''Kongi's Harvest'' is a 1965 play written by

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

. It premiered in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, at the first Negro Arts Festival in April 1966.Berry, Poyd M. (1980). Kongi's Harvest (a review). Gibbs, James (ed.). In ''Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka.'' Lynne Rienner Publishers, . It was later adapted as a film of the same name, directed by the American

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

.Gugler, Josef (1997)
"Wole Soyinka's ''Kongi's Harvest'' from stage to screen: Four endings to tyranny"
''Canadian Journal of African Studies'', Vol. 31, No. 1, 1997.Gugler, Josef (1999). "African Writing Projected onto the Screen: ''Sambizanga'', ''Xala'', and ''Kongi's Harvest''", ''African Studies Review,'' Vol. 42, No. 1, April 1999.Davis, Ossie (September 20, 1970). Movies: When Is a Camera a Weapon? The Camera As Weapon. ''

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''.Rosenblum, Mort (April 4, 1970). "Black Africa's First Full-Sized Movie", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''.Bolwell, Edwin (July 15, 1967). "Tarzan's Africa may be up a tree; U.S.-Nigerian Film Company Would Change Image", ''

''.Bunce, Alan (September 1, 1970). "'There is a constant thread in all I've done'", ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

''. The play was published in 1967 in London and New York by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(

Three Crowns Books Three Crowns Books was an imprint of Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480 ...

; 96 pp).

Plot

President Kongi, the dictator of an African

developing nation A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

, is trying to modernize after deposing King Oba Danlola, who is being held in detention. Kongi demands that Danlola present him with a ceremonial yam at a

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is h ...

to indicate his

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

. Daodu, Danlola's nephew and heir, grows prized yams on his farm. Daodu's lover Segi owns a bar where Daodu spends most of his time. She is revealed to have been Kongi's former lover. As the different tribes are resisting unification, Kongi tries to reach his goal by any means necessary, including forcing government officials to wear traditional African outfits and seeking advice from the man he deposed. In a climactic scene at the state dinner, Segi presents Kongi with the head of her father.

References

1965 plays Plays by Wole Soyinka African plays Nigerian plays {{1960s-play-stub