion’ o ‘epide maliza ion’ o his in e io i y owa ds he whi e man (Fanon). The
A ican man a emp s o become ‘whi e’ o gain social accep ance, only o emain an ou side in
bo h wo lds. The ‘whi e mask’ ha he wea s, o con o m in eac ion o his assimila ion and sel -
denial, is ne e comple ely accep ed.
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Expanding on his, Homi Bhabha, in The Loca ion o Cul u e, es ablishes he concep o
‘mimic y’ whe e he colonial subjec c ea es an iden i y which is in cons an ‘ambi alence’ and
mimics he beha iou and cha ac e is ics o he hegemonic au ho i y in an e o o acqui e he
same powe and s anding as he colonize (Hudda ). Such a con lic o iden i y is exempli ied
by he cha ac e s Ocol and Lakunle, whose adop ion o Wes e n ideas con ines hem be ween
adi ion and p og ess.
The Lion and he Jewel by Wole Soyinka and Song o Lawino & Song o Ocol by Oko p’Bi ek
explo es he con lic be ween adi ion and mode ni y in pos colonial A ica whe e aces o he
pas ule emain p edominan . The Lion and he Jewel ollows he igh o hand o Sidi, he
"jewel" o he illage, in ma iage. Lakunle, a young Wes e n-educa ed school eache who
sco ns A ican cus oms, and Ba oka, he cunning aged illage chie who seduces Sidi and
e en ually wins Sidi’s hand. Simila ly, Song o Lawino is a d ama ic epic poem in which Lawino,
a adi ional Acholi woman, lamen s how he husband, Ocol, has abandoned hei cul u e in
a ou o Eu opean ways. In Song o Ocol, Ocol esponds wi h disdain o adi ional A ican li e,
ully emb acing Wes e n mode ni y.
Psychological Aliena ion o he Colonized Subjec
Colonial powe s imposed a hegemonic in luence upon A ican cul u e, educa ion and
he i age leading he pos -independen gene a ion o mimic hei o me opp esso s. The
causa ion o his mimic y is he isce al e ec o he ‘epide maliza ion’ o in e naliza ion o hei
in e io i y complex. Howe e , he imi a ion ne e g an s ue belonging, lea ing hem
disconnec ed om bo h hei indigenous oo s and he colonial sys em. This e lec s he las ing
psychological and cul u al ussle o pos colonial iden i y.
In he o ewo d o Black Skin Whi e Masks, Ziauddin Sa da explains his elabo a ely, “The
en i e pu pose o his [ he black man] beha iou is o emula e he whi e man… and hus hope o
be accep ed as a man.”, illus a ing how he colonized in e nalize Wes e n supe io i y and ejec
hei own iden i y (Fanon). This phenomenon is e lec ed in he cha ac e s o Ocol (Song o
Lawino & Song o Ocol) and Lakunle (The Lion and he Jewel), bo h o whom embody he concep
o mimic y and aliena ion.
Ocol, ha ing ecei ed a colonial educa ion, sco ned his Acholi he i age and adop ed
Eu opean ideals, pe cei ing adi ion as backwa d. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o in Homecoming (1983)
no es ha Ocol’s ejec ion o indigenous alues is no simply a pe sonal ma e bu a class-based
con lic , whe e Ocol ep esen s he Wes e nized A ican eli e, aliena ed om he peasan y he
once belonged o (93). Thiong’o u he adds ha Lawino’s c i ique o Ocol mi o s Fanon’s
wa ning in The W e ched o he Ea h whe e he opines ha he “A ican in elligen sia” shaped
by colonial educa ion, delibe a ely be ays i s people by denying i s ole and expec a ions,
ins ead o leading ue decoloniza ion (94). Ocol is sh ouded in smoke and mi o s by his
Wes e n ideals, which posi ion him wi hin a liminal space be ween wo cul u al iden i ies.
Lakunle in Soyinka’s The Lion and he Jewel is a ca ica u e o colonial mimic y. He
awkwa dly adop s Eu opean cus oms wi hou an o e all unde s anding o i . His ill- i ing sui
and exagge a ed Wes e n manne isms e lec his disconnec ion in a simila ashion o Ocol.
