Respuesta :
Theatre is one of the cultural elements that best exemplifies Africa. It is at the crossroads of the sacred and the profane, orality and the written word, of inner roots and external adjuncts. The product of an accretion of diverse forms, it is rooted in Africa’s traditions while, at the same time, it continues to assimilate foreign theatrical traditions, especially those of Europe.
Long before cultural contact with Europe, Black Africa had its very own personal forms of dramatic expression. But, in order to understand them, one must banish all notions of theatre as it is thought of in the Euro-American context—something dependent on text, on halls, on technology and on box-office returns. In this sense, African tradition has not handed down to us a specific theatrical system; rather, it has handed down to us a series of functions, which themselves were modified under colonial influence and which gradually moved away from their roots, though they were never eliminated completely.
The term theatre itself has diverse, complex, contradictory and even antagonistic connotations in Africa. As well, the study of dramatic phenomena involves diverse approaches. Even in the west, the word “theatre” often denotes very different realities, and what is meant by theatre in one country is not always the same as what is meant in others. It would be unwise, therefore, to expect to find in ancient Black Africa types of theatrical performances analogous to European forms (although connections to ancient Greek drama are regularly noted by researchers). Rather than referring to the cultural traditions of Europe then, it seems more sensible to look at the evolution of African culture from within its own unique dynamic and from within its own history.
