Performance as Address: The Interface between Folks and the Rulers

Abstract

Indigenous people had a peculiar way of measuring the pulse of the society before the advent of writing. Equally tending towards what could be considered the gadfly roles of the media in modern society is the prevalent of the same measure through which authorities could be put in check by the folks when the machinery of governance seems to be derailing. A demonstration outside the home of the personality may reveal his excesses during the passing years. Through such performances such as Oramfe and Igbaghare both in Ondo State, the voiceless could air their views and criticise the machinery of governance without any fear of reprisal attack from the aggrieved. This paper considers such a critical role deployed by the folks at the arena to be instrumental in the maintenance of cohesion and filial bond over the years.

Keywords: orality, interface, sanction, performance, folk, institutions, traditional, address.