Anowa – Ama Ata Aidoo

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Notes de leçon

The play and its context

×Anowa×(published 1970) is a play by Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo (1942–2023), one of Africa's most important women writers.
It is set in the 1870s on the Gold Coast (now Ghana), in Fante country, as British power grows along the coast.
Aidoo reworks a traditional folk tale her mother told her: a girl refuses the suitors her parents approve, marries a stranger of her own choosing, and he turns out to be the devil in disguise.
The play confronts Africans' own complicity in the slave trade — something Aidoo felt was rarely discussed.
Set for 2026 only (not 2027).

Structure and the chorus

A Prologue and three Phases: Phase One in the village of Yebi; Phase Two on the highway; Phase Three in Kofi Ako's grand house at Oguaa (Cape Coast).
An Old Man and an Old Woman together form "The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper" — a chorus representing the community's gossip and opinion.
The Old Woman is restless and harsh, blaming Anowa's pride; the Old Man is calmer and more sympathetic, seeing larger causes.
The chorus speaks directly to the audience, frames events, and reminds us of the forts on the coast that bear witness to the slave trade.
The play mixes verse-like speeches, proverbs and realistic dialogue — rooted in oral storytelling.

Phase One: Yebi

Anowa is beautiful, clever and outspoken; she has refused every suitor. Her mother, Badua, despairs; her father, Osam, smokes his pipe and leaves the decision to her.
Osam once thought Anowa should be apprenticed to a priestess — she seems to have the gift — but Badua refused: she wants her daughter to be a "human woman" with a husband, a farm and children.
Anowa announces she will marry Kofi Ako, a handsome young man with a reputation for not making good use of his inheritance. Badua scorns him as a good-for-nothing "cassava-man".
Insulted, Anowa leaves with Kofi, vowing she will never set foot in Yebi again.

Phase Two: the highway

Anowa and Kofi trade animal skins along the roads. Anowa works as hard as Kofi and enjoys it; Kofi wishes she would be like other wives and stay home.
They have no children. Anowa suggests Kofi take another wife — he angrily refuses.
As the business grows, Kofi decides to buy slaves to carry the loads. Anowa is horrified: owning people is wrong.
Kofi insists he will treat them well. The partnership splits: Kofi grows richer and allies with the white traders; Anowa grows restless and isolated.

Phase Three: the big house at Oguaa

Years later Kofi is the richest man on the coast, living in Victorian-style luxury, carried in a regal chair, dressed in fine cloth and jewels. Anowa is thin, barefoot and shabby.
Anowa remembers asking her grandmother, at about twelve, about the white men's big houses by the sea — the slave forts — and learning that their own people sold others. Her grandmother silenced her and called her question-asking unnatural.
She recalls a nightmare: she is a vast woman, men, women and children pour out of her, and they are caught by giant lobsters that turn into pale people keeping their lobster heads and claws — an image of Africa and the slave trade.
Anowa calls herself a wayfarer with no home. Kofi, who calls her a witch, orders her to leave without explanation.
Anowa realises — and says in front of the household — that the childlessness is Kofi's: he has lost his manhood. Kofi shoots himself; the Old Woman reports that Anowa drowned herself.

Key characters

Anowa — independent, questioning, morally uncompromising; rejects convention yet longs for children; a symbol of Africa's conscience.
Kofi Ako — ambitious and at first loving; wealth and slave-owning hollow him out; his impotence symbolises spiritual and moral sterility.
Badua — Anowa's mother; wants a conventional, respectable life for her daughter.
Osam — Anowa's father; mild, wry, passive.
Boy and Girl — two of Kofi's slaves, who call Anowa and Kofi "mother" and "father"; Panyin and Kakra, eight-year-old twin slaves.
The Old Man and Old Woman — the chorus.

Themes

Slavery and complicity: the play refuses to let the community forget its own part in the trade — the forts "bear witness".
Women's independence and gender roles: Anowa's choices challenge what a wife and daughter should be; the community judges her harshly.
Tradition and change: matrilineal village life meets colonial capitalism.
Wealth, greed and sterility: material success brings moral and physical barrenness.
Belonging: Anowa cuts herself off from Yebi, and ends with no place anywhere.

Writing about the play

Analyse the chorus: how the two views of Anowa shape the audience's judgement.
Use stage pictures: Kofi's throne-like chair and jewels against Anowa's bare feet; the slaves' presence.
Explore the folk-tale frame: who is the devil? Aidoo turns the moral from "obey your parents" towards greed and slavery.
Trace Anowa and Kofi's relationship across the three phases: love, partnership, conflict, destruction.
Consider the ending: tragedy, symbol and a question to the audience.

