Comparing Macbeth And Tribal Africa

We have chosen to set our production of Macbeth in southern Africa during the 12th century. The similarities between the culture of tribal Africa and the original text written by Shakespeare are easily found. Although the power systems of the tribes in these cultures differs slightly from those found in the text, we can see a clear likeness between the two. Africa tribal culture was typically governed through a system of fear and power. The most powerful person in the land became the ruler and they would rein their tribes largely through fear. This is a direct parallel to how Macbeth controlled his people. We ultimately see at the end of the play that because of this, Macbeth’s soldiers have no love for him and refuse to stand by him in his hour of need. Despite complete records of this time period not being able to be found, we do know that there are many examples of not only wars between different tribes but also usurpation within specific tribes themselves. Many tribes found themselves embroiled in mutinies within their command …show more content…
Tribal Africa has historically been filled with a belief in the spirit world and a witchcraft culture has thrived in this continent for many years. There are many different beliefs about magic and the existence about witchcraft across the continent. Although the beliefs differ in their specifics, most tribes and countries hold to the fact that witches and spirits exist. We choose to specifically focus on the regain of southern Africa, drawing on parallels found in the Tswana tribe. This tribe believes in two types of witches, day sorcerers and night witches. The night witches in particular are described as, usually old women, who would travel around the country in small groups bewitching hapless victims. This is clearly similar to the witches we find in Shakespeare’s original text of