''An African Night's Entertainment'' is a 1962

folktale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...

novel by

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

author

Cyprian Ekwensi Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi (26 September 1921 – 4 November 2007) was a Nigerian author of novels, short stories, and children's books. Biography Early life, education and family Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in ...

Plot

The novel is set in

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria (or Arewa, Arewancin Nijeriya) was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962, it acquired t ...

and is narrated by an old storyteller. it tells the story of Abu Bakir and his quest for vengeance after Zainobe, the girl betrothed to him and the love of his life, ends up marrying Mallam Shehu, a wealthy merchant who is in need of a child. Mallam Shehu and Zainobe have a son named Kyauta. Abu swears vengeance and roams throughout several towns and villages (losing an eye and an ear in the process) in order to get the items he needs for a charm to make Kyauta worthless. He finally succeeds in making the charm and uses it on Kyauta, who turns into a sociopathic thug and eventually kills his father. Some time later, Abu is himself killed by Kyauta after the effects of the charm had worn off on him.

Themes

Major themes in the novel include desire, vengeance and

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

Controversy

The novel was the subject of different controversy when its author

was accused of plagiarising Jikin Magayi a 1934 novel by Rupert East and John Tafida Umaru written in Hausa but he defended it calling it his own retelling of a folktale once told to him by an old Hausa mallam.

References

1962 Nigerian novels Nigerian fantasy novels 1962 fantasy novels Folklore Novels set in Nigeria Novels by Cyprian Ekwensi {{Nigeria-novel-stub