Diapos

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Questions d'entraînement

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1.Who wrote Anowa?
Easy
- AAma Ata Aidoo
- BChinua Achebe
- CWole Soyinka
- DChimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2.Where and when is Anowa set?
Easy
- ALagos in the 1960s
- BNairobi in the 1950s
- CAccra in the 2000s
- DThe Gold Coast in the 1870s
3.What is the chorus called?
Easy
- AThe Voices of the Forts
- BThe Priestesses
- CThe-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper
- DThe Elders of Yebi
4.How many phases does the play have after its prologue?
Easy
- AFour
- BThree
- CTwo
- DFive
5.What did Osam once think Anowa should become?
Medium
- AA priestess
- BA trader
- CA teacher
- DA chief
6.What does Badua call Kofi Ako when Anowa announces she will marry him?
Medium
- AA prince among men
- BA wise elder
- CA devil from the sea
- DA good-for-nothing cassava-man
7.What do Anowa and Kofi trade in Phase Two?
Medium
- ACocoa
- BFish
- CAnimal skins
- DGold
8.What does Anowa suggest when they remain childless?
Medium
- AThat she become a priestess
- BThat Kofi take another wife
- CThat they adopt a slave child
- DThat they return to Yebi

Plus de questions

9.What decision causes the main conflict between Anowa and Kofi?
Medium
- AKofi's decision to buy slaves
- BKofi's decision to go to England
- CAnowa's decision to become a trader
- DTheir move back to Yebi
10.Where is Phase Three set?
Medium
- AAnowa's family home in Yebi
- BA market on the highway
- CA slave ship
- DKofi's grand house at Oguaa
11.What does Anowa learn from her grandmother as a child?
Medium
- AThat she would marry a devil
- BThat she would never have children
- CThat the big houses by the sea held slaves, sold partly by her own people
- DThat her father was a chief
12.In Anowa's nightmare, what seize the people pouring out of her?
Medium
- ASoldiers on horseback
- BGiant lobsters that become pale people
- CLions from the forest
- DA great flood
13.What does Anowa reveal in front of the household in Phase Three?
Medium
- AThat the childlessness is Kofi's, not hers
- BThat she is leaving for England
- CThat she has stolen his gold
- DThat the slaves are her relatives
14.How does Kofi Ako die?
Medium
- AHe drowns
- BHe is poisoned
- CHe dies in battle
- DHe shoots himself
15.What does Kofi Ako's impotence most likely symbolise?
Medium
- AAnowa's witchcraft
- BThe wealth of the Gold Coast
- CThe spiritual and moral sterility of greed and slave-owning
- DSimple bad luck
16.How does Aidoo change the original folk tale?
Medium
- AShe sets it in modern Accra
- BThe 'devil' becomes greed and slavery rather than disobedience to parents
- CShe removes the marriage
- DShe makes Anowa obey her parents
17.What is the effect of the contrast between Kofi's regal chair and jewels and Anowa's bare feet in Phase Three?
Medium
- AIt shows visually how far apart wealth has driven them
- BIt shows Anowa is a servant
- CIt is a comic moment
- DIt proves Anowa is poor by choice only
18.How do the Old Man and the Old Woman differ?
Medium
- AThe Old Man hates Anowa; the Old Woman loves her
- BThey always agree
- COnly the Old Man speaks
- DThe Old Woman blames Anowa's pride; the Old Man is more sympathetic
19.What does Anowa mean by calling herself a 'wayfarer'?
Medium
- AShe is a merchant
- BShe has been exiled by the British
- CShe has no home or belonging anywhere, like the enslaved
- DShe loves travelling
20.Which are the play's settings? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AA slave ship
- BYebi
- CThe highway
- DOguaa
- ELondon
21.Which are major themes? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ASlavery and complicity
- BWomen's independence
- CWealth and sterility
- DSpace exploration
- ESport
22.Which characters are enslaved in Kofi's household? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AGirl
- BPanyin and Kakra
- COsam
- DBadua
- EBoy
23.Anowa marries the man her parents chose for her.
Easy
True or false?
24.Anowa vows never to return to Yebi.
Easy
True or false?
25.Anowa enjoys the hard work of trading on the highway.
Easy
True or false?
26.Anowa supports Kofi's decision to buy slaves.
Medium
True or false?
27.Kofi calls Anowa a witch.
Medium
True or false?
28.The play is based on a traditional folk tale.
Medium
True or false?
29.The play presents slavery as something done only by Europeans.
Medium
True or false?
30.Match each character to their description.
Medium
- Anowa
- Kofi Ako
- Badua
- Osam
- Independent, questioning heroine
- Husband who becomes a rich slave-owner
- Mother who wants a conventional life for her daughter
- Mild father who smokes his pipe
31.Match each phase to its setting.
Medium
- Phase One
- Phase Two
- Phase Three
- Yebi
- The highway
- Oguaa
32.Match each image to what it represents.
Medium
- The forts by the sea
- The lobster nightmare
- Kofi's regal chair
- Kofi's impotence
- Evidence of the slave trade
- Africa's people seized by the trade
- Wealth and power gained through others
- Moral and spiritual barrenness
33.Put these events in order.
Medium
- Kofi buys slaves
- Anowa announces she will marry Kofi
- Anowa reveals Kofi's impotence
- Kofi shoots himself
34.Order the parts of the play.
Medium
- Phase Two
- Prologue
- Phase Three
- Phase One
35.Complete the sentence.
Easy
Anowa's husband is called Kofi ____.
36.Complete the sentence.
Medium
Anowa's home village is ____.
37.Complete the sentence.
Medium
The Old Man and the Old Woman act as a ____, commenting on events.
38.What is the name of Anowa's mother?
Easy
39.How does Anowa die?
Medium
40.Explain how Aidoo presents the breakdown of Anowa and Kofi's marriage.
Medium
41.Explore the role of The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper in the play.
Hard
42.Explain the significance of Anowa's childhood memory of her grandmother.
Medium

