CAST
King
Chiefs
-Mazi
-Eze
-Mazuka
-Chaka
Ijeoma- mazi’s wife
Chidi- prince
Azuka- prince
Bodyguards
-Ikenchi
-Chika
-Chukwudi
-Iduma
-Chinedu
-Ugo
Ike – hired assassin
Igbudu- high priest
ACT I SCENE I
[This
tragedy is a wedlock of the gods which finds its root in the ritual of death and
mourning.
King: I am old
and dying, I will soon join my ancestors. Who will seat on this throne,
Represent me & my fathers’ on this throne? I will ask you one more
question, which of my son do you think should succeed me? I believe my son
Azuka is better in character than my first son Chidi. I also called you here to
seek your advice.
Mazi: [one of the chiefs, he coughs] your majesty, long may you reign. You should crown your
son Chidi as is our tradition and custom.
King: I am not
concerned about who is first or second, remember, my first wife gave birth to
Chidi few seconds before my second wife gave birth to Azuka. So I will call
them twin, but I want who will seat on this throne and rule my people in a good
and wise way, a way of kings, my chiefs, a way of good kings.
Eze: [also one of the chiefs] your wish is our
command your majesty [other chiefs look
at him with disdain]
King: you have
spoken well my chiefs may the gods guide and protect you all.
Chiefs: ise [every one leaves stage & goes home]
[In mazi’s home]
Mazi: Ijeoma!
Ijeoma, where is this woman?
Ijeoma: [mazi’s wife] yes you called me mazi
Mazi: How dare
you call me by name? so, you don’t have respect for your husband again eh!
Ijeoma: Sorry
Nnayi [Nnayi an Igbo word meaning husband]
Mazi: Ijeoma
my wife, our king has decided to make his second son king after him. This could
mean war in our community, I hope peace reigns
Ijeoma: That
is his wish and nobody can stop him.
Mazi: Let us
hope that nothing goes wrong
[Mazi and his wife leaves stage and light
fades]
* * * * * * *
ACT I SCENE II
[Some years later, the queen died leaving the
king and the children behind. They did the burial ceremony and the funeral
rites, a few days later, in the palace]
Chidi: summon my brother [he shouted at his body guard]
Body guard: yes your majesty, as you wish, it will
be done.
[runs off
to carry out prince Chidi’s order]
Azuka: you called me brother
Chidi: yes I called you here, you conspired with
our father [the king] to make you
king after him. I will show you that I am the first son; you will not steal my
birth right.
Azuka: but my brother, I have no evil against you,
it was father’s wish, I did not tell him anything about you, my brother. I know
your intension is to be king, it is your right, go ahead and claim it [pause], it is yours I have nothing
against you. [they both leave stage and
light fades].
* * * * * * *
ACT I SCENE III
[Two years later, the king had grown weary,
and the crown too heavy. So he called Azuka and blessed him and later called
his chiefs and told them to make Azuka king, soon after, he died. The people did
his burial ceremony, but the chiefs, except chief Eze, conspired and made Chidi
king.]
King Chidi:
call me Ikenchi
[the servant ran off to find the guard]
Ikenchi: yes
your majesty [bowing low]
King Chidi:
take all the other guards, go round the village, into all the farms, and take all the ripe harvest in them and
bring to my palace. Announce that every member of this community must buy food
from now onwards, and any maiden at the stream today must be brought here as a
wife for me.
[that day,
twenty-two (22) maidens were brought as a wives for the king]
King Chidi:
thank you very much for those beautiful girls Ikenchi, you have done a great
Job
Chief Azuka:
Your majesty, long may you reign, you have captured more maidens to satisfy
your bed, but my daughter is one of those captured, please let her be released
King Chidi:
Are you not happy?
Chief Azuka: I
am happy, indeed I am, but my daughter is engaged to Azuka your brother.
King Chidi:
ikenchi, take chief Azuka’s daughter to my brother’s house. My chief, your wish
has been granted.[Ikenchi leaves stage]
Chief Azuka:
Thanks your majesty [bowing]
[Soon suffering and conflict began to rise,
the community was weak and the neigbouring communities saw the weakness as an
opportunity to strike a blow.
Two weeks later, there was a war between the Zuma,
Chidi’s Kingdom and the Zinba kingdom. ]
[on their way
to the battle field]
King Chidi: we
must win this war.
Abram: your
majesty we are going the wrong direction, this is not our strategy for war, we
might be taken captive or surrounded and killed.
King Chidi:
Blow the trumpet and order the army to turn around. [Thinking, King Chidi realized how ineffective he has been so far, but
what did he care, he was the king].
Ikenchi: Look
your majesty the army of the Zimba land are coming
King Chidi:
ATTACK!!!
[the foot steps of many foot soldiers are heard]
Ikenchi: Your
majesty their king is not with them, you must return to the land.
King Chidi:
No, I must fight to save my people, keep moving, ATTACK!!!
