LAURA BOHANNAN
Shakespeare in the Bush 87
s and the clearing of new farms when the water goes down. Then, I
t, they would have even more time to perform ceremonies and explain
quite mistaken. Most of the ceremonies demanded the presence of
m several homesteads. As the swamps rose, the old man found it too
t to walk from one homestead to the next, and the ceremonies
Shakespeare in the Bush lly ceased. As the swamps rose even higher, all activities but one came
nd. The women brewed beer from maize and millet. Men, women, and
n sat on their hillocks and drank it.
ple began to drink at dawn. By midmorning the whole homestead was
g, dancing, and drumming. When it rained, people had to sit inside
huts: there they drank and sang or they drank and told stories. In any
by noon or before, I either had tojoin the party or retire to my own hut
y books. "One does not discuss serious matters when there is beer.
drink with us." Since 1lacked their capacity for the thick native beer,
t more and more time with HanzZet..Before the end of the second
, grace descended on me. I was quite sure that ' q l e t had only one
ble interpretation, and that one universally obvious. ' --
rly every morning, in the hope of having some serious talk before the
arty, I used to call on the old man at his reception hut-a circle of posts
rting a thatched roof above a low mud wall to keep out wind and rain.
ay I crawled through the,,lowdoorway and found most of the men of
mestead sitting huddled: in their ragged cloths on stools, low plank
JUST BEFORE I LEFT OXFORDfor the Tiv in West Africa, conversation turne and reclining chairs, warming themselves against the chill of the rain
to the season at Stratford. "You Americans," said a friend, "often h nd a smoky fire. In the center were three pots of beer. The party had
difficulty with Shakespeare. He was, after all, a very English poet, and
can easily misinterpret the universal by misunderstanding the particular e old man greeted me cordially. "Sit down and drink." I accepted a
I protested that human nature is pretty much the same the whole w alabash full of beer, poured some into a small drinking gourd, and
over; at least the general plot and motivation of the greater tragedies wou it down. Then I poured some more into the same gourd for the man
always be clear-everywhere-although some details of custom might have nd in seniority to my host before I handed my calabash over to a young
be explained and difficulties of translation might produce other slig for further distribution. Important people shouldn't ladle beer
changes. To end an argument we could not conclude, my friend gave me
copy of Hamlet to study in the African bush: it would, he hoped, lift my min t is better like this," the aid man said, looking at me approvingly and
above its primitive surroundings, and possibly I might, by prolonged med ing at the thatch that had caught in my hair. "You should sit and drink
tation, achieve the grace of correct interpretation. us more often. Your servants tell me that when you are not with us, you
It was my second field trip to that African tribe, and I thought mysel de your hut looking at a paper."
ready to live in one of its remote sections-an area difficult to cross even e old man was acquainted with four kinds of "papers": tax receipts,
foot. I eventually settled on the hillock of a very knowledgeable old man, receipts, court fee receipts, and letters. The messenger who
head of a homestead of some hundred and forty people, all of whom we im letters from the chief used them mainly as a badge of office, for
either his close relatives or their wives and children. Like the other elders o knew what was in them and told the old man. Personal letters for
the vicinity, the old man spent most of his time performing ceremonies w who had relatives in the government or mission stations were kept
seldom seen these days in the more accessible parts of the tribe. I was omeone went to a large market where there was a letter writer and
delighted. Soon there would be three months of enforced isolation . Since my arrival, letters were brought to me to be read. A few men
leisure, between the harvest that takes place just before the rising of rought me bride price receipts, privately, with requests to change the
86
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88 ASPECTS OF CULTURE Shakespeare in the Bush 89
figures to a higher sum. I found moral arguments were of no avail, e the great chief. He had also married his elder brother's widow only
in-laws are fair game, and the technical hazards of forgery difficult to ex a month after the funeral."
to an illiterate people. I did not wish them to think me silly enough to lo e did well," the old man beamed and announced to the others, "I told
any such papers for days on end, and I hastily explained that my at if we knew more about Europeans, we would find they really were
one of the "things of long ago" of my country. ~ k eus. In our country also," he added to me, "the younger brother
"Ah," said the old man. "Tell us." the elder brother's widow and becomes the father of his children.
