MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY THE LION AND THE JEWEL BY WOLE SOYINKA.
BAROKA
Baroka –the "Bale" of ILUJINLE and the "Lion" in the title of the play – is the leader of the village. He is steeped firmly in Yoruba traditions, customs, and beliefs. He is very cunning, often referred to as a fox, and is prepared to use bribery, trickery, decite, and other corrupt practices to get what he wants. His main past time is satisfying his sexual pleasure by ever expanding his harem of wives and concubines. He is sixty-two years old, wiry, and sports a goatee. His eyes are very small and always red with wine. He has many wives and, even at his age, shows no sign of slowing down, having taken his last wife five months earlier. He has seen the magazine with the pictures of Sidi and targets her as his next wife.
SIDI
Sidi –the village belle– and the "Jewel" in the title, is a very young and beautiful girl. She has risen to prominence and "rock star status" in the village after her pictures –taken by a visiting photographer from Lagos, a large and modern city –are published on the cover and center spread of a magazine. Suddenly she no longer thinks Lakunle, whom she had agreed to marry earlier, subject to him paying the bride price, is good enough to be her husband. She also believes she has assumed greater importance than Bale Baroka, and becoming aware of an opportunity to expose his "supposed" impotence and himiliate him, visited his place, where she falls into his trap and is seduced.
LAKUNLE
Lakunle is the school teacher of the village of Ilujinle, who is portrayed as representing Western culture values. He is a young man of nearly 23 years old, and advocates Western culture, which he is bent on spreading throughout the village to replace its supposedly backward traditions and customs. He attempts at emulating Western culture, oftentimes appear clumsy, awkward, and laughable. He old-style English suit, a size or two too small, and his twenty-three-inches trousers, makes him look ridiculous. His smattering contains loosely combined verses and phrases from Western literature and the Bible. The villagers, children even, regard him as a fool and a laughing stock. But is Lakunle stupid as he is made out to be? He loathes Bale Baroka, whom he regards as a corrupt ruler, bent on resisting modernity to protect his abusive ruler. It was Lakunle who prompted Baroka's servants to form "The Palace Worker's Union" to secure a day-off each week. Lakunle claims that he is in love with Sidi –the village belle–and wants to marry her, but objects to paying the traditional bride-price. His rejection, he says, is based on his Western beliefs that women should not be bought or sold. However, upon discovering that Sidi was no longer a virgin, he saw the opportunity of marrying her without paying her bride-price.
SADIKU
Sadiku, is the head or senior wife of the Bale. She assumed that position by being the last wife of Baroka's father and predecessor, Okiki. Yoruba determines that the last of the previous village chief is designated the head wife of the succeeding chief. Sadiku's main responsibility is to woo younger wives for the Bale.
At almost seventy years of age, and having lived in a phallocentric society all her life, Sadiku regards it as a victory for women, worthy of great celebration, when any man is deemed impotent.
AILATU
The favourite, Ailatu, is the Bale's latest wife. She loses his favour, when on learning of Baroka's intent to take a new wife, becomes jealous and viciously plucks hair from his armpit causing great pain and bleeding.
SURVEYOR
The survayor, a public servant of the Colonial Administration, is planning to build a road through Ilujinle, aimed at bringing economic development to the village. However, he accepts a bribe from the Bale to reroute the intended road.
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