Lost in transmission. . .
Heritage they say is inheritance, implying that it is a legacy transmissible from one generation to another. Similarly, culture is a combination of both tangible and intangible variables which are passed on from one generation to another. It is simply referred to as a way of life of the people. . . This way of life encompasses in totality the people’s practices, beliefs, customs, social behaviour. . . In clear terms, we can refer to culture as the people’s civilization because it includes their philosophy, ideas, values and a host of other items that define who they truly are.
Different societies have overtime evolved differently and the theme of culture as most often the true identity of the people is systematically giving way to complete cultural modernisation. According to the great philosophers, change is constant as far as existence and human coexistence remain. Over the years, the world has evolved from conservation to radicalisation just as our culture has undergone and is still undergoing such evolutions in the heated face of cultural diffusion and westernization. . .
In reality, culture evolves, which is why it is referred to as a variable. Change is good no doubt but when change, especially in terms of cultural values, becomes a total modification, it mostly leads to loss of values. Ours is in the process of becoming such a story. Our forebears built strong moral standards which translated into the values in the culture they later transmitted to us as a heritage. . . In our time, we have betrayed this heritage so much that our values are compromised and our culture is fast losing it’s tenacity and strength. It is so bad that even our languages, I mean our local dialects being our mother tongues are lost in transmission because most of us have chosen another’s mother tongue over our own. These days, some or most of us can barely hold or have conversations with our children in our various local dialects because some of us long arrived at the personal conclusion that learning or teaching our children our mother tongue is no more important, especially as it is probably an inferior thing to do based on others’ perception or because we will be viewed by others as being local beings, right? The truth is that language is one very essential part of our identity. It is obviously one of those cultural variables which make us unique individuals.
Change is good but sometimes, we really do not need change to keep our relevance in the face of others’ opinions. Upholding our culture isn’t and can never be a bad thing you know?, especially the good themes and values which others themselves may be lacking. We may never be the same people or have the same values once we make the choice of living others’ way of life. Applying the Western culture on some of our sociological issues sometimes makes me feel we are not dealing right anymore. For instance, the escalating cases of juvenile delinquencies, mindless killings, robberies, abductions, rapes, sexual abuses of all kinds and in fact, a whole range of evils prevalent in our society today, were once upon a time a taboo in our space as a people of high moral standing. Our culture grossly frowned at certain ways and penalties were commonly agreed on for dealing with such issues. Such penalties could range from ostracisation to outright banishment of individuals or any group of individuals deviant to the community’s acceptable ways of living. People feared the repercussion that any unacceptable actions or practices may attract and these kept our habitations safe. Consequently, insecurity was not an investment as is the case today where we are battling with all kinds of uncertainties, societal failures and unrest because we have allowed the modern ways to dictate to us how to pilot our lives, thereby giving room to the new alarming levels of indiscipline never before associated with who we once were.
Our heritage is broken… and the deeply sad question is, “if these times are like this, what will become of the generation unborn?” The good news is that it is never too late to retract and retrace our heritage. As long as the custodians of this same culture live among us, going back to our roots is possible. We can start today, by teaching our children and wards what we ought to have taught them from the beginning. Let’s reorient ourselves to the beautiful people we once were, to the richness of culture we once held so strong, to the strength of great morals once practiced and to the unflinching belief that contentment, honesty, love and sincerity can make the world a better place for all.
