This play is based on events that took place in the town of Oyo in 1946. The king dies and it is expected that his chief horseman commit suicide and accompany him to heaven. The colonial district officer learns of this ritual and attempts to stop it. This drama describes Elesin, the chief horseman of the king of a Nigerian village, who loses the respect of the villagers when he fails to take steps to follow his dead ruler into the afterlife.

"Reissued as a Norton paperback 2002"--T.p. verso. Originally published in 1975.