Marmo and Haragashi: Iraqw Folk Theatricals

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to expose and thus vindicate the theatrical potentialities that abound in folk rituals and ceremonies. It describes and presents the details of the observances and ritual procedures connected with the ceremonies of Marmo and Haragasi which usher youths into adulthood and the matrimonial estate among the Iraqw of Northern Tanzania. Marmo is the girls' ceremony of coming of age and as such it is not only a critical stage of life but also a dramatic one. Haragasi is the dialogue that sanctions matrimony by discounting impediments, such as consanguinity, that might bar a marriage. The slant of this paper is towards the theatrical appeal and symbolic significance with which the ceremonies are loaded. Such theatrical features and symbolism suggestively illuminate a hitherto unexplored filed in functional aesthetics, for the two ceremonies discussed, show how theatrical techniques can be exploited for effective communal education.