This play was based on a local Yoruba folktale about a woman who, bothered by childlessness, makes a deal with a powerful tree spirit to give her a daughter. Unfortunately, Oluronbi doesn't honor her end of the deal, and she loses her daughter to the tree spirit, and the story ends in tragedy.

 

There are a few variations of the story. Check them out here http://allfolktales.blogspot.com/2006/08/folk-tale-of-oluronbi.html

 

In 2009, I was hired to create illustrations of the stage adaptation of this folktale for the event brochure. I decided to employ an illustration technique which I call the "Shadow Technique", because I felt it would enhance the ethnicity of the theme, and because at that time it generally drew a lot of favourable comments whenever I employed that style in my work.

 

Here are some of the illustrations I designed. All illustrations were created in Adobe Flash, my preferred software for digital/vector sketching.

Oluronbi married the chief (or an influential elder) of the village, and became his newest and youngest wife, which didn't earn her any points with the older wives. Here you see them gossiping about her inability to bear their husband any offspring.

Oluronbi suffers from a diminished sense of self-worth as a result of this. Her husband attempts to console her, but she is ... uh ... inconsolable.

Here you see her and her entourage, as she engages in a sort of "Oh, why me?!" operatic diatribe against the supernatural powers that are keeping her barren.

She eventually ends up looking for a solution to her problem by appealing to the powerful Iroko tree spirit for a child, and making desperate promises as her entourage dance in an excited frenzy.

Here, her prayers have been answered, and she is in the mood to rejoice.

One character carrying an extremely heavy load asks another for directions to the town. The other character is a joker and mischief maker, and beats around the bush and asks pointless riddles instead of giving any actual help.

Oluronbi's daughter, Abike, comes of age, and draws suitors near and far. However, she ignores the rich traders, chiefs and well-to-do people wooing her, and seems to be interested in some non-descript fellow standing aloof in the corner.

 

He eventually ends up being the one she marries, and he turns out to be an agent of the Iroko spirit, who reclaims Abike because Oluronbi violated the contract that earned her the child.

The design for the Iroko spirit tree went through a few versions. The final one had branches sprouting from the head as well as the arms.

The flyer design went through quite a few versions as well, and the ones below are my favourite. They illustrate the iroko spirit reaching out of the earth to deliver the baby to Oluronbi.

Hope you enjoyed this little story! Let me know what you think in the comments.