I read a post from someone, writing on this prompt yesterday, and after reading, I thought of what exactly I'd write if I participated. A prompt on Culture. I grew up very far away from my hometown. A town whose traditions are a stark contrast to that of my people but with the help of my parents, I haven't missed a thing.
There are so many interesting things about my culture I love being a part of, and those traditions, as I'm familiar with, are going to be passed down to my children. I am from the Igbo speaking part of Delta and I am very fluent at speaking my language. When I was younger, my parents limited everything English to school and outsiders alone. Although I conversed with my siblings in English sometimes, I dared not tell my dad anything in English. Everytime we attend a family gathering, speaking my dialect is never a problem for me. So, because I am very fluent in my dialect, my kids must be as well. My parents did not fail me in that aspect and I don't intend to fail them in that area as well.
Source
In my tribe, every family has their unique greeting. People from a particular household have a specific greeting for all the elders. This was something I found hard to understand how it worked for sometime because everytime we went for family gatherings, there were always so many people with different greetings. My kids will greet me, not good morning but Ogene, as is typical of my lineage. They must be familiar with their relatives as well, so they know the greetings peculiar to people from our part of the town. They will greet me Ogene after every meal, like my parents taught me to, and greet their dad in his preferred greeting as well.
My female child will not eat chicken gizzard because she doesn't like it, and not because society says so. My culture has this rule that women should not eat chicken gizzard just because and so, whenever we got a live chicken at home, I'll see my brother and father munching happily on the gizzard, while I stared. Funny how, that's one of my best things to eat at a restaurant. So, my girl child will not eat gizzard because she chooses not to, and not because tradition said not to.
House chores, in my home will be shared amongst everybody. If you can eat but can't wash your plates, you better not think of eating your next meal in my home. As long as you are physically fit, and you dwell in my home, you must sweep, do your laundry, wash your plates and do domestic duties. Nothing is limited to a certain gender in that home. And if I ever hear you, as the girl, taunt your brother that he's crying, when he's supposed to cry, you'll sit down and tell me where exactly you learnt that from because I, your mother never taught you such.
Although this won't be so much in my power, because I really can't decide the type of food my kids would like or dislike, I'll love for them to be huge fans of swallow. I love swallow a lot, and you'll randomly find me craving for it. I plan to dedicate some evenings every week to swallow. You can't take swallow to school? Good and fine but when you get back from school, nothing's stopping you from eating it right? So, when you're back from school on some days, a pot of soup, and akpu or garri, will be waiting for you. On Sundays, after the rice in the afternoon, we'll eat our akpu, with Ofe Nsala, just because your mother is Deltan.
These are vital parts of my culture I will pass down to my children. Everyone has to belong somewhere, and through I and their dad, my kids will be firmly rooted in the awesomeness that is culture.
Thanks for reading.