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Aláyémọrẹ

The Twice Crowned King

Every crown has a story, but some are too compelling to leave in the history books - their characters and plot sultrily call for theater's spotlights. Ọbàlùfọ̀n Aláyémọrẹ story is one of them.

This play takes us right into the colorful, and dramatic world of 12th-century Yorùbá history, honoring a king whose name still rings bells today.

This script was written for the stage. It’s meant for actors to perform, directors to play with, and audiences to feel.

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Step Inside the Story

Want a sneak peek? Pace the scene yourself and reveal the dialogue.

[SCENE START] The grand court of the Ọọ̀ni in Ifẹ̀. Aláyémọrẹ stands tall in his full regalia, his gaze fixed on the assembled chiefs (Àgbà Ifẹ̀) who look on with varying degrees of apprehension.

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "What do you know about being good and fair, Ọbajio? Or is it because you still have your freedom? Your brothers or members as you call them did unspeakable things with power that was not theirs in the first place. I have taken that power, and I dare you all to challenge it. It is not as if those of you sitting here are absolved; it is because your actions did not take human lives. One of your so-called members killed an entire family because their farmland was ripe with harvest and his greedy eyes could not look away. Another one sent his concubine to poison the daughter of a palmwine tapper, just because the tapper did not pay the tree levy. How dare you plead for them!"

AKOGUN "We are sorry, Ọọ̀ni. Just have mercy."

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "Mercy! Did you have mercy on the women of Ifẹ̀ when you allowed the Emese to have sex with daughters as payment of the air levy you imposed on their fathers? You sit here talking about mercy when you do not understand what it means. In a city like Ifẹ̀ that has an Ọọ̀ni!"

ỌBALỌRAN "We are sorry. Forgive us."

ỌBAJIO "But Ọọ̀ni Ògbógbódirin never said what we were doing was wrong. He was old and someone needed to take charge."

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "That is your excuse? That the king was old and unable to check your activities?"

ỌBALUFE "No, but the chiefs needed to survive somehow. Ọọ̀ni Ògbógbódirin could not provide for us, so we had to step up and make the needed decisions. The extra levies and harvest collection were to keep our homes running."

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "Well, I have taken charge now. Àgbà Ifẹ̀, who made you supreme leader over all of Ifẹ̀ that you must collect from the people to enrich yourselves? Ifẹ̀’s laws allow only a small portion of each man’s harvest, and one general levy to pay the Emese and service Ifẹ̀’s borders. You are all beneficiaries of that one common levy, and you all get a bit of the harvest yield. What more do you need?"

ỌBAJIO "But Kabiyesi, you must understand that the outlook of a chief must be different from that of a commoner. We must look and live better than those commoners!"

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "Obajio, I’m not a violent man. If I were, even in this regalia, I would have challenged you to a fight. My natural recourse is to challenge you to a duel of wits. But that would be unfair, wouldn’t it?"

ỌBAJIO "Why, Kabiyesi?"

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "You’re unarmed! It is not fair to challenge an unarmed man."

ỌBAJIO "I don’t understand."

ALÁYÉMỌRẸ "I didn’t expect you to."

ỌBALUFE "Keep quiet, Obajio. Kabiyesi, please ignore him. We are very sorry. All these things will not happen again."

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