As expected, evolution keeps creeping in and obviously keeps making an impact on the way we live our lives on a daily basis, some of them good whereas some of them bad.
If there was something I feel we should revive that evolution has taken away from us, it's the moonlight folktales...
I live with my parents in the City where these folktales aren't much of their worries but then, over the period of my childhood days, I went for holiday in the village and that was where I saw that I have been missing out on a very great and impactful life activity.
While in the village, after dinner most of the days, the children and adults in the village will gather under the big tree in the village square which was not far from our home and then fractions into fractions of people doing different things will be there.... Some adults will be telling stories about the war; some about the never ending tortoise and that or tortoise and this stories whereas others will just be playing one game or another...
It was always fun.
Doing these things, we think it doesn't create an impact on our younger generations but then, it plays a major role in their life which includes;
- Promoting our Culture:
During these periods, the younger generations get to know more about the culture of their village because the adults are there to clarify them of any obscure area.
You get to ask the reason why they do what they do and get the correct answer from people who have been doing that.
Ever since we stopped doing this, many people have been derailing on the aspect of our culture and it is because some of them doesn't even know that they exist not to talk of what they mean just like what's on the increase about a lady leaving her father's house to a man's house to live as his wife even without a proper introduction ceremony not to talk of traditional marriage, it's so sad!
Most persons can't even communicate efficiently with their mother's tongue (not as if we even speak the English well) and most persons don't even know a page of the histories behind their village not to talk of Nigeria.
Our culture is gradually going into extinction and it's alarming!!!
- Building Personal Connections
These periods that people come together for these stories directly and indirectly make their connection stronger.
Bearing this in mind, you get to make more friends and also know your people and if you happen to leave the village in search of greener pastures and meet another of your villager, you two automatically becomes brothers and sisters even without any blood relationship.
- Morality:
The impact of these folktales on our moral life could not be underestimated.
With the never ending tales of tortoise, people get to know subconsciously that Kama will always visit anyone who does wicked things to his or her fellow human being and also know that there will always be reward for doing good and keeping by the rules.
Childhood period is the greatest time to guide a child towards the life you want him to live and also the best formative stage you could get and imbibing these values in a child will always go to a great extent in helping him or her grow in the right path.. e
Even the Bible says it all in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in a way he should grow and when he is old, he will never depart from it".
Ever since we stopped this act, the rate of moral decadence in our lands has been on the increase and you see children doing what an adult can't even do.
No one respects another again even to the extent that greeting an elder is gradually becoming a problem on its own.
Often times, it's really the little little things we do that matter but we neglect them a lot.
Bringing back these moonlight folktales will help us a lot especially bearing in mind that childhood period is the period where our kids could be easily deceived because they don't know the whole truth behind most matters.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day