Tradition can be seen as a way of thinking, behaving or doing something that has been used by people in a particular group, family, society, etc, for a long time in the past. It can also be seen as a set of beliefs and customs for which a group of people is known. It is passed on from generation to generation.
Talking about the traditions of Africans especially the Igbo tribe in Nigeria. The tradition of the Igbos was tagged fetish and diabolical by European Masters who brought Christianity to Africa. But before this time African tradition is observing your cosmos and nature.
An instance is when the Igbos are gathered and drink is presented before them and you see them pouring some portion of drink on the ground after praying. They do this to recognize the presence of their ancestors whom they believe were there before their own time, knowing fully well that in years to come they will no longer live but become ancestors too.
This act is not diabolic it is just a way of reverencing our ancestors as we know that taking cognizance of nature does not mean diabolism.
To make Igbo land great again, there is need to promote the teaching of our culture and traditions in our various schools. If a course that teaches basic details of our culture can be recognized in universities’ programs, it will make the job easier for us and the coming generation.
In addition, it is very important to groom our women very well in the culture and tradition of our people for an easy passage onto our children as women are more likely to be at home and have more chances to interact with and educate our children. This is a major strategy the foreign religious masters used to capture our people. Once they had the mother of the house, they could easily to the children and the father followed after.
The Igbo language has also suffered great setbacks and is growing more obscure by the day. This is one of the major problems the transition of our cultural beliefs has come to face. Attention should also be paid to different schools that prohibit Igbo speaking among pupils and students. More so when we say in Igbo tradition that a woman in her period should step aside for some days, it does not mean that we do not regard them.
It only suggests respect for the spiritual perspective of a woman then. When a woman is in this period, she is considered very sacred. This is one of the reasons why our forefathers were polygamous. The polygamy they practised in those days was more natural than what we are made to believe today this is because we have always had more women than men in number.
Just recently, a video was circulating on different social media platforms where some women in Finland were seen half naked protesting on the street that men should marry more than one wife as they are already tired of being single and unmarried.
Conclusively, to get things right, we all have to go back to our roots, however, let us not lose ourselves in search of ourselves. We should always strive to promote our indigenous core values while we still can.
Written by Chioma Offor (Obinwannem News correspondent Germany)
Date: January 19, 2024
Published by Ugwu Okechukwu (Obinwannem)
