INTRODUCTION
Movie Name- IGODO
Director: Andy Amenechi , Don Pedro Obaseki
Major Cast: Pete
Edochie, Nobert Young, Sam Dede, Charles Okafor, Obi Madubogwu, Chidi Mokeme,
Prince James Uche, Ignis Ekwe, Joe Layode, etc.
Release Date: (Nigeria) 1999.
Settings: Nigeria
Stories make histories, and
histories, stories --------- Ebi Robert
OVERVIEW
I take my time, some good
days, to search for some things that seem hidden; not that they are, but that they
seem to be. I have watched Nigerian home videos directed by some Nigerian Directors,
but each time I sit close to the TV, I either end up sighing or leaving; nothing
other than the fact that I get thwarted at what I see. Quite captivating
posters and excellent actors every now and then, and yet most productions end
with no so good an ending. It’s simple; most of the producers/directors work
for the money, not the audience. Yet in the mist of all these, I have my
reserves. There are one or two movies I have marked out, because of their
distinctive qualities. IGODO (The land of the living dead) is one of such.
Acted in the late 20th century, it tells the story of seven great
heroes who ventured into the evil forest for the knife of Amadioha. When this movie
was produced then, the Nigerian movie industries never had the best of cameras
and so the graphics and screen play in all may not be as good as many movies
are today. But there are a lot invested in that movie that perhaps even the
story tellers, script writers and of course the movie producers may not have
taken into consideration. Movies are not only meant to be watched, they are to
be spoken about. And so after these many years, I have decided to cast my mind
back to this great movie to tell some facts about it, rewrite it in another
way, so that we can appreciate it in different ways. I am sure, that by the
time I am done, even the crew will see IGODO in a different light. The REVIEW
will come out in episodes. This is because there are so many aspect of the
movie to be looked at, and I do not think that all these should be done in one
write. For this episode, we will be looking at ‘STORY IN A STORY”.
STORY IN A STORY
Imu-Igodo (forgive me for
any misspelling) is a land of death. People keep on dying day by day. The
people are worried about the cause of death and so there is a need to know why.
The King of the land invites the Chief Priest to the palace to explain to them
the cause of death. And yet in the mist of the worries, he says: ‘The gods are
silent… Only one man knows it all’.
One would
wonder why the silence of the gods reveals that ‘one man’. The king demands the
one man by name IGODO who lives in the forest. No one knows why he is that one
man who could tell the cause of death. The people on the command of the King
venture into the forest and bring IGODO, a very old man who then tells of the
story of what happened in their land long time ago.
Igodo also
recaps how similar death occurred in their own land which he says was once
named ‘Umuoka’. People died in their numbers and so there was need to also know
the cause of death, and so the Chief Priest at that time was brought to reveal
the cause of death. Now the Chief priest also had to relate them back to time;
a story of the death of the son of Amadioha and the curse that followed after
his death.
Now here
begins our very theme. Just like the device of ‘Play in a Play’, here we have
‘Story in a Story’. Yes, the story by the Chief Priest in the Story of IGODO; I
mean from the lips of the character himself. So let us see how this literary
technique was judiciously used in this movie.
FIRST
STORY
IGODO: Long
long time ago, Imu-igodo was known as Umoka, the land of the living dead. This
is the place where this tale of pain begins. Fifty seasons ago, the gods
visited this village with a harvest of death. The old buried the young, as they
died in their numbers. Umoka was in disarray. No one knows what to do. People
sought answers and they went to their father who was one of the greatest Dibia
that worked at that time. From the mountains, from the high mountains up, to
the banks of the great river, he told the tale that heralded the beginning of
our pains and more deaths…
(And so at
this point in the movie, we see a break of flash back and so begin our second
story).
SECOND STORY
SECOND STORY
DIBIA: Igwe, across the mountains of Arochukwu, on the hills where Amadioha
sits, a child was born and was named Ihekumele (forgive me for any misspell)
meaning “a great thing has happened to us”. Like all such children, he was
dedicated to Amadioha, the god of thunder and he grew up as a son of thunder. Ihekumele
was a gift of the gods, Amadioha’s messenger, if you like, destined one day to
be the Igwe (King) of the land. Some people liked him, but some others said: How
could such a -(Can’t pick the words, but sure an insult), become the Igwe of
the land? NO, they couldn’t take it. So one day, Ihekumele became the victim of
man’s conspiracy.
(Flash back- Here, the movie
reveals how some men visits the home of Ihekumele and then kill his mother and father)
DIBIA continues his story:
He ran and
ran until his legs could carry him no further. A son of Umuoka, a very great
hunter by name Ezeoke found him at the edge of the evil forest. Ezeoke the
gentle hearted hunter, killer of elephants, had no son. So he took him in as
his own son and soon he became a citizen of Umuoka. He grew up into a man, and
a very wealthy one at that. Not long after, Ezeoke the one he looked upon as
his father, died and Ihekumele, cried and cried and cried, inconsolably. Quite
naturally, his wealth attracted plenty of jealousy and a conspiracy was
impregnated against him from within. So they said he must be stopped. ‘O’ yes
he had to be stopped’. So a group of seven plotted. One day, the Igwe’s staff
of office was hidden by the conspirators and they told the Igwe that the staff
had been stolen. So the Igwe decreed that anyone caught with that staff must be
buried alive up to the neck and left at the mercy of the elements.
(Flashback – Sure, who else? The
conspirators hide the staff in Ihekumele’s house. So he is arrested.)
DIBIA continues...
And as
they led him away to the palace, death was certain. After passing sentence on Ihekumele
he was humiliated and led to the forest. They buried him alive for a crime he
did not commit; a deed done by seven, and endorsed by an entire community. The
entire town bore the guilt. The heavens wept, even the sun struggled with the
moon for a place in the sky, as Amadioha wept for his son. …
WRITER’S COMMENT
The movie
did not only employ this beautiful dramatic device of ‘STORY IN A STORY’, the
movie goes as far as using FLASHBACK in between the narrative to bring to the
fore, the dramatic movement. This shows one beautiful thing about African
Literature, the use of Tales to pass down events upon events to the children. More
likely, a folktale, but this is different. But there are two things to learn
from the story:
THE GREY SPOKE:
Quite
significantly is the fact that the stories were not just told, but they were
told by two Old men full of wisdom. Igodo the first story teller in the movie
had seen it all. IGODO did not just experience the horrible adventure. IGODO
revealed must of the wonders in the journey to the land of the living dead as
will be seen in oncoming episodes.
Another
Grey who spoke is DIBIA. DIBIA is a man of wisdom as well. Beyond being the
chief priest and mouth piece of the gods, DIBIA kept in the records, the
history of the land. If not for DIBIA, the people of Umuoka wouldn’t have
gotten to know about the story of the death of Amadioha’s son. The Wisdom of
DIBIA will be spoken extensively in an oncoming episode as well.
THE GREY LISTENED
You will
get to understand if you watch carefully that the listeners of the both stories
are made of the ‘King and elders in Council”. Wow, some wisdom is not known to
the kings and elders. So they had to learn from the wisdom of some to tell
others, perhaps their own children. Sure, the grey had to listen. But how did
the community get to be doomed with the mysterious deaths? That we shall see in
the next episode titled ‘THE LAMENTATION’.
Watch out for
THE LAMENTATION