Nsing The Civet Cat - A Dramatic Adaptation of Justine Mintsa's Histoire d'Awu

Bella, Obame Afane's first wife, is barren. His parents force him to remarry with a fertile wife, Awudabiran. Upon Obame Afane's death, the family council decides that the late teacher's young brother, Nguema Afane inherits the widow. Nguema Afane is polygamous, alcoholic, unemployed, irresponsible and slothful whereas the late teacher was caring and responsible. Will Awudabiran agree with the council's decision? Through the triad Ntsame Afane, the late teacher Obame Afane, and his widow Awudabiran, this play shows the wailers? performance of Fang pre-colonial memory in confrontational relations with citizenship. They expose the need for a balanced re-definition of cultural identity in the predatory world that Nsing embodies. The widow's final reward of the byere statute in recognition of her pride as a good citizen equalizes the interactions between cultural identity and citizenship. This play is an interrogation of a person's role as global citizen within a nation as well as internationally: Where do I stand? How useful am I to my nation, to the global world? And to future generations? The book is addressed to middle and high school students as well as scholars and students of African literature, visual arts and socio-cultural discourses.