Historical and Socio-political backgrounds

Understanding the background of the play is important because And Palm-Wine Will Flow is not simply a story about a traditional ruler and his subjects. The play was published in 1990, a significant period in Cameroon’s political history. The country was experiencing strong demands for political reforms, greater political participation, democracy and respect for citizens’ rights. Butake transforms such concerns into a dramatic conflict within the fictional Fondom of Ewawa. The play therefore examines what happens when political authority becomes arbitrary, corrupt and disconnected from the interests of the people. Students should however, avoid treating every character or event in the play, as a direct representation of a particular historical person. Ewawa is a fictional dramatic world through which the playwright explores wider social and political problems.