I protested that I was not a storyteller. Storytelling is a skilled art f your uncle, who married your widowed mother, is your father's full
them; their standards are high, and the audiences critical-and vocal er, then he will be a real father to you. Did Hamlet's father and uncle
criticism. I protested in vain. This morning they wanted to hear a story
they drank. They threatened to tell me no more stories until I told t
of mine. Finally, the old man promised that no one would criticize question barely penetrated my mind; I was too upset and thrown too
"for we know you are struggling with our language." "But," put in on balance by having one of the most important elements of Hainlet
elders, "you must explain what we do not understand, as we do d straight out of the picture. Rather uncertainly I said that I thought
you our stories." Realizing that here was my chance to prove ad the same mother, but I wasn't sure-the story didn't say. The old
versally intelligible, I agreed. told me severely that these genealogical details made all the difference
The old man handed me some more beer to help me on with my hat when I got home I must ask the elders about it. He shouted out the
telling. Men filled their long wooden pipes and knocked coals from the to one of his younger wives to bring his goatskin bag.
place in the pipe bowls; then, puffing contentedly, they sat back to liste rmined to save what I could of the mother motif, I took a deep breath
began in the proper style, "Not yesterday, not yesterday, but long ago, a an again. "The son Hamlet was very sad because his mother had
occurred. One night three men were keeping watch outside the homeste again so quickly. There was no need for her to do so, and it is our
the great chief, when suddenly they saw the former chief approach them for a widow not to go to her next husband until she has mourned for
"Why was he no longer their chief?"
"He was dead," I explained. "That is why they were troubled and afr
I
wo years is too long," objqcted the wife, who had appeared with the old
when they saw him." s battered goatskin bag. "Who will hoe your farms for you while you
"Impossible," began one of the elders, handing his pipe on to his ne
bor, who interrupted, "Of course it wasn't the dead chief. It was an omens amlet," I retorted without thinking, "was old enough to hoe his
by a witch. Go on." 's farms himself. There was no need for her to remarry." No one
Slightly shaken, I continued. "One of these three was a man who kn convinced. I gave up. "His mother and the great chief told Hamlet not
thingsw-the closest translation for scholar, but unfortunately it also me ad, for the great chief himself would be a father to Hamlet. Further-
witch. The second elder looked triumphantly at the first. "So he spoke to t , Hamlet would be the next chief: therefore he must stay to learn the
dead chief saying, 'Tell us what we must do so you may rest in your gra s of a chief. Hamlet agreed to remain, and all the rest went off to drink
but the dead chief did not answer. He vanished, and they could see him
more. Then the man who knew things-his name was Horatio-said this ev hile I paused, perplexed at how to render Hamlet's disgusted soliloquy
was the affair of the dead chiefs son, Hamlet." audience convinced that Claudius and Gertrude had behaved in the
ossible manner, one of the younger men asked me who had married the
There was a general shaking of heads round the circle. "Had the ives of the dead chief.
chief no living brothers? Or was this son the chief?" had no other wives," I told him.
"No," I replied. "That is, he had one living brother who became the c ut a chief must have many wives! How else can he brew beer and
when the elder brother died." re food for all his guests?"
The old men muttered: such omens were matters for chiefs and eld aid firmly that in our country even chiefs had only one wife, that they
not for youngsters; no good could come of going behind a chiefs ba rvants to do their work, and that they paid them from tax money.
clearly Horatio was not a man who knew things. s better, they returned, for a chief to have many wives and sons who
"Yes, he was," I insisted, shooing a chicken away from my beer. "In elp him hoe his farms and feed his people; then everyone loved the
country the son is next to the father. The dead chiefs younger brother ho gave much and took nothing-taxes were a bad thing.
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90 ASPECTS OF CULTURE Shakespeare in the Bush 91
I agreed with the last comment, but for the rest fell back on their favo at her for asking stupid questions and growled,
way of fobbing offmy questions: "That is the way it is done, so th
do it." t was not the reason," I informed them. "Polonius was a stranger
I decided to skip the soliloquy. Even if Claudius was here though in the homestead because he helped the chief,not because he was a
right to marry his brother's widow, there remained the poison
knew they would disapprove of fratricide. More hopefully I res
night Hamlet kept watch with the three who had seen his dead fat Id have," I explained, "but Polonius didn't think he would. After
dead chief again appeared, and although the others were afraid, was a man of great importance who ought to marry a chiefs
followed his dead father off to one side. When they were alone, H only one wife. Polonius was
dead father spoke." ter, then no one else would give
"Omens can't talk!" the old man was emphatic.
"Hamlet's dead father wasn't an omen. Seeing him might have be ue," remarked one of the shrewder elders, "but a chiefs
omen, but he was not." My audience looked as confused as I sounded. "
istress's father enough presents and patronage to more
Hamlet's dead father. It was a thing we call a 'ghost.' " I had t rence. Polonius sounds like a fool to me."
