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ABSTRACT
This essay deals with an aspect of polygamous marriage in Ahmed Yerima's play The Sisters. A careful reading of the play shows that Yerima is interested in depicting the 'inside' and 'outside' wives marriage system in Africa. The study shows that the concubinate is fundamental to the play, being, as it is, the subject of dialogue. Above all, it is shown that, through theatrical techniques, Yerima seeks to approve this kind of marriage system, inasmuch as it is part of the African cultural heritage.
Introduction
Ahmed Yerima was born in 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria to Alhaji and Hajiya T.M. Yerima. He attended St Bernadette private school and Baptist Academy, both in Lagos. He proceeded to the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, where he acquired a Certificate in Drama and a BA (Hons) degree in drama and literature. He also attended the Open University. In 1986 became a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and in 1991 was appointed Deputy Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria. From 2006 onwards he was for some years the Director General of the National Theatre, whose National Troupe he led to a performance at the world intellectual property organization in Geneva. He has also taken the drama troupe to various parts of the world such as China, the USA, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany, and other South American and European countries. Yerima is a prolific playwright who has written and directed such works as the Silent Gods (1996), The Bishop and the Soul with Thank You Lord (1996), Kaffirs 's Last Game (1998), and The Sisters (2001). Others include Taflda (2001), Dry Leaves on Ukantree (2001), and Yemoja (2002).
Yerima's plays cover eveiy possible description: historical, religious, political, mythical, and satiric. The present study will be confined to The Sisters, because of its focus on the African traditional system of 'inside' and 'outside' wives. We shall see that the issue of concubinary relationship is too striking and insistently present to be considered merely incidental in the play. The concubinary system of marriage crops up in almost every dialogue, with that cumulative and repetitive method so characteristic of the playwright.
Theoretical Background: Inside and 'Outside' Wives
Wambui wa Karanja, in a detailed study of changing perceptions...