AN EXAMINATION OF PRESERVATION OF CULTURE IN WOLE SOYINKA'S DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN
Abstract
This study explores the theme of cultural preservation in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman, a play that captures the tension between Yoruba indigenous traditions and British colonial imposition. The problem addressed is the cultural alienation and disconnection from heritage caused by colonial interference, modernisation, and globalisation, which threaten Nigeria’s diverse cultural identity. The study is inched on cultural theory and postcolonial theory using a qualitative methodology. Through close reading of characters, rituals, and dialogue, the research examines how Soyinka dramatizes the interruption of Yoruba cosmology by colonial power, especially in Elesin’s failed ritual and Olunde’s sacrificial act.The study concludes that Death and the King’s Horseman functions as both a literary masterpiece and a sociological reflection on the struggle for cultural preservation in postcolonial Nigeria. Thus, this study recommends the active preservation of Nigeria’s cultural heritage through community involvement, educational integration, inclusive research, and the use of modern platforms to safeguard traditions against colonial legacies, modernisation, and globalisation.
Keywords: Cultural preservation;Cultural studies; Yoruba tradition; colonial
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