Guardian Arts
Inua Ellams’ ‘The half god of rainfall’
8 years agoIn Inua Ellam’s “The Half God of Rainfall”, Zeus, the thunder-god of Greek mythology loses a bet to Sango, his equivalent among Yoruba deities and proceeds to violate Modupe, a mortal who bore a child called Demi described by the poet & playwright thus: “Half Nigerian mortal. Half Grecian God. Half-child of Zeus. Half-lord of river waters”. Demi grows into a celebrated basketball player and nurses an ambition to avenge the crime against his mother. The recombination of deities may initially seem sensational but not for too long. Once primed, the readers’ imagination is engined by the revenge plot and fanfare rise to fame of its hero Demi all of which is vividly rendered by Ellam’s powers of memorable description.