Th ough his cha ac e , Soyinka shows he dange s o blind imi a ion o wes e n ideals wi hou
any well- ounded unde s anding. His misin e p e a ion o Wes e n educa ion, such as his belie
ha women’s b ains a e smalle han men’s, exempli ies i . Like Ocol, Lakunle’s a emp s a
mode niza ion only se e o aliena e him, illus a ing Fanon’s a gumen ha he wes e n
cul u e ails o g an ue belonging and c ea es a colonized g oup o people “in whose soul an
in e io i y complex has been c ea ed by he dea h and bu ial o i s cul u al o iginali y” (18).
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The Failu e o Mimic y in Educa ion and Religion
Bo h Ocol and Lakunle exempli y he dange s o blind Wes e n mimic y, as hei educa ion
aliena es hem om hei people a he han empowe ing hem. In Song o Lawino, Lawino
lamen s ha Ocol has “los his head in he o es o books” (p’Bi ek 116), sugges ing ha his
colonial educa ion has s ipped him o his cul u al iden i y. She u he s a es ha his and his
ellow ‘young men’s’ “...manhood was inished / In he class- ooms,” whe e Lawino a gues ha
Wes e n schooling has emascula ed A ican men like Ocol (p’Bi ek 191). He bo ows no only
ma e ial goods bu also his e y hough s and beha iou s, seeking alida ion om he Wes e n
wo ld while neglec ing his own oo s. His ac o ha ing an ex ama i al a ai wi h a woman
named Clemen ine, who bea a esemblance o he s anda ds o a whi e woman adds o his
alida ion.
Likewise, in The Lion and he Jewel, Lakunle displays a dis o ed unde s anding o Wes e n
knowledge, ci ing books o jus i y his belie ha “women ha e a smalle b ain han men”
(Soyinka 6), a claim ha exposes his shallow g asp o he e y ideals he ies o uphold. His
misguided supe io i y is u he challenged by Sidi, he beau y o he illage, who mocks his
Wes e n p e ensions, saying:
“You and you agged books,
D agging you ee o e e y h eshold,
And ushing hem ou again as cu ses
G ee you ins ead o welcome.” (Soyinka 5)
He e, Sidi idicules Lakunle’s u ile a emp s o impose Wes e n alues on a socie y ha
ejec s hem. His p eoccupa ion wi h books aliena es him om he illage, pa alleling Ocol’s
a e. Bo h cha ac e s, become p oduc s o colonial indoc ina ion, blindly imi a ing Wes e n
alues wi hou any c i ical unde s anding. Thei educa ion weakens and dis o s hei iden i y,
educing hem o ca ica u es who ha e los hei sense o sel in he pu sui o Wes e n
alida ion.
The in luence o Ch is iani y in pos colonial A ica is deeply ied o he colonial agenda, as i
was o en used o unde mine indigenous belie s and en o ce Wes e n dominance and e hos
(I ele and Gikandi). Ch is iani y became an appa a us o coloniza ion o he B i ish. The
colonize s denounced na i e adi ions and cul u es, using Eu opean languages o indoc ina e
he A ican masses wi h Ch is ian eachings (Amadiume). Ocol and Lakunle a e an ou look o
his en o cemen as hey emb ace Ch is iani y no as a pe sonal ai h bu as a symbol o
mode ni y and wes e n a ilia ion. Ocol, despi e being deeply eligious, ejec s adi ional
A ican spi i uali y as “ oolish supe s i ions” (p’Bi ek 95), demons a ing he in e nalized belie
ha A ican adi ions a e in e io . He ac i ely des oys symbols o his he i age, smashing his
a he ’s sac ed d um and chasing away he di ine p ies (p’Bi ek 95), ye he unques ioningly
wea s a c uci ix and upholds Ch is ian i uals (p’Bi ek 96), ailing o see he commonali ies
be ween he wo ai hs.
