Fagunwa and the Regeneration of the Òrúnmìlà Muse

Author

Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal University, OyeEkiti

Abstract

This article builds on the concept of regeneration or renaissance from the perspective of Yorùbá ancient history and observes that Daniel Orowale Olorunfemi Fagunwa, author of several Yoruba language novels, was affected in many ways by the prevailing Christian faith in Okeigbo, his birthplace. The paper argues that many characters and events in Fagunwa stories are sourced in Ifá orature. The research presents selected characters in Fagunwa’s stories; situate them in their original form in Ifá oral corpus and asserts that since Ifá narrative predates Fagunwa’s writing, Òrúnmìlà the legendary author of Ifá could be regarded as the muse from which Fagunwa draws his inspirations. The paper, while commending the timely, patriotic and culture conscious work of Fagunwa, contends that his works have laid a concrete foundation for a positive valuation of Africa’s indigenous lore towards development in contemporary era.

Keywords