Am Crying for my culture, african culture
Posted August 19th, 2008 by kamala
My fellow African Youngman, have you ever asked yourself about yourself on who you are, your current and future life? What about your culture as an African? Do you take your time to observe what is going on in our local media, western and international Media on our culture?
It’s highly discouraging; there is a coming up of a cultureless generation on African continent. No respect to our beautiful continent. Our culture is now damaged and smashed day to day, while we keep on thinking that we are coping with globalization.
I was raised up in a Christian community where I was taught to stop practicing any African cultural activities. African dance, songs, drum, words, clothing, even language are regarded as a Satanic way of life!
I remember my evangelist teaching and insisting on the matter. He once taught me that, “Africans are cursed by a God and that’s why their deeds are satanic!”
Now, our culture is fading and it will soon perish if deliberate measures are not taken to preserve it.
For sometimes now, I have been watching different music and singing competitions taking place allover the continent; it’s really embarrassing on our culture side. When a contestant makes a song in African way, he/she is told to sing something “popular” this thing called popular is always an foreign style, …way of singing or melody
Our music is dying since it’s almost useless in the ears of the contest judges, these judges, I consider them Europeans even if they are wearing African skin.
In various competitions like big brother Africa, no African language is allowed when in the house, wherever African culture is to be portrayed, then it is to be linked with catastrophe, like HIV/Aids, war and violence, as if there is nothing good in Africa.
Our local languages are called vernaculars and therefore not official and not worth to be used in public. I wonder to see in my own country where people are connected with one language, Kiswahili language, but English language or mixed Kiswahili with English in highly applied, not to forget the display of well detailed foreign news, but shallow on local ones.
In my country, came one Swedish snake hunter who conducted a hunting business by pretending to discover undiscovered snakes. The guy went with his camera in different bushes and forests, taking pictures and videos of different snakes, eventually, he reported to have discovered new specie of snakes. He was praised for such an achievement, our national museums gave him a credit and respect for such a great job!
I remember when I was young in my home villages, my grand parents knew about all of these snakes and birds and each had its local name, but now, came a European, renamed our snakes with his own and his ancestors’ names, everyone applauds him for that, for changing african way of naming our snakes and birds.
I love wearing African clothes in African style, many youths are not aware of African way of doing things. Nowadays big shopping malls and centers are scattered everywhere, praising foreign styled clothes, something which makes us follow the white man’s cloths and leave ours.
In February 2008, USA president visited African and spent almost four days in Tanzania, worse enough, I couldn’t see him with his host president Kikwete wearing our cultural cloths as the way of advertising our local market as well as retaining our culture.
This is due to our imported education systems, all books we read are written by either a foreign (usually European/ American) writer or a foreign minded African writer.
Lets remember that: culture is a total way of life, is all man’s way of living and therefore the main identity. If you don’t have your culture or you don’t practice it and if you are practicing the foreign one, you are like a refugee in you own country or continent.
I have visited, read and watched various cultures, but I have never seen any beautiful as African one and that may be the reason for others to trying to harm it.I love Africa, I Love my culture am not ashamed of my culture I will retain it as long as I live
What a wonderful culture our fore fathers left us. The way of behaving as a child when you see an adult, the way of greeting and the 'pleases' in coversations. The of dressing and walking, to mention but a few. Our culture as Ghanaians and Africans as a whole is the richest ever the wealthiest man on earth would invest in. Lets talk about our festivals and the 'Dipo' as Ghanaians. Recently, how many people do we see in 'Batakari', 'Kente' and the 'Ahenema'? Was it reserved for the kings, queens and royals? We only see these people wearing them as if they were made for them only. Were we naked before the so called 'saviours' came to Africa? Of course NO! Our fore fathers were wearing these dresses to cover their nakedness and how lovely and gorgeous our ladies were looking in the 'Kente'. How many people do we see in our African clothes now a days? Even our own presidents who portrays our various African values in the international world whenever the is a call, neglect our proud African clothes for suites. Example they say is better than precept so if our leaders are exchanging our culture for that of the white, what are we expecting from those who are taking the second steps? An African learder like Olushagun Obasanjo needs path on his back for his regular wearing of the nigerian clothes whenever he is seen on our screens.
Growing up in a community of good parents who will 'straighten' you whenever you go wrong whether you are his/her bilogical child or not, I learnt a whole lots of things. I learnt not to hold my waist whenever am talking to an elderly person, to put your hands behind your back whenever one is talking to an elderly person, to greet all and sandry whether you know him or not among others. 'Otto Phister' was the greatest crime in the community as it portrays the kind of upbringing you were brought up in the home as many people say. Asking a colleague why students mostly wear 'otto phister', he said "if the world bends, you are surely to bend and when the world is running, why do you stand?". This really makes the questions more than the answers as these future leaders are exchanging their dignity for 'following the world'. Are we to believe we are coping blindly? Certainly yes because, the youths always have an idea that, if the fellow is not wearing t-shirts and trousers and is always in African wears then the person is 'JOHN' as they mostly describe such proud cultered people. How many people do we see in African prints and styles? An intelligent preacher like Pastor Mensah Otabil need not to be forgotten whenever we are counting people who are proud of their African clothing.
Are we to believe we are biting more than we can chew or we are living up to what modernism carries? Did our forefathers send those cultures to the graves when departing for their heavenly calls or they sold them for white mans goods? If not then who has captured our rich cultures being left us by our grand dads?
I am indeed crying for my culture, the rich one of course that our fore fathers left us.
its time to prove on how beautiful our continent is. I love Africa.
of course, some propagandas are hitting it and we unknowingly seat and wait to see it diminishing. Christianity and Islam are doing a great job from our names to our way of life.
I LOVE OUR CULTURE
Post new comment