English word, 'for unlike many of the neighboring tribes, these people he was," I agreed. "Meanwhile Polonius sent his son
believe in the survival after death of any individuating part o off to Paris to learn the things of that country, for it was the home-
personality.
a very great chief indeed. Because he was afraid that Laertes might
"What is a 'ghost?' An omen?" beer and women and gambling, or get into trouble by
"No, a 'ghost' is someone who is dead but who walks around an ,he sent one of his servants to Paris secretly, to spy out what Laertes
and people can hear him and see him but not touch him." ng. One day Hamlet cam2 upon Polonius's daughter Ophelia. He
They objected. "One can touch zombis." was fumbling for words to
"No, no! It was not a dead body the witches had animated to sacrifice ness-"the chief and many
eat. No one else made Hamlet's dead father walk. He did it himself." lked one could understand the
"Dead men can't walk," protested my audience as one man. e thought that he had become
I was quite willing to compromise. "A 'ghost' is the dead man' ore attentive. "The great chief
But again they objected. "Dead men cast no shadows." wrong with Hamlet, so he sent for two of Hamlet's
"They do in my country," I snapped. would have taken long explanation] to talk to
The old man quelled the babble of disbelief that arose immediat and find out what troubled his heart. Hamlet, seeing that they had
told me with that insincere, but courteous, agreement one ext o betray him, told them nothing. Polonius, how-
fancies of the young, ignorant, and superstitious, "No doubt in your co was mad because he had been forbidden to see
the dead can also walk without being zombis." From the depths of his b whom he loved."
produced a withered fragment of ko!a nut, bit off one end to show it w y," inquired a bewildered voice, "should anyone bewitch Hamlet on
poisoned, and handed me the rest as a peace offering.
"Anyhow," I resumed, "Hamlet's dead father said that his own bro
the one who became chief, had poisoned him. He wanted Hamlet to av s, only witchcraft can make anyone mad, unless, of course, one sees
him. Hamlet believed this in his heart, for he did not like his fa gs that lurk in the forest."
brother." I took another swallow of beer. "In the country of the great
living in the same homestead, for it was a very large one, was an i pped being a storyteller, took out my notebook and demanded to be
tant elder who was often with the chief to advise and help him. His re about these two causes of madness. Even while they spoke and I
was Polonius. Hamlet was courting his daughter, but her father an this new factor on the plot.
brother. . . [I cast hastily about for some tribal analogy]warned her not ed to the beings that lurk in the forests. Only his
Hamlet visit her when she was alone on her farm, for he would be a rring relatives not mentioned
chief and so could not marry her." ttempting to harm him. And,
"Why not?" asked the wife, who had settled down on the edge of th
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92 ASPECTS OF CULTURE Shakespeare in the ~ u s h 93
the grass an arrow is aimed and ready, and the hunter shouts
refused to believe that Hamlet was mad for the love of Ophel rs immediately, the arrow speeds on its
else, "He was sure that something much more important was a good hunter Hamlet had shouted, "A rat!"
Hamlet's heart."
yqow Hamlet's age mates," I continued, "had brough chief and wished to kill him to avenge
famous storyteller. Hamlet decided to have this man tell the chic arlier that evening. . . ." I broke down,
homestead a story about a man who had poisoned his brother 0 had no belief in individual afterlife,
desired his brother's wife and wished to be chief himself. Hamlet wa rice between dying at One's prayers and dying "unhousell3d,dis-
great chief could not hear the story without making a sign if he w
guilty, and then he would discover whether his dead father h ce seriously. "For a man to raise his
truth." one who has become his father, that
The old man interrupted, with deep cunning, "Why should a ch a man be bewitched."
his son?" he asked. lexity, then pointed out that after
I hedged: "Hamlet wasn't sure that it really Was his dea
impossible to say anything, in that language, about dev renounced the old man, speaking less to me than to the young
"youmean," he said, "it actually was an Omen, and behind the elders. "If your father's brother has killed your father,
sometimes send false ones. Hamlet was a fool not to go appeal to Your father's age mates; they may avenge him. NO man
reading omens and divining the truth in the first place. A man-w iolence against his senior relatives." Another thought struck him.
the-truth could have told him how his father died, if he really h 1s father's brother had indeed been wicked enough to bewitch
poisoned, and if there was witchcraft in it; then Hamlet cou a good story indeed, for it would be
elders to settle the matter." t Hamlet, being mad, no longer had any sense and thus was ready
The shrewd elder ventured to disagree. "Because his father's bra ther's brother."
