DEMONIC IMAGERY, CHRISTIAN VISION: PARADOX IN FAGUNWA’S OGBOJU ODE NINU IGBO IRUNMOLE Abiodun Adeniji

Abstract

In literary circles, D. O. Fagunwa’s name is often evocative of Yoruba cultural irredentism. His magnum opus, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole (The Brave Hunter in the Irunmole Forest/ The Forest of a Thousand Daemons) as well as his other Yoruba classics is replete with an effusion of Yoruba myths, legends, folklore, and throws up a host of highly demonic imagery (characters, situations, verbal interchanges). The often facile conclusion of some critics is that Fagunwa’s deployment of demonic imagery in his works is not only didactic but preserves a vital Yoruba cultural heritage even as it entertains. Few critics seem to realise that Fagunwa’s demonic imagery is, in reality, a mask for his Christian vision. Even when they do, this notion attracts, at best, a fleeting acknowledgement or passing comment. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to establish the missing link between the demonic imagery in Fagunwa’s fiction and his Christian message in the bid to test the hypothesis that the enduring popularity and artistic forte of Fagunwa’s Yoruba classics stem not from his use of Yoruba cultural artefacts (myths, legends, folklore, etc.), but in his uncanny ability to successfully navigate a literary paradox; the employment of demonic imagery to express a Christian vision.