I should also like to add,
Dear Chidi
I postulate -
and please do feel free to
count or discount my postulations as
works of the Almighty God
(or just some, not all His works)
Permit me to postulate on no authority whatsoever
and request that whilst your contributions to the fount and corpus
of the great African or universal wisdom
which has been transmitted by writing thus far
and may be applicable both local and globally,
you also agree with me as an accessory after the fact
that to a possible extent we also have to be true
adhere to good traditions from heaven (Oduduwa)
down
or
from the hairs of your Igbo roots, up –
even in this time of post-enlightenment flux.
The flux? Thanks to Caxton & Gutenberg and Queen Victoria, with the
spread of missionary Christianity and al-Islam, our local (some say
parochial) indigenous traditions were impacted, sometimes negatively,
and here Chidi
you are permitted to quote me:
for instance in some quarters, raising their new bible, the purists –
the "one man one Mercedes" mentality
complain bitterly
about polygamy
(grandpa's style)
as a way of life.
" What custom wills in all things should we do it,
the dust on antique time would lie unswept and mountainous error
be too highly heaped
for truth to over-peer"
http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=coriolanus&Act=2&Scene=3&Scope=scene
As I stated a little earlier, "to a possible extent we also have to be
true (adhere to good traditions)" And where could these traditions be
more liveable than in the historic and cultural environment in which
they gestated and still gestate and it's a fact of life that some
cultural enclaves fervently believe that their mindset and way-of-life
is under threat and therefore, understandably, they are at war with
what they consider foreign influences that could herald a permanent
change ?
After a wee bit of comparative philosophy (African, Oriental, Western,
cerebral), some comparative wisdom (human ( its' the survival
instinct, not just geographical) and a lil comparative religion – life
goes on. and you may imagine you find the eclectic – where there has
been no physical contact between human minds or cultures...) at least
I remember those adventures. Some of the experts have pointed out
conceptual affinities that the Yoruba Goddess shares with the Blessed
Virgin Mary....
As far as understanding Yoruba culture and tradition goes the latest
contribution is Professor Toyin Falola's "Etches On Fresh Waters"
which is an original, educative and inspirational, all-purpose poetic
and artistic compilation of Yoruba wisdom, folklore and tradition.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Toyin+Falola+%3A++%E2%80%9CEtches+On+Fresh+Waters%E2%80%9D
It should also be interesting to encounter the cream of wisdom in nice
succinct quotes composed upon reflections by e.g. the honourable
Kenneth Harrow on the one side and many quotes great and small from
Satan on the other side.
And from the fans of "the serial liar" so called ( when he hustles
the Virginia vote he promises the people of Virginia's dockyards he's
going to build 15 ships and three submarines every year!). It would
be a particular delight to have some erudite quotes by Mwalimu
Bangura on political philosophy, no doubt based on "The Green Book"
by Brother Gaddafi - and dear Chidi, you may quote him without his
permission....
On 5 Nov, 14:50, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelb...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Dear Chidi,
>
> Now we're enlightened. You have enlightened us!
>
> Many thanks for your prompt reply which I find quite satisfactory. I
> had thought that Chidi was going to chide me or should I say was going
> to chidi me?
>
> I understand that you would take up arms - legally – to fight
> plagiarism and that it would be no smiling matter either, should some
> other nation like to call itself Biafra – I can hear your voice -
> "not allowed " - the scoundrels, as if there was no monopoly or
> historical copyright and ancestral rights to that great name, in which
> case, I'm sure that there would be a storm of protest even legal
> injunctions to prevent this and there too we would be on the same
> side.
>
> Indeed, "proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten" and
> that's one reason why
> I look forward to your quotes with some expectation, I find that some
> are of local colour and relevance, others more universal - I look
> forward to all of them especially your pithy aphorisms and even your
> more dogmatic ones remind me of Voltaire, some of your other quotes
> remind me of Baruch Spinoza in possible dialogue with the thoughts of
> Blaise Pascal who I think operates more in line with Igbo post-
> colonial ethos when it comes to fanaticism about the so called "New
> Testament.":
>
> http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PasThou.html
>
> I also read the Opara reports regularly, they fulfil a vital function
> here - although I notice a great omission (or have I missed
> something) :You do not seem to have taken up this grave matter that
> sticks in the eye :https://www.google.com/search?q=The+%24100+billion+bash
>
> Wishing you a great day,
>
> Cornelius
>
> http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/corneliushamelberg/
>
> On Nov 5, 11:33 am, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi.op...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Dear Uncle Cornelius,
>
> > Do you want a written permission from me? Or you want to point out
> > error(s)? Or do you want to disagree with something(s) I have written?
>
> > If you want a written permission from me, it is a private matter and should
> > be addressed privately. If on the other hand, you want to point out
> > error(s), it is both private and public, you can choose any format, you do
> > not need to consult me. If you want to disagree with something(s) I have
> > written, you can go ahead and do so, it is your right, you also do not need
> > to engage me, principally, because, while what I have written would always
> > be around, I would not always be around to answer questions on them.
>
> > Meanwhile, it may be necessary here to state that there are now person(s)
> > who are responsible for the posting of my poems and quotes, so if comments
> > needing replies are not replied, it may not be my fault. I am saying this
> > because, not replying may be taken as an insult.
>
> > --------CAO.
>
> > On Monday, 5 November 2012 01:16:52 UTC+1, Cornelius Hamelberg wrote:
>
> > > Dear Chidi,
>
> > > I've been meaning to write to you about this matter for some time now,
> > > and hopefully I'm asking a question that may have crossed our people's
> > > minds as well, so, some further clarity on the matter please:
>
> > > In your last posting you suggested that "Men and Women postulate and
> > > sometimes label such postulations as "the words of God". - and at the
> > > bottom of that page you caution (hopefully, not on God's authority)
> > > that "Reproductions in part or in whole, in whatever forms, of
> > > ChidiAnthonyOparaPoetry, except for non-profit information and
> > > education purposes, without a written permission from the author is
> > > not allowed. "
>
> > > Of course even assuming that the Almighty writes books or has written
> > > one, I have difficulty imagining the Almighty stipulating a similar
> > > request " Reproduction/s of My Book in part or in whole, without a
> > > written permission from the author is not allowed." - which does not
> > > say much about your own relative status....
>
> > > Anyway, how immediate would your granting such a request be?
>
> > > Since I don't see any copywriter symbol © at the bottom of your page
> > > it's the "is not allowed" that I'm not so sure about. Is there some
> > > kind of legal backing for your "is not allowed" ? Would quoting you
> > > for purposes other than the non-profitable and/or educational without
> > > your prior consent be a legal infringement of your intellectual
> > > property rights?
>
> > > And what could be the likely penalty or consequence's of mis-"quoting"
> > > you ( without your permission) ?
>
> > > Kind Regards,
>
> > > Awaiting enlightenment,
>
> > > Cornelius
>
> > >http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/corneliushamelberg/
--
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