The poetic voice of the piece, writing in the first-person plural to represent his cultural group. He is steeped in both traditional Odinani beliefs and the Western Christian education of colonial Africa. He serves as a guide, urging his people to embrace life, adapt to the modern world, and protect their physical and cultural inheritance rather than seeking a martyr's death.

The intended audience and cultural brethren of the Speaker, representing the colonized Igbo people. They are spiritual, connected to the earth, and weary from an abundance of suffering. The Speaker warns them against giving up their lives and abandoning their ancestral land to those who seek to exploit it.

The unnamed antagonists who patiently wait to exploit the land and its deep resources once the soul brothers are gone. They lack the rhythm and spiritual connection of the native people, driven instead by a materialistic and animalistic hunger for wealth. They represent both the colonial forces and any group seeking to plunder the land's resources.

The traditional Odinani goddess of the underworld and the ground. She represents the safety, strength, and renewal found in the earth. The Speaker highlights her dual dominion over both death and the arts, emphasizing the deep connection between the people, their creative expressions, and their physical homeland.

The predecessors of the Speaker and the soul brothers who bequeathed them their land, culture, and the symbolic dance of life. They are credited with the profound wisdom of connecting the arts and death through the goddess Ala, establishing the spiritual foundation that the current generation is fighting to preserve.

The future generation of the people. The Speaker insists that the soul brothers must protect their inheritance so these children will have a place to dance and a future to look forward to. They represent the continuation of the culture and the ultimate reason to choose survival over death.