Dialectics of Burial and Teritoriality in Barclays Ayakoroma’s A Matter of Honour

Abstract

This paper is conceived to investigate the subjects of death, burial, pride and territorial supremacy in African drama with special focus on A Matter of Honour by Barclays Ayakoroma. The study becomes crucial because the question of burial and struggle over rights of possession of a corpse by two parties has become a common thing in post-colonial Africa particularly in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Such a subject has not been given serious scholarly attention in the study of modern Nigerian drama. Thus appropriating the literary investigative approach, which is essentially predicated on critical content analysis, the paper examines the dialectic of death, burial and territoriality in Ayakoroma’s A Matter of Honour. The paper will contribute clearly to a deeper perception and  appreciation of questions of death, burial, honour, pride and nationalism as it relates to the cultural values in Izon World- view.

Keywords: Death, burial nationalism, territoriality, representation