The Bata Dancer
Rotimi Ogunjobi
A theatre scriptwriter loses his job, his marriage and his only child. He travels to a rural town in search of a quiet place to reorganize his confused life. Here he again meets with a legendary Bata dancer and the reunion rekindles his ambition to write a new play. But his success will depend on how much he is able to understand the mysterious language of the Bata drums and dance
His bitter past has left him with the fear of another relationship and when the charming and compassionate daughter of his aged mentor comes into his life, he finds himself in a desperate battle against his resolve. But his new companion is a healing angel who mends his heartbreak and disabilities and teaches him the way of a master Bata dancer.
Yomi Bello is a scriptwriter for the Heritage Theater. He has temporarily lost his job and his estranged wife has gone away with his only child. Yomi travels to a small rural town to take up a temporary teaching appointment in a private school, and to find a quiet place to rearrange his life.
Yomi again meets with Baba Lamidi, a legendary Bata dancer. The reunion rekindles Yomi’s intention to write a new play, but his success will depend on how much he is able to learn of the mysterious language of the Bata drums and dance
There are great challenges along his way forward nevertheless. The native craftsmen and artists are hostile and contemptuous. Baba Lamidi is also old, frail, and very often ill, which makes him an unreliable teacher. Nevertheless, Yomi Bello is determined that his new play, The Bata Dancer will be the greatest dance drama to be played at the Heritage Theater when it eventually reopens.
Bitter experiences have left Yomi with the fear of another relationship, and when Ajoke, the delightful and very helpful daughter of Baba Lamidi comes into his life, he finds himself in a desperate battle against his resolve. Ajoke becomes to him a healing angel for his innermost miseries and for a severe limp. She also teaches Yomi enough about the Bata culture to make him perform like a master.
The Bata Dancer
A Novel By
Rotimi Ogunjobi
The Bata Dancer
Copyright © 2019 by Rotimi Ogunjobi
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
Published by AM Book Publishing Limited www.ambookpublishing.com (http://www.ambookpublishing.com)
DEDICATIONS
This book is dedicated to the memory of my parents:
Samuel Mofolorunso Ogunjobi (July 21, 1919 - August 23, 1963)
Eunice Olufolaju Ogunjobi (April 4, 1929 – January 1, 2014)
CONTENTS
The Bata Dancer (#ulink_3c8d0df3-a328-5ecb-b133-1f51b6b70b2b)
DEDICATIONS (#ulink_9b24a9be-c549-5e84-88ce-fabfa699c056)
CONTENTS (#ulink_bdd1c7c5-ce6c-5f6b-bc7e-1fe8687a716f)
Prologue - The Coming of the Drummer (#ulink_206f71a3-fd23-5a09-ba80-7dea9bf8c244)
CHAPTER 1 (#ulink_2b52ab7d-3432-55e7-a19b-218ddacab831)
CHAPTER 2 (#ulink_162e20ee-b996-5a77-b4b0-99ddcb6e3054)
CHAPTER 3 (#ulink_1d801b50-c069-56f4-9112-8884d5718f5d)
CHAPTER 4 (#ulink_2bca71dc-a0f1-5ddd-b671-9246d9e39898)
CHAPTER 5 (#ulink_60f4ec43-30c4-58b9-b53a-edcf631fff52)
CHAPTER 6 (#ulink_7736752c-e9e6-55d2-b2a2-42cf7ebd13de)
CHAPTER 7 (#ulink_38a39be9-11fa-5210-b56a-97376782bebe)
CHAPTER 8 (#ulink_7d4682f3-5f39-5e39-9c1d-821787213980)
CHAPTER 9 (#ulink_0ec82dff-2342-5455-8b7d-f60b2d699599)
CHAPTER 10 (#ulink_2413d9cf-573a-5878-bef7-5bd1910a05fb)
CHAPTER 11 (#ulink_ba9127e0-9645-5542-ba29-92689922910b)
CHAPTER 12 (#ulink_09b64ec4-56df-5151-ad44-44f613e66296)
CHAPTER 13 (#ulink_3ed759be-29df-5a5d-8576-08ad1a5d4855)
CHAPTER 14 (#ulink_81fb4ee1-a52b-5e3b-826d-3cac3319c411)
CHAPTER 15 (#ulink_a8853e44-4307-502e-a565-6c275d71ef97)
CHAPTER 16 (#ulink_a512c411-bfdc-50ba-bcf7-fd3fe2f3955f)
CHAPTER 17 (#ulink_3aad020c-d1f5-5c7e-a885-aff4d3594d57)
CHAPTER 18 (#ulink_b810d7fd-7fdb-536d-a339-e1abddb0e858)
CHAPTER 19 (#ulink_974a3c35-1e6d-5762-8a0a-38039ee66687)
CHAPTER 20 (#ulink_5ebd5d70-bcd5-556c-84ff-3efb56e1570d)
Epilogue – The Return of the Drummer. (#ulink_900e67da-a6f5-5c22-aac3-caa45bb0c45e)
Prologue - The Coming of the Drummer
The hunter heard an approaching. He needed to get neither spear nor sword ready. The footfalls on the carpet of rotten leaves, was not of a beast - the gait was too resolute. The hunter could not see what was approaching. The thickets, the overhanging tree branches of the dense jungle quite effectively blocked even the faint rays of the sun as dawn approached. The hunter felt the presence even more than he heard it. He also felt fear.
The creature eventually came into view, and by some mystery was before the hunter even before he knew that it was coming near. Whether it was a man or a woman, he could not immediately tell, but for simplicity he would assume that it was a man, even though swathed from head to toe in a dark cloth, his strikingly white eyes peering out of the dark hole which shrouded the face.
Irunmole. The hunter would think that before him was one of those benevolent entities of wisdom and enlightenment. But an alternative thought advised the hunter that he may be in the presence of a mischievous demon pretending to be one of those, of which there were thousands roaming the forest. He felt fear, but he knew in the alternative case, the primary strategy for surviving such a perilous encounter was never to show fear.
The leaves on the ground were wet with dew, and the smell of advanced decay, mixed with the mouldy smell on the stranger’s robe, roughly woven like that of the Ibariba people, further confused his senses. Yet he knew that his heart must not fail; to show fear might be to die.
“What do you want of me?” the hunter asked the creature.