Notes de révision

## Context - Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana), **1970**; set on the **Gold Coast** in the **1870s**. Reworked **folk tale**; Africans' **complicity in the slave trade**. Set for **2026**. ## Structure - Prologue + **three Phases**: **Yebi** / **the highway** / **Oguaa** (Cape Coast). - Chorus: **The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper** — Old Woman (blames Anowa) + Old Man (sympathetic). ## Plot - **Phase One**: Anowa refuses suitors; Osam thought her a born **priestess**; she chooses **Kofi Ako** (Badua: "cassava-man"); leaves Yebi for good. - **Phase Two**: trading **skins**; childless; Anowa suggests another wife; Kofi **buys slaves**; she opposes. - **Phase Three**: Kofi rich, enthroned; Anowa barefoot; grandmother and the **forts**; **lobster nightmare**; "wayfarer"; Kofi orders her away, calls her a witch; she reveals his **impotence**; he **shoots himself**; she **drowns**. ## Themes - Slavery and complicity; women's independence; wealth and sterility; tradition vs change; belonging.

The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper: The chorus — an Old Man and Old Woman voicing the community.
Gold Coast: The British colonial name for the region that became Ghana.
Oguaa: Cape Coast — setting of Kofi's grand house in Phase Three.
Yebi: Anowa's home village, setting of Phase One.
Complicity: Sharing in wrongdoing — here, Africans' part in the slave trade.
Wayfarer: Anowa's word for herself: a traveller with no home.
Chorus: Characters who comment on the action for the audience.
Matrilineal: Tracing family and inheritance through the mother's line, as in Fante society.
Stage picture: A visual arrangement on stage that carries meaning.
Folk tale: A traditional oral story passed down in a community.

Cartes mémo

Author, date and setting of Anowa?

Ama Ata Aidoo, 1970; the Gold Coast in the 1870s.

What is the chorus called?

The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-And-Pepper (an Old Man and an Old Woman).

Three phases and settings?

One: Yebi; Two: the highway; Three: Oguaa.

What did Osam think Anowa should be?

A priestess.

Badua's insult for Kofi?

A good-for-nothing 'cassava-man'.

What do Anowa and Kofi trade?

Animal skins.

What splits Anowa and Kofi?

Kofi's decision to buy and own slaves.

What did Anowa's grandmother tell her?

That the big houses by the sea held slaves, sold partly by their own people.

Anowa's nightmare?

People pour from her body and are seized by giant lobsters that become pale people.

What does Anowa reveal at the climax?

That the childlessness is Kofi's — he has lost his manhood.

How do Kofi and Anowa die?

Kofi shoots himself; Anowa drowns herself.

How does Aidoo change the folk tale?

The 'devil' becomes greed and slavery, not a disobedient daughter's punishment.

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