Anytime I think about culture, what I think of is home. I think of those early morning greetings, I think of the way we talk, I think of the way we respond, and I think of how that each and every of our names actually meant something.
Culture is in almost everything,...is in our food, in our speech, in how we respect elders, in how we celebrate both big and small wins to me, culture is wide, culture is that thing that makes you feel you actually belong somewhere.
I’m a Yoruba, and our culture teaches respect. Females kneel, while males prostrate to greet elders. You shouldn't necessarily be a family member before we call you “aunty” or “uncle.” Even if you are a stranger. Also, we speak in proverbs, I love that about us so much, we have some dressings that's best known to us, when we dance we use every part of our body, we love stories as well, especially late night stories and short sayings.
Will you like to know my favorite part? My favorite part is how much we value names... There's definitely more to each and every name, you can't just call a Yoruba person “Femi,” "Toyosi" or “Tolu” and think that’s all. Behind each and every name is something behind it, maybe a sentence, but most especially ...there's a story behind each name. I often wonder how our parents came up with something with so much meaning.
To be honest, the culture I admire most, apart from my own, is the Tiv culture, they are from Benue State in Nigeria as well.
There was a time I attended a friend’s traditional wedding, and that one outing changed how I saw cultural beauty. Everyone was wearing black and white, that was the Tiv attire. The men had long staffs in hand as they danced, the women as well danced and carried themselves with so much pride and elegance. The music as well was deep and different, but even though it wasn't my culture and I didn't understand their language, it felt welcoming.
Seeing the way they were all united, happy and everyone was out to celebrate with the couples touched me. It was as if the whole community was there, everyone danced, everyone was having a good time. And that opened my eyes to see that culture goes beyond clothing and all. Culture is about togetherness. That was what the Tiv people showed me and it’s something I won't forget.
There are things I see atimes and it makes me think. I just wish we all can appreciate our cultures more. These days, what we do is rush to copy foreign lifestyles, forgetting that what we have here is gold. It goes to the extent of we not even knowing how to cook our local dishes.
Culture is our foundation and our identity, and it's never meant to be do away with. Culture goes beyond what we practice, it is what we also pass on. Even though I admire other cultures, but I remain proudly Yoruba.
All pictures were generated using AI.
Thanks for taking your time to read through.