Death and the King's Horseman

Wole Soyinka · b. 1934 · Nigeria

Why it matters

A colonial official's interference derails the ritual suicide meant to accompany a dead Yoruba king into the afterlife, with catastrophic consequences for both cultures. Soyinka's most performed and studied play, built from a real 1946 incident.

At a glance

Dense Yoruba ritual language and cosmology require unpacking alongside the colonial plot.