Culture changes over time, and so does language. I have come to learn this while studying, but one thing that makes culture an everlasting thing is that the information guarding our norms and traditions is passed to the new generation, and they have to uphold it.
Culture is the heartbeat of any society; it shapes our identity, values, and way of life. For the new generation, understanding culture is essential. It connects them to their roots, teaches respect for diversity, and helps preserve traditions that hold deep meaning. There are some things that have been passed down from our parents to us, which have helped us become who we are, and these things have shaped the society we live in.
For example, I saw a video of a boy whose mother was calling him. Instead of answering her, he was making a video of her as she was screaming his name and calling him. Other people were just passing by and didn't say anything. I went to the comment section and saw some people laughing about the video, but two comments got my attention.
The first was
This can't happen in our land.
Then the reply to the comment was
Is your land against techology, or video recording?
The reply to that comment was so much because it was Nigerians who started replying to that individual. Comments like,
It's against our culture., We are Nigerians, dem no born us well. Someone on the street would have collected the phone and beat me up if I tried that in my community.
In our culture, we are taught that there is a consequence for every action, and trust me, I learned that very well.
To the main question of the day, how much of your culture should you pass to your children?
The truth is that a lot of things have been mixed with our culture, which makes them unique, from religion and tribalism to even the spiritual part.
I believe I should pass all the cultural beliefs to my children, as long as there isn't anything that has to do with human or animal sacrifice. I wouldn't want them to participate in such a thing, but keeping the knowledge away from them is more like robbing them of their cultural heritage.
Every child has the right to know their roots, the secrets of their roots, and things they need to know about their family. Many a time, some people, after accepting one religion, tend to throw away all their traditional rites that make them special. Now, I am not saying they should go back to doing anything diabolical but our tradition is our tradition, and when the time comes for us to respect it and pay our homage, we ought to.
I remember my grandma telling me how I came from the lineage of a priesthood who answered to the king, and this made our family in my homeland special. I have been to my homeland and I saw the way people treated my family with respect. I don't participate in anything they do, but I know my family heritage and how important it is to keep it.
I was told anyone born within our family always has the ability to hold something hot for a longer time than other people. More like a special ability. If I had turned a deaf ear to what she wanted to tell me about my cultural heritage, I wouldn't even know the story of my great-great-grandfather and how the family (Fashanu) came to be.
Don't you think it is now my responsibility to let my children know of their culture and lineage?.
Like I said, culture changes over time. I am sure there are many things they did in the past that can't be remembered or are not doing again. The little we remember, let's pass it on; it's our responsibility.
Thanks for reading. My name is Fashtioluwa.
All images used are mine.
