Why are you so fat, Kadiye? Justify this question as youth’s rebellion against abusive religious authority in the play.

 The Swamp Dwellers is a close study of the pattern of life in the isolated hamlets of the African countryside as well as an existential study of the simple folk who face religious of life without any hope or succor. Soyinka tears apart social injustice, hypocrisy and tyranny.

The only priest of the Serpent god or swamp god. He receives sacrifices from the ordinary people and perform all the rituals on behalf of the villagers to satisfy and pacify the god. The swamp people sacrifices the best ones of their production in order to pacify the serpent god so that they can yield a good harvest otherwise they might suffer from loss.

 

The Swamp Dwellers reflects the life of the people of southern Nigeria. Their vocation mainly is agro based. They weave baskets, till and cultivate land. They believe in serpent cult. They perform death rites. They offer grain, bull, goat to appease the serpent of the swamp. Traders from city come there for crocodile skins. They lure young women with money. Alu withstands their temptation. Young men go to the cities to make money, to drink bottled beer. In fact the city ruins them.

 

     The swamp dwellers believe in the infallibility of Kadiye, priest of the serpent of the swamp. Their belief is exploited by Kadiye to the hilt. Igwezu questions Kadiye and his ways. It tells us of the clash between tradition and modernity in southern Nigeria. Rain brings them hope.

The physical feature of Kadiye indicates that he is more like a villain than to be a religious person. He is fat like a blood-swollen insect. He is a monstrous looking person. He is described as a big ,voluminous creature of about fifty.’ He is smooth-faced and his head is shaved clean. He is bare above the waist and at least half of his fingers are ringed. This physical look suggests something ugly about his moral nature. Kadiye is very rich and has a good control over the swamp like a Godfather featured in the western films. Kadiye destroys people wearing the mask of religion.

     As the priest of the Serpent, the Kadiye betrays the trust of the villagers by encouraging them to indulge in meaningless cult which are profitable. The villagers give of their harvest to the Kadiye so he can appease the serpent but unknown to them he is feeding fat on their sweat. No one questions where the goods go, because it is almost blasphemous to do so. But it seems that the dramatist is very critical to the Kadiye and Kadiye’s real nature is exposed through the conversation between the Kadiye and Igwezu.

He takes goats, ores and other sacrifices offered by the simple minded villagers. They offer the sacrifice to appease the God and want protection at their lives and crops. But the priest consumes when Igwezu asks,” Why are you so fat?” He leaves Makuri’s house. 

        In all, the play itself is a symbol of the rots in the society. The rottenness of the era which is part of the origins of poverty is presented in more physical terms by the ugly sight of the swamp where the masses dwell. He has set his eye on Igwezu's money. As a priest he is not bothered about Igwezu's lot. He exploits the villagers knowing full well they are in straits. Soyunka satirizes the corrupt practices all the society living in superstition living in superstition through Kadiya. This all are the justification as youth  rebellion against abusive religious authority in the play.