Death and the kings horseman-culture,customs,fearlessness of women and the value of human sacrifice for the greater good in the play.
... living inhabit the world as we know it and when they die they join the ancestors in the spirit world: and the ancestors inhabit the spirit world, and with regular offerings from the living are able to interact with the living world and offer guidance and help. So it stands to reason that to produce children is a very important part of the Yoruba culture, for without children, the ancestors will run out of living beings to honour them and they in effect would die. Wole Soyinka was of Yoruban stock and a great deal of his writing is based upon the cultural beliefs of the Yoruba people. One such piece of work is "Death and the Kings Horseman" which is as wonderful example of post-colonial theatre as can be found. The play centres on Elesin Oba, the kings horseman, who since birth has had a single destiny, which is; when the king dies, he must commit a ritual ceremonial suicide, in order to be able to lead the king through the passage into the afterlife and into the world of the ancestors. [It must be understood at this point that earthly rank and honour is reflected in the afterlife, a king or a great warrior would be a very powerful ancestor, whereas dishonour would bring scorn and contempt in the after life] The horseman's destiny is interrupted, when Pilking's [a British colonial officer] intervenes. The intervention of the colonial officer highlights the gulf between the values of the two races and also throws up a scenario, which Soyinka uses t...