In the past I have taught a course titled "Social Change and Community Development." Antiquarian historians tend to think that the best of humanity or their culture was in the past and therefore if we want to move forward we need to reenact the past.
Others believe that no society can avoid social change. Even if Europeans did not colonize Africa, there are other factors that would have promoted change even though the consequences or legacies would be different. Thus for some, the best way to keep a culture alive is to continue to adapt it to changing realities that are sometimes beyond our control.
It is also one thing to think of keeping or honoring a culture by keeping the same practices verbatim, and it is another thing to honor and keep the culture alive by looking at the main spirit or ideal that the cultural practice wants to communicate or inculcate and devise new ways of keeping the ideal and the spirit even if some of the original concrete practices might change.
When I did my fieldwork research in Malaysia, one of the things I discovered was that even the most conservative Muslim groups in the state of Kelantan in Northeastern Malaysia argued that given the forces of change that are concentrated in the peninsular, the best way to save Malay culture is to embrace the process of change, of course strategically. In effect, save the Malay culture by adapting it instead of trying to keep it intact.
This concern about change and the issues that comes with it have been raised in the debate on secularization theory of religion. For instance, Peter Berger argues that the challenge that religious people or to be more precise Christians face in the U.S. or in a modern liberal democratic society is that, if they refuse to change, over time, they will become irrelevant to the important historical questions or issues of the moment. So he believes that is not really a good route to take.
On the other hand, Berger also said, if a religious group just decide to change every time with the times, over time, they will lose their identity and just not know who they are or where they are coming from. That is also not a good option. So the best option is somewhere in-between. And resolving the issue requires wisdom.
What he said about religion is applicable to cultural change in a society or within an ethnic group as well.
Some would think the best way to bring honor to their ancestors is to remain in their home town and die there, learning no new language. Others believe the best way to bring honor to their culture is to go to any part of the world, adapt themselves and succeed while still maintaining and acknowledging their place of origin or identity.
We all know that for any immigrant in the U.S. who wants to succeed, he or she would have to first figure out what are the minimum requirements for functioning effectively in this society so as not only to thrive but flourish. Once the person answers that question, he or she can assess himself or herself to see whether they have those minimum requirements or not. And if they do not, they can decide what do they need to do in order to acquire the minimum requirements broadly speaking in order to be effective players in the system. Doing so does not mean they are totally abandoning their identity. Indeed, if they excel, the American culture will start inquiring more about his or her identity and origin. It becomes even a bigger story even though the whole story started with the immigrant acquiring all what it takes to succeed effective in the dominant cultural currency. Now with such a recognition, the person has a great platform for celebrating his or her identity.
For me, teaching in a university that is predominantly white and you can count those of us that are minorities with your fingers, my main concern is to ensure that the African, especially African immigrant is not perceived as someone to be taken for granted or a liability. If I can succeed this way, I will be helping many Africans that will come after me. When the university employed a colleague in my department who is from Southwestern Nigeria, I told him two things. I said, some faculty members may treat us as strangers and outsiders wet he can succeed without every faculty member liking us. But we should not ever joke with our work with the students. If the students feel satisfied with their learning experience while working with us, the news will circulate within the campus and we will be okay. Second, I told him that we should just assume that someone is suspecting us, and the person has a 24 hour secret camera recording what we do. We should therefore behave in a manner that manifests a high level of integrity and honesty such that the person reviewing the secret camera will say it is a waste of time, when trust is established.
When I was in Federal University Gashua in Yobe state, there was a celebration I was invited to attend with the Vice Chancellor of the University. The school is meant generally for locals although there are others living in the community attending. During the event the school organized traditional dances of different ethnic groups. There was Kanuri Dance, Igbo Dance, Yoruba Dance, and Hausa Dance. They had a forum where some students dressed in traditional Igbo attire and like in a public debate on Nigerian television, they articulated all the concerns that people in Southeastern Nigeria talk about regarding why some people think the best solution is to breakaway. I thought it was great that in a place far away from the Southeastern Nigeria or Yoruba land, the community as represented by parents and students were made to be aware that Nigeria is big and is not about one group or few in Northern Nigeria, and we have groups that are not satisfied with the current arrangement. There were members of the Yoruba and Igbo community etc. in attendance. I believe they felt affirmed that the local community school is instructing the young about the whole of Nigeria. And the students were really trained to do the traditional dances very well. One would not understand that they were just trained.
For me, if one wants to move forward, whether it is a person or culture, there is always need for adaptation but adaptation does not mean and should not mean abandoning everything about one's past or identity, if carried carefully. Surely identity itself goes through transformation. Everyone in my school knows that I am an African and my African heritage infuses how I relate with people. I was brought up to be respectful of elders, to be polite, and to respect a woman's space etc. Yet, I have adapted to American society and my ways of thinking now are not the same as when I came.
Some Africans have made Africa proud by moving to Europe where they became shining stars there by adapting effectively and succeeding. The African immigrant who saved a child that was hanging in a building in France last year or was it in 2017 probably brought more honor to Africa and to his people than just speaking his language. It was about character and how he instinctively felt the need to help, ignoring risking his own life.
So what is the best way to promote one's cultural heritage in the 21st century? This is an open-ended question.
For instance, I know people still break kola nuts in Igbo land. And I am fascinated by the idea that the kola does not understand any other language than Igbo. But I find the kola breaking deeply meaningful and symbolic of something more than itself, when I understood the meaning during my national youth service. On that basis, the big question for me is not the act of breaking the kola per se, but the meaning and the spirit and ideal that the act is conveying. It is that which I want everyone to know, emphasize and extend so that the spirit and ideal can be kept alive in all areas of human endeavor that brings different people together in pursuit of common goal or a shared sense of social solidarity. In doing this, the big issue becomes the ideal and the spirit behind breaking kola which I believe all can identify with when they understand.
Samuel
Samuel Zalanga, Ph.D.
Bethel University
Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Reconciliation Studies,
Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, #24, Saint Paul, MN 55112.
Office Phone: 651-638-6023
On Sat, Mar 2, 2019 at 1:49 AM Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM <chidi.opara@gmail.com> wrote:
"To deploy today, the Igbo cosmology of circa 1880 as if nothing has changed in the Igbo world, reveals some form of tribal zealotry or willful ignorance." (Chielozona Eze).
That would be stupidity, and to me, not what Samuel Zalanga was talking about.
CAO.
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