Old Nollywood got it right!

By Old nollywood, I mean the semi-epic and village-set movies we watched as kids and still get to see on Africa Magic Igbo and Yoruba. You know how there is always a village vagabond….a man who is almost always in a drunken state and who walks on the village path in  a zig-zag manner or the man/woman who comes for a burial/wedding/chieftency ceremony uninvited and makes a spectacle by crying more than the bereaved or celebrating more than the celebrant.

Before last year, I thought it was just a copycat syndrome thing, where several movie director and producers (with questionable levels of creativity) decided to add that scene to movies just to draw a reaction from their audience.

I was wrong.

I attended the burial of a grand uncle (he was 99 I think) and it really was to be more of a celebration of life. It was one of those family events where you meet uncles and aunties you didn’t know you had, who seem to know everything about you and won’t stop goshing about how you’ve grown into a fine young woman from a skinny tadpole….oh well, that is a story for another day.

Point is, it wasn’t supposed to be a sad cry-fest.

At the point he was laid into the grave, naturally, his children and wife shed a few tears but then, out of no where, my dad and I spotted a village vagabond.

He stood right in the middle of the arena and started to wail rather loudly and say several words of praise to my deceased grand uncle but did not mention his name (certainly because he didn’t really know who was being buried). He then walked quickly to the corner of the grave and acted like he was going to throw himself in. One of the undertakers picked him up and tossed him over a shoulder and took him out. (yes, he was that skinny and tiny....just like in the films)

I was amazed by the spectacle….it seemed like it came right out of a nollywood film.

It got better though…by the time the prayers and final rites were completed, it was time to eat. I saw the wailing wailer sitting in the same area as the band, with a bottle of star beer in his hand and one under his arm and a plastic bowl of food on the floor, between his legs. He dropped one of the star bottles and dug in his trouser pocket for a bit and pulled out a plastic spoon.

I smiled to myself and mentally patted the old nollywood film directors on the back…they absolutely got that scene right.