[King Chidi and his men won, they leave the
stage and light fades]
* * * * * * *
ACT II SCENE I
[Eleven years
later, there was famine in the kingdom. The king suffered the people more than
ever before. Then gods of the land were angry and sent their servant to warn
the king].
Igbudu: The
gods ask you a question king Chidi. Once upon a time there lived a man who
suffered his household enslaved them but ate and grew fat, what do you think is
supposed to happen to this man.
King Chidi: he
deserves to die.
Igbudu: the
gods have passed judgment on you, you will die
King Chidi: what
offence have I committed to die?
Igbudu: you
have enslaved the people of this land, the gods are angry
King Chidi: please
forgive me. Ask the gods to forgive me
[King Chidi called in the guards ordering them
to release some of the foods]
Igbudu: You
will no longer die, but beware and go in peace.
King Chidi:
Thank you Igbudu and go in peace too
[Igbudu walks away]
[A week later]
King Chidi:
What have we done [pauses] we have
released almost all the food. I am not happy about this. Go, bring back all the
food
Ikenchi: Yes
your majesty
[Ikenchi
leaves stage to carry out the kings orders]
[the
gods were angry, so they stopped rain
and the crops died]
King Chidi: what
sort of nonsense is this?, Ikenchi
Ikenchi: yes
your majesty [bowing to him]
King Chidi: call
me Igbudu the servant of the gods
Abram: yes
your majesty [leaves stage out to carry
out the order]
King Chidi: i
will deal with Igbudu [anger in his face]
Chief Azuka: be
calm your majesty, Igbudu will have answers, long may you reign
Chief Mazuka: How can he calm down when the gods is
suffering the land?
Chief Chaka: [A war hero] How can he calm down [pointing at Mazuka]
Chief Ekam:
Shut up, you children of yesterday. Why won’t you allow the king to be calm
[the chiefs continue to argue]
[light fade
then]
King Chidi: I
remain calm until Igbudu is here
[Igbudu arrives]
Igbudu: You
called me your majesty
King Chidi: there’s
no rain, the crops are dying, people are suffering, and we need answers from
the gods
Igbudu: your
majesty, long may you reign, but the answer you seek is written on the palms of
your hands, you are the cause
King Chidi:
how?
Igbudu: the
throne is not yours to keep, the gods have spoken
[the chiefs look at themselves in alarm]
King Chidi:
the throne is mine to keep, it is mine by right as the first born child
[king Chidi replied calmly]
Igbudu: your
brother is supposed to seat on that throne not you [chiefs appear to be shocked at the words of the high priest]
Chief Marzula:
Igbudu, how dare you talk to my king like that?
[Standing from
his seat and pointing an accusing finger at the high priest]
Igbudu: be
quite, you rebel chiefs
King Chidi:
you have come to my palace on my invitation; you insult me, insult my throne,
and insult my chiefs. Don’t you know you’re still my subject? , guard!!!
Ikenchi: Yes
your majesty
King Chidi: take
this fool called a high priest out of my sight
Ikenchi: yes
your majesty [Ikenchi approached the high
priest to carry out the kings order but #lights fade, #lights on, the priest
had vanished]
ACT II SCENE II
[Back at the palace]
King Chidi: how can
the gods decide for me? [Pause] Ikenchi
Ikenchi: yes your
majesty [Bowing to him]
King Chidi: take your
men, bring me the gods
Abram: [afraid and dared to question the king]
but why the gods my lord
King Chidi: don’t ask
me stupid questions. Go and get the gods
Ikenchi: yes your majesty
[lights fade as Ikenchi leaves the stage]
[on their way, the guards discuss among themselves]
Chika: i am afraid
the gods will strike us
Chukwudi: i fear,
that is the truth [pause] we better
go back if we love our lives
Iduma: if we carry
out the commandment of the king the gods may punish the land more
Chinedu: if the gods
get angry and punish the land and the people find out we will be offered as
sacrifice to the gods.
Okoyi: and if my
parents finds out I am among the people that went to carry the gods, they will
disown me, and then what shall I do disown them?
Ikenchi: but that is
the wish of the king, no one can stop him [not
knowing that chief Eze was in his farm when they were talking about the gods,
he also had them talk about the kings wish, and he heard everything since they
were standing right in front of his farm land]
Chief Eze: [talking to himself] so the king can to
such a thing
[Ikenchi and the other guards bought a wooden god just like the god of
the land and took it king Eze, he destroyed the fake god and light fades]
* * * *
ACT II SCEN III
[a few years later king Chidi heard that his brother is still alive, he
had asked Ikenchi to kill prince
Azuka]
King Chidi:[soliloquizing] I destroyed the gods, how
stupid I’ve been, I better steal the
gods of the nearby village if I need the support of the villagers, guard!!!.
Ikenchi: yes your
majesty.
King Chidi: take your
men, go to Keku village. Take their gods. Go in peace.
Ikenchi: yes your
majesty. But your majesty, why don’t you call Igbudu and ask him of the gods,
the gods may be safe….
King Chidi: thanks
for the advice. It is a good one.
