Mythology, Cosmology, and Theatrical Form: Towards a Yoruba Dramatic Theory Grounded in Orisha Performance

This dissertation constructs an original Yoruba dramatic theory grounded in the performance conventions, cosmological frameworks, and theatrical logics of Orisha worship performance in South West Nigeria. While Wole Soyinka has made significant contributions to theorising Yoruba theatrical metaphysics, his framework has been critiqued for its selective engagement with Yoruba cosmological complexity and its dialogic relationship with Nietzschean philosophy. This research undertakes a more systematic ethnographic and philosophical engagement with Orisha performance traditions across communities in Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Lagos states, drawing on extensive fieldwork with devotees, priests, and performance scholars. The dissertation develops an original theoretical framework structured around four cosmological performance principles: emergence, possession, invocation, and dissolution, each of which is shown to generate distinctive dramaturgical conventions with implications for theatrical theory beyond the Yoruba context. The research employs a grounded theory methodology in which the theoretical framework is built inductively from ethnographic data rather than deductively applied. The dissertation concludes by proposing a Yoruba dramatic theory as a generative contribution to the global field of performance theory. Keywords: Yoruba dramatic theory, Orisha performance, cosmology, theatrical form, indigenous performance theory.