In he same way, Lakunle, a sel -p oclaimed ‘mode n’ man, condemns all adi ional
eligious belie s, aligning himsel wi h Ch is ian ideals o dis ance himsel om he so called
‘backwa dness’. His d ama ic decla a ion o Sidi, “Swea you will be my wi e and I will s and
agains ea h, hea en, and he nine hells” (Soyinka 8) es ablishes how he emb aces a
wes e nized wo ld iew while dis ega ding indigenous cosmology. In bo h cases, Ch is iani y
becomes a ool o cul u al aliena ion, ein o cing Bhabha’s no ion o mimic y, whe e he
colonized subjec ejec s hei own he i age o gain accep ance in he Wes e n o de (Innes).
Howe e , as pos colonial easoning e ol ed, many A ican Ch is ians ha e begun o eassess
missiona y eachings, ecognizing and in eg a ing indigeneous spi i uali y which Ocol and
Lakunle ail o conside (Adamo).
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Mimic y as a Sou ce o Con lic
Lakunle in The Lion and he Jewel is po ayed as someone whose Wes e n sensibili ies a e
clumsy and exagge a ed he eby exposing he absu di y o colonial in luence. He idicules
adi ional cus oms, pa icula ly he b ide p ice, calling i a "sa age cus om" and " he e y hing
ha keeps he na ion backwa d", ye he emains an ou side in his own socie y (Soyinka 8).
When he condemns Ba oka’s polygamous li es yle and e usal o mode nize, claiming ha he is
a man o “decay”, i is clea ha his Wes e n ideals do no g an him au ho i y, no do hey ea n
him espec . In he end, he u ns in o a igu e o idicule o Sidi, who sees h ough his shallow
unde s anding o p og ess. His mimic y des abilizes his iden i y, lea ing him unable o asse
any iable in luence.
In Song o Ocol, Ocol akes mimic y e en u he , he does no me ely imi a e wes e n cul u e,
bu ac i ely seeks o e ase his own pas . He ejec s A ican adi ions as p imi i e and aligns
himsel wi h Wes e n no ions o mode ni y, belie ing ha ue p og ess lies in abandoning his
people’s cus oms. His p oclama ion, “Smash all hese mi o s / Tha I may no see / The
blackness o he pas ” (p’Bi ek 132), e eals his in e nal con lic . Howe e , a he han ele a ing
him, his mimic y aliena es him om his own people. Lawino mocks his obsession wi h Eu opean
ideals, accusing him o becoming “a dog o he whi e man” (p’Bi ek 118), exposing how his
imi a ion does no b ing ue ans o ma ion, bu ins ead highligh s his disconnec ion om bo h
A ican and Wes e n iden i ies.
Toge he , Lakunle and Ocol embody Bhabha’s no ion ha mimic y is ne e comple e. Thei
ailed a emp s a Wes e niza ion c ea e ins abili y a he han accep ance. Lakunle emains an
objec o mocke y, while Ocol’s ejec ion o his he i age isola es him poli ically and socially.
Thei expe iences illus a e how mimic y does no ein o ce colonial au ho i y bu exposes i s
con adic ions.
This ins abili y o iden i y is u he illus a ed in Bhabha’s a gumen ha na ional iden i y
is ne e ixed, as i is caugh be ween a my hologized pas and an e ol ing p esen (Bhabha).
Ocol and Lakunle, in hei a emp s o emb ace mode ni y, embody his con adic ion,
s uggling be ween ejec ion o hei he i age and he inabili y o ully assimila e in o Wes e n
ideals. Lakunle’s condescending ema k o Sidi, "wha is a jewel o pigs?" (Soyinka 5), e eals
his deep-sea ed belie in he in e io i y o his own people. His use o colonial he o ic, e e ing
o his communi y as "sa ages," demons a es his in e nalized supe io i y complex, ye he
emains an objec o idicule himsel . His adop ion o Wes e n speech and manne s isola es him
om he socie y, showing how mimic y c ea es an uns able and con es ed iden i y a he han
ue ans o ma ion.
