Title:   CULTURAL IDENTITY AND ‘WOMANITY’: MYTHIC SEQUENCE AND RITUAL PATTERNS IN FEMI OSOFISAN’S WOMEN OF OWU

Abstract
This paper presents the relationship between an ethnic group and the traditional myths and
rituals deployed by the group, particularly women, in their daily living. In every society, myth and
ritual are embedded in its identity as a group. Owu as an indigenous Yoruba community shows the
diversity in the worship of gods and goddesses. The myths behind these gods are very much
evident in their culture, mode of worship, festivals and history. This goes in line with what
Olaniyan (2007) says about festivals and rituals. For him, one major pattern of the “indigenous
cultural and artistic institution is the festival, organized around certain deities or spirits, or to mark
generational transitions or the passage of the seasons... Each festival dramatizes a story or
myth...” (355). Some of the underlying myths to be explored in this study are the myth of origin,
the myth of the femme fatale and myth of crime and punishment. The ritualistic pattern shall be
explored based on its relationship with their religion or mode of worship. The present study would
take the mythic/ archetypal criticism as its theoretical framework, which is the work of every
aesthetic object; the ability to hold perception and “give rise to thought” (Ricoeur 1967). This study
engages critical thoughts from the perspective of recurrent myth and ritual patterns in Femi
Osofisan’s dramatic text, Women of Owu.
Keywords:Myth, Ritual, Archetype, Mythic sequence, Ritual patterns

Citations:

Publication Date: 2021-07-09