In his play Death and King's Horseman, Wole Soyinka shows that women had important and recognized roles in traditional Yoruba society. Women fulfill their social, moral and spiritual roles as mothers, impose discipline, show leadership to the community. Iyaloja, the Mother of the Market, is politically and spiritually critical. In addition to enforcing discipline, his imposing image in terms of influence is a great source of nourishment for the entire community. In the play, the market women are also capable of assuming positions of power, reducing the superiority of men. Wole Soyinka shows different ways of thinking about power, influence and responsibility. The play opens with Elesin Oba, the king's knight, on the day of his pre-ordained death. The king is dead and by law and custom his chief knight is expected to commit suicide and accompany his sovereign to heaven. Walking among the women of the local market, followed by an entourage of drummers and a singer, Elesin proclaims: “This market is my perch. When I come among women I am a hen with a hundred mothers. I become a monarch whose palace is built with tenderness and beauty. Elesin refers to women generally as mothers. For him there is no other place that can offer him so much comfort. Here we see women playing out their traditional roles as mothers, not as women who give birth, but as women who nurture and support morally and spiritually. The market women sing his praises, dress Elesin in their richest clothes, and dance around him. Women love to spoil their children, just like they love to spoil Elesin. In the same scene, a young girl attracts Elesin's attention and he convinces the market women that he should be allowed to marry the paper h...... girl....... Spot the mistakes carefully of Elesin and speaks to Pilkings as if he were inferior to her, even referring to him as a child. The last words of Wole Soyinka's tragedy are entrusted to Iyaloja. He directs the bride and the audience: "now forget the dead, forget the living also, set your mind only on the unborn." In the final line Iyaloja suggests focusing on the future, what it holds and how to carry your culture forward. Iyaloja executThe women in Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Knight have proven that they are responsible, strong and have the will to carry forward the future of the show. It is important to note that the corpse of Olunde, who committed ritual suicide in his father's place, is also carried by women. Throughout the show, although the women were not in the executive position, they led including Olunde's final pass to the other side.