This study positions itself towards a critical interpretation of suicide in Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman (1975) and its reception in the traditional Yoruba culture of South West Nigeria. Its central thesis is that ritual and culture significantly influence suicide in traditional African society and Yoruba society in particular. This study uses textual analysis as its methodology to probe the historical, cultural and social context of the play. The approach is analytic and interrogative as it illuminates the circumstances that surround the suicides in Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman as well as how the play mediates the reality of suicide as perceived in Yoruba tradition as against Western epistemology. In addition, the study suggests that the suicide in Soyinka’s play is not mainly an escape from shame but a necessary and pragmatic step consonant with the Yoruba belief system and mythical tradition. Finally, the study explores yet another caveat, the use of the Yoruba mythical tradition for personal gain. It concludes by determining that the failure of traditional elites to manipulate culture and tradition for their political interests leads them to frustration, and subsequently motivates suicide as a form of escapism.

中文翻译：

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《索因卡之死与国王的骑士》中的仪式、文化政治和自杀事件

本研究将自己定位于对索因卡之死和国王骑士 (1975) 中自杀的批判性解释及其在尼日利亚西南部传统约鲁巴文化中的接受程度。其中心论点是仪式和文化显着影响传统非洲社会，尤其是约鲁巴社会的自杀。本研究使用文本分析作为其方法来探讨该剧的历史、文化和社会背景。这种方法是分析性和疑问性的，因为它阐明了围绕索因卡之死和国王骑手自杀的情况，以及该剧如何调解约鲁巴传统中认为的自杀现实，而不是西方认识论。此外，该研究表明，索因卡戏剧中的自杀主要不是为了逃避羞耻，而是与约鲁巴信仰体系和神话传统相一致的必要和务实的步骤。最后，该研究探讨了另一个警告，即利用约鲁巴神话传统谋取私利。它的结论是，传统精英未能为他们的政治利益操纵文化和传统，导致他们感到沮丧，并随后促使自杀作为逃避现实的一种形式。