Ocol oo akes mimic y o an ex eme, no only ejec ing adi ion bu ac i ely wishing o
e ase his pas . His despe a e plea “Why was I bo n Black?” (p’Bi ek 129), exempli ies he sel -
loa hing ha comes om colonial indoc ina ion. He sees A icanness as a bu den a he han a
sou ce o iden i y, a emp ing o se e all ies o his he i age by smashing “all hese mi o s”
ha e lec his pas (p’Bi ek 132). Ocol’s ejec ion o adi ion lea es him agmen ed, aliena ed,
and poli ically des uc i e. This cha ac e is ic illus a es how he and his allies di ide he na ion
in he name o mode ni y a he han leading i o wa d.
In bo h hei cases, cul u e becomes an impo an c i e ion o mimic y. As Bhabha sugges s,
“cul u e is always a ac o in con lic , whe he i plays a cen al ole o in luences i sub ly and
gen ly” (Bhabha). Unlike he colonize s, cul u e becomes a he a weak sou ce o powe o bo h
Lakunle and Ocol. The imi a ion o he Wes e n cul u e does no gi e any subs an ial powe o
ei he o he colonized subjec s as mimic y has a sub e si e na u e o i which unse les colonial
au ho i y.
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While bo h Ocol and Lakunle embody he ambi alence o cul u al mimic y, hei app oach
o asse ing hei Wes e nized iden i ies di e . Ocol is agg essi e and dismissi e, ejec ing
Lawino ou igh and hu ling insul s ins ead o engaging in dialogue. His desc ip ion o he wo ds
as “po k gone ancid” and “honeyed bloodied sou milk” (p’Bi ek 95) e lec s his comple e
con emp o indigenous adi ions, seeing hem as bo h seduc i e and epulsi e. He does no
a emp o eason wi h Lawino, bu a he silences he , embodying he colonial eli e's disdain
o he “uneduca ed masses.” In con as , Lakunle, despi e his laws, s ill engages in deba e, as
seen in his con e sa ions wi h Sidi h oughou he play. He may mock adi ion, bu he does no
ou igh ejec discussion in he way Ocol does.
Bo h cha ac e s exempli y Homi Bhabha’s concep o hyb idi y, exis ing in an ambi alen
space whe e hey imi a e Wes e n alues bu ne e ully belong (Ashc o e al.136). Ocol’s
agg essi e ejec ion o his he i age and Lakunle’s nai e adop ion o Wes e n ideals bo h c ea e
cul u al ension a he han esolu ion, showing how colonial in luence dis up s iden i y a he
han econs uc ing i . Ins ead o achie ing mode ni y, hey a e apped in a liminal s a e,
nei he ully A ican no ully Wes e n, ein o cing Bhabha’s idea ha mimic y is always “almos
he same, bu no qui e.” (89).
Conclusion
In he wo ks Song o Lawino & Song o Ocol and The Lion and he Jewel, Lakunle and Ocol
embody he li e a e A ican you h who we e caugh be ween Wes e niza ion and cul u al
aliena ion eshly a e he conques o colonial powe s. Bo h cha ac e s mimic hei opp esso s,
adop ing Wes e n cul u e and ideals owing o hei belie ha mode niza ion equa es o
supe io i y. Howe e , Lakunle’s misguided imi a ion makes him a subjec o idicule, while
Ocol’s ou igh ejec ion o his he i age lea es him disconnec ed om his oo s.
They ne e ques ion he eason o hei psychological a ini y owa ds he colonize ’s
ma e ial and cul u al cha ac e is ics and con o m o he ideals o he Wes . Thei expe iences
e lec Bhabha’s concep o hyb idi y, whe e mimic y c ea es ension a he han ue
assimila ion. F an z Fanon’s idea o in e nalized ‘epide maliza ion’ is also e iden ia Ocol’s sel -
loa hing and desi e o e ase his pas , as well as in Lakunle’s blind denial o indigenous cus oms.
Ul ima ely, hei ailu e o econcile adi ion wi h mode ni y unde sco es he deep and
hegemonic impac o colonial in luence on A ican iden i y, especially among he educa ed.
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