Being able to participate in the group that presented on Nigeria was great. I learned so much about the country and Dr. Babatunde Oyinade who was my interviