Playwright and Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, has disclosed why the late German scholar and anthropologist, Ulli Beier wrote only one book using the inventive pseudonym, Obotunde Ijimere.
Ijimere’s ‘The Imprisonment of Obatala and Other Plays’ was published in 1966 by the Heinemann African Writers Series and was the only work by the author released anywhere in the world.
Explaining why this was so during a recent interview with TCN, the Araba Awo of Osogbo land disclosed that Beier didn’t know about the treachery of the Ijimere (red patas monkey) as recorded in Yoruba mythology before choosing the name.
“He took it as his pen name because he loved monkeys. He had them as pets. We sat together one day and he asked that I told him about monkeys. I told him that Ijimere betrayed his boss. He then disclosed that he had chosen Obotunde Ijimere as his pen name.
“I then narrated to him how Alakedun (Ijimere) was a close confidant of Obatala. Obatala could hear the voices of animals and humans. He was the creator of the eyes, nose, all our body parts. All the other deities met and resolved not to drink palm wine again–Obatala used to drink palm wine then. And because Obatala had joined the others to stop taking palm wine, he would then mash eko (agidi) into his gourd and drink occasionally from it. Alakedun, his confidant then went to tell the others that Obatala that Obatala was still drinking it.
“The others were amazed and asked if he was sure. He told them when he comes, ask him to bring out his gourd. But he was ignorant. He knew his boss was still taking a white substance and assumed it was palm wine. So, when they all got to Obatala’s house, they accused him of reneging on their agreement but he denied. They then told him to bring out the gourd in his house. He did and poured out the content. They tasted it and it was pap.
“They told him it was Alakedun that came to tell them that he was still drinking palm wine. He sent for Alakedun and asked him why he spread falsehood. He replied by saying that it was because he saw the white content. That was how Obatala cursed him. That he should become an animal. When Ulli heard this, he said he never knew. He said he liked the name Ijimere but that he would stop using it henceforth. That’s why ‘The Imprisonment of Obatala was the only book he wrote as Obotunde Ijimere.”
Beier, who passed in 2011 had, however, earlier disclosed his mischief. In ‘The Return of Shango: The Theatre of Duro Ladipo’ (1994) and ‘Yoruba Poetry (2002), he explained that he had drawn heavily upon the anonymous oral poems he had been collecting, transcribing, and translating since the early 1950s, with the help of Yoruba scholars and friends. He, therefore, felt he could not use his individual name for such a collective enterprise.
“I felt that the plays had just ‘happened’; a specific set of circumstances had led to their creation, but hardly made me into a playwright. I hoped, of course, that they might be performed, and that they would be thought useful by Ladipo.
“I chose the name Ijimere, my favourite monkey. It walked with dignity through the savannah, and when you approached it by car, it gave you a defiant look before moving slowly out of the way. Among the Yoruba, it enjoyed a reputation of wisdom. It was also an obvious pseudonym. Every Yoruba knew that nobody could be called Obotunde Ijimere and it was therefore not very difficult for them to guess who the author might be.”