Ikenchi: thank you
your majesty [bowing]
King Chidi: You can
go
Ikenchi:yes your
majesty
[Two days later the
king called for Igbudu and asked him a question].
King Chidi: Igbudu,
was the gods in his box when it was carried?
Igbudu: who told you
that the gods was carried away? He is angered by your actions.
King Chidi: you may
leave [light fades]
* * * * * *
ACT III SCENE
I
[life
continues through every thick and thin, through the great mists and the
struggle. The people of Zuma continued to endure until one very good afternoon]
Ikenchi: your majesty
you sent for me
King Chidi: where did
you rest when I sent you to get me the gods? [Playing on Ikenchi’s intelligence]
Ikenchi: [thinking]
we stood in the front of the farm land of chief Eze
King Chidi: you
rested [pause] when I sent you on a
mission? [Pause] I told you not to
let anybody see you, yet you stood and started discussing about it. Now chief
Eze knows about this, and I have to plead with him even if he is below me, all
because of your stupidity.
Ikenchi: but your
majesty you cannot beg a chief my lord
King Chidi: you are
the cause of this entire problem, Vuga!!
Vuga: yes your
majesty [bowing]
King Chidi: bring chief
Eze to me
Vuga: yes your
majesty
[light fades as Vuga
leaves stage]
Chief Eze: you called
me, your majesty
King Chidi: yes
Chief Eze: what for
my king
King Chidi: to ask you
not to tell anyone about what you heard in your farm about the gods
Chief Eze: I will not
tell anybody my king
King Chidi: so be it
[light fades as chief Eze leaves stage)
* * * * *
ACT III SCENE II
[King
Chidi was not satisfied with his meeting with chief Eze so, he sent someone,
from another village to kill chief Eze]
[At
chief Eze’s compound]
Ike: my name is Ike, do you know a man
called Chief Eze?
[Ike
was with a machete and Chief Eze understood that something was wrong, has the
king sent someone to kill him?]
Chief Eze: [thinking of what to say]
I am Imako [he lied] the son of the king of Zika [not knowing that Ike was from
the village; Zika] who sent you to kill my friend Chief Eze?
Ike: [shaking] I am sorry my prince I was sent by king Chidi
Chief Eze: [shocked he never thought the king was really the person who sent Ike]
now leave this place and never come back
Ike: yes my prince [in great horror]
[Now, prince Imako was know by his
villagers never to have been seen, since the tradition of his people prevented
from meeting face to face with his father until his father’s death- two
captains cannot rule a ship]
[Later
in the place]
King Chidi: is the job done [silence] you are not saying anything
Ike: no your majesty when I got there
I saw a man who calls himself son of king Chacha of Zika, but he looked like
the man you described to me
but if he is really chief Eze I will
go back and look for him myself and if I find him I will kill him myself I
promise you my lord, I swear with my blood.
King Chidi: so be it [king Chidi was so shocked at the stupidity
displayed before him that he couldn’t express
his anger]
[Ike
went to look for the prince or chief Eze but couldn’t find him or both of them]
[Later
in the palace]
King Chidi: where is he?
Ike: I couldn’t find him your majesty
Guards: should we take him away and
kill him?
King Chidi: yes, take him away and
kill him in the forest without mercy
Ike: please your majesty, have mercy
King Chidi: I do not have mercy
[Ike
was taking to the forest and killed]
[light
fades]
* * * * * *
ACT III SCENE III
[Chief
Eze was so angry that he decided to reveal the secret, so he went, first went
to the high priest before they summoned the entire community through the town
crier and came to the palace]
Igbudu: my people you are welcome
today to the delivering of our land, let us welcome chief Eze to come and say something
that will tingle in ears
Chief Eze: my people our king is no
king, this king has done a lot to this community [he then went ahead to narrate the full story]
Igbudu: what shall we do to this
wicked, cruel and selfish king of our land?
King Chidi: I am the true king of this
land every man and woman in this land crowned me
Chief Eze: I did not
High Priest: Ugo
Ugo: yes my lord, the great eye of the
gods
Igbudu: summon Azuka
Ugo: yes my lord
[Light fades]
Azuka: you called me eyes of the gods
Igbudu: you have been crowned by the
people as the king
[Azuka was made king, and he forgave
his brother]
Azuka: this is our family tie
[And they all lived happy ever after].
Written by Shadrach Onyarin.
No copy of this publication should be
reproduced without the writers written permission.
For correction and/or reviews please leave a comment, thank you.
PHOTO CREDIT-
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://diglib1.amnh.org/images/photos/ref1024/b111901b.jpg&imgrefurl=https://africa.uima.uiowa.edu/topic-essays/show/30?start%3D13&h=729&w=1024&tbnid=DKfujhUiB4DxiM:&docid=ZG8c9QWkzaixlM&ei=hO2zVvrxEeafyAONhIbADg&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwj6w9_Xr9_KAhXmD3IKHQ2CAegQMwh3KFMwUw
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