‘The Stolen Shrine’ goes on stage as the 13th Convocation Play of Adekunle Ajasin University on Monday 9, 2024.

‘The Stolen Shrine’ is set in the traditional Yoruba Kingdom of Ajelokun. The play chronicles the issues of greed, betrayal, and the consequences of breaking a sacred covenant. The kingdom, favoured by the goddess of Aje flourishes through her blessings. Generations ago, the people of Ajelokun receives a message through Ifa divination that Aje wishes to reside in their kingdom. Therefore, a land is given to the goddess by the forefathers of Chief Bobaseto, the king’s counsellor as her sacred shrine. This earns the family the perpetual chieftaincy title of Bobaseto and a special recognition in the kingdom. The shrine yields a bounty of cowries every month, enriching the entire people in the community. Many years after, the current Chief Bobaseto, a descendant of those who surrendered their land to the goddess of Aje, grows dissatisfied, complaining that his share of the shrine’s blessings is no longer enough. He connives with his friend, Chief Ajewole who also feels entitled and claims that the presence of ‘Aje’ in his name points to the fact that his family has an ancestral connection to the goddess. They both plot to steal the shrine in alliance with two unsuspecting youths, Tade and Jide. However, they are stuck as Aje’s divine power withers Tade’s hand the moment he touches the shrine.
Knowing that Prince Gbadebo, King Ajedotun’s son and his betrothed, Ajefunke, the daughter of Yeyelaje (the Priestess of Aje shrine) are immune to Aje’s curse due to their lineage, Chiefs Bobaseto and Ajewole manipulate them into aiding their theft. The Chiefs therefore, present Tade as Chief Bobaseto’s son and claim that he has been struck by a strange illness. They further deceive them that the oracle has revealed that only the two of them have the cure due to their royal and spiritual connection to Aje. They also claim that Aje’s shrine must be moved and placed in Chief Bobaseto’s hands for the healing to take place. Unaware of their sinister plot and deceit, the royal couple trustingly performs a ritual that allows the shrine to be moved without immediate consequence. Meanwhile, while Chief Bobaseto is being led to the shrine by the intending couple, Chief Ajewole and Jide enter into Yeyelaje’s house and kidnap her, unknown to the acolytes and the royal couple.

After the shrine has been placed on Chief Babaseto’s hand, he uses a charm to erase the memories of all the witnesses except his co-conspirator, Chief Ajewole. They take the shrine to Chief Bobaseto’s house, and it begins to yield bountiful wealth to them. Consequently, the land descends into chaos as prosperity vanishes in Ajelokun Kingdom, inflation skyrockets, and people begin to migrate to other kingdoms in search of greener pastures. This brings about desperation as the townspeople storm the palace to demand answers from King Ajedotun. However, Baba Fayemi, the revered diviner, consults the oracle and uncovers the truth. With the aid of the gnomes from Aje shrine, Chiefs Bobaseto and Ajewole are exposed and publicly disgraced. They both confess to treason and treachery. Hence, King Ajedotun banishes them from Ajelokun.

In the crafting and direction of ‘The Stolen Shrine’, I have combined a potpourri of theatre thoughts into a composite whole to package this immediate theatre performance. Through the empty space available for us, I have created a holistic and immersive transformative theatrical experience devoid of artificiality for our esteemed audiences. Hence, The Stolen Shrine looks “beyond the purgation of emotions or emotional identification but aims to provoke critical thinking in order to ensure our audiences reflect on societal issues addressed in our play. Through sound, gestures, chanting, dances, rituals, songs, storytelling, proverbs, poetry, drama, music, spectacle, call and response methods, the play addresses the burgeoning issues of corruption, migration (Japa syndrome), inflation, kidnapping, among others. Situated within the concept of the indigenous African theatre tradition and the ethnographic directing approach, the performance draws on oral traditions and ensures that the performance reflects the cultural aesthetics and values of Yoruba land.

This, therefore, is to invite you to the theatre on Monday, at the Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall of Adekunle AJasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State. Come, let us embark on this theatrical journey to the past as it links us to the present, and of course, the future.

Biola Adumati,
Playwright and Artistic Director