a great chief, one-who-sees-the-tr~thmight therefore have
it. I think it was for that reason that a friend of Hamlet's
an elder-sent an omen so his friend's son would know. tory to me. As I thought over the
cLYes,"I said, abandoning ghosts and the devil; a witc I lost courage and decided to skim
would have to be. "It was true, for when the storyteller was
before all the homestead, the great chief rose in fear. Afra
knew his secret he planned to have him killed." t away, with his two treacherous
The stage set of the next bit presented some difficulties of tran untry, saying that Hamlet should
began cautiously. "The great chief told Hamlet's mother to fi e writing on their papers, so that the chief
son what he knew. But because a woman's children are always countered a reproachful glare from one of
heart, he had the important elder Polonius hide behind a cloth table forgery was not merely immoral but
against the wall of Hamlet's mother's sleeping hut. Hamlet man skill. I looked the other way.
his mother for what she had done."
There was a shocked murmur from everyone. A man should d Polonius. Laertes swore to kill
his mother. e his sister, Ophelia, hearing her father
"She called out in fear, and Polonius moved behind the cloth. ad and drowned in the river.m
'A rat!yHamlet took his machete and slashed through the cloth." * told you?" The old man was
dramatic effect. "He had killed P o ~ o ~ ~ u s ! " geance on a madman; Hamlet killed
The old men looked at each other in supreme disgust. "That his madness. As for the girl, she not only went mad, she was
truly was a fool and a man who knew nothing! What child would drown. Water itself can't hurt
enough to shout, 'It's me!' "With a pang, I remembered that these drinks and bathes in."
ardent hunters, always armed with bow, arrow, and machete; like the story, 1'11 stop."
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94 ASPECTS OF CULTURE Shakespeare in the Bush 95
The old man made soothing noises and himself poured me som in case he won the fight. When he saw his mother die of poison,
beer. "You tell the story well, and we are listening. But it is clear t ed to kill his father's brother with his machete."
elders of your country have never told you what the story really mea ht!" exclaimed the elder.
don't interrupt! We believe you when you say your marriage custo ood story," added the old man, "and you told it with
different, or your clothes and weapons. But people are the same every ere wasjust one more error, at the very end. The poison
therefore, there are always witches and it is we, the elder 's mother drank was obviously meant for the survivor of the fight,
witches work. We told you it was the great chief who wis ver it was. If Laertes had won, the great chief would have poisoned
and now your own words have proved us right. Who were Ophelia r no one would know that he arranged Hamlet's death. Then, too, he
relatives?" ot fear Laertes' witchcraft; it takes a strong heart to kill one's only
"There were only her father and her brother." Hamlet was clearly
my hands. ncluded the old man, gathering his ragged toga about
"There must have been many more; this also you must some more stcries of your country. We, who are elders,
when you get back to your country. From what you tell us, ir true meaning, so that when you return to your own
dead, it must have been Laertes who killed Ophelia, although I d see that you have not been sitting in the bush, but among
reason for it." who know things and who have taught you wisdom."
We had emptied one pot of beer, and the old men arg
slightly tipsy interest. Finally one of them demanded of me, "
servant of Polonius say on his return?"
With difficulty I recollected Reynaldo and his mission. "I don't t
did return before Polonius was killed."
"Listen," said the elder, "and I will tell you how it was and how
will go, then you may tell me if! am right. Polonius knew his son
into trouble, and so he did. He had many fines to pay for fighti
from gambling. But he had only two ways of getting money qui
to marry offhis sister at once, but it is difficult to find a ma
woman desired by the son of a chief. For if the chiefs heir co
with your wife, what can you do? Only a fool calls a case
will someday be hisjudge. Therefore Laertes had to take
killed his sister by witchcraft, drowning her so he could secret
to the witches."
I raised an objection. "They found her body and buried it.
jumped into the grave to see his sister once more-so, you see, the bod
truly there. Hamlet, who had just come back, jumped in after him."
"What did I tell you?" The elder appealed to the others. "Laertes was
to no good with his sister's body. Hamlet prevented him, because the c
heir, like a chief, does not wish any other man to grow ric
Laertes would be angry, because he would have killed h
benefit to himself. In our country he would try to kill Hamlet for that reaso
Is this not what happened?"
"More or less," I admitted. "When the great chief found
alive, he encouraged Laertes to try to kill Hamlet and ar
machetes between them. In the fight both the young men
death. Hamlet's mother drank the poisoned beer that the chief meant
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