The EbunjanTheatre Troupe returns in grand-style with culture, tradition, music and dance, melded in a performance that can only be called spectacular.

The Dance of Katchikali is a dance-drama that narrates the story of Bakau’s Katchikali and how the sacred pool and its crocodiles came to existence. The story is made to go back to the beginning of time when the world was just a void, until the Divine Power created rocks, mountains, trees, and other geographical and physical features of the universe. Lastly, the Divine Power created Humans, both man and woman, to inhabit the earth. Before long, humans started devastating the environment, hacking away trees and all forms of foliage, an activity, which we all know, damages the environment and our delicate ecosystem. The end result was infuriating to the spirits that guarded the forests, not the least of whom was Katchikali, the great spirit after whom the area has been named. Katchikali hastily evicts humans from the surroundings and guardedly installed the Bojang family as custodians of the sacred pool. The Bojangs continue to take care of the pool and crocodiles to this very day.

The story is propelled by harmonious music and dance, reinforcing the central theme of the dance-drama which is the importance and need for harmony, peace, and protection of the environment for the greater good of creation including Man himself.

Ebunjan Theatre Troupe continues on their mission to promote art and culture of The Gambia.

It is, therefore, incumbent on Gambians in particular, to go all out in their hundreds to support the Ebunjan Troupe and the Gambia’s own culture.

The production is at Alliance Franco Gambienne on

Kairaba Avenue

on Friday and Saturday 2nd and 3rd May. The entry visa is only D200 for adults, and D50 for children. We should not miss this music- dance extravaganza which has the promise to be The Gambia’s artistic and cultural hit of the year.

It’s through the mesmerizing dance and the properly measured steps in cadence under the spell of rich and melodious African music that the Katchikali story is told. It tells of the secret pool bearing its name in Bakau. It tells of the spirits of the pool and the Bojangs, custodians of the pool.

Katchikali is linked to the history of mankind and of a nation The Gambia. It is the source of wealth, fertility, success and happiness. It provides hope to the despair, a smile to the sad and a remedy to the ills. It is the cradle of humankind in ways that humans have no knowledge of. The dance drama to be presented will give a captivating story of Katchikali, the crocodile pool of Bakau, The Gambia.

The Ebunjan Theatre Troupe presents a dance drama in a one-act play with six scenes. The play is ‘based on a Gambian legend on how the Bojang family became custodians of Katchikali’. ‘It underscores the harmonious relationship between humans and their environment.’ The narrator, a griot, who is also the upholder of oral traditions and history, will begin to disclose the sacred story of Katchikali and of its coming to being.

He will relate, in a melodious voice accompanied by music, an excellent choreography and some onomatopoeia, the different stages of the existence of Katchikali and of its ‘children’ spirits. As the story unfolds, the spectator will be enthralled by colourful choreography and beautiful music. Shadows will rise to take form and translate the narration into reality.

Beautifully choreographed by Eddie Mends-Cole, skilfully narrated by Felix Downes-Thomas and accompanied by an excellent kora player, Alhagi Mbye, the Dance of Katchikali will grip its audience from the first scene all through. By the end of the story, the spectator will be in such trance that it will be hard to believe such a wonderful production can end.

Certain questions would have been answered though: what is the import of the crocodiles at the Katchikali pool? Why are women going there and talking to the crocodiles? Why is the Bojang dynasty the only curators of such a weighty and historic place such as the pool? Has the pool any particular tie to the people of Bakau or The Gambia at large? What are the forces that connect the pool to the Bakau inhabitants? Is it possible that it has special allure that we do not know of? If so, what are they? Answers to these questions can be found in this wonderful drama.

It is not surprising though that this piece of drama is of excellent taste and skilfully dramatized. The playwright and director is none other than Janet Badjan Young, fondly called Aunty Janet by all who know her. Aunty Janet has produced excellent pieces of drama in the last decade to qualify her as the most brilliant Gambian dramaturge of our time. She is presently the Chairperson of the board for the National Centre for Arts and Culture. Some of her plays have stirred great emotions and have received loud accolade from masters of the theatre and experienced persons in the area of literature.

She has set her mark and like all skilful dramaturge, she has taken pleasure in producing for the love of the theatre. Those who have seen The Battle of Sankandi staged in May 2002 at the Kairaba Hotel Conference Hall will remember Aunty Janet. It is a play based on the history of a battle between the indigenous people and the colonial masters caused by an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Aunty Janet is also the producer and director of the brilliant drama, The Ultimate Inheritance that was finally funded and filmed in real life setting in English, Wolof and Mandingo for its excellent taste and strong message. The Ultimate Inheritance tries to portray a traditional inheritance practice, which impacts negatively on women. The play also gives an account of the stigma associated with the diseases and the care for those infected with HIV.

Today, its film version is being projected throughout the country to sensitize people. Some of her other prominent works are the The Hand of Fate?, a play about early marriage, A Man for All Seasons and Sizwe Banzi is Death, the last two adapted from the senior secondary school recommended literature textbooks written by Robert Bolt and Athol Fugard respectively. The first of the last two is a classic play centred on the struggle of a man of principles and strong belief against a King and the last play is about racism and identity crises among blacks in the South Africa.

The Ebunjan Theatre is staging "The Dance of Katchikali" at the Alliance Franco-Gambienne this Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd May. Tickets are fixed at D200.00 for adults and students need only pay D50.00. The Play begins at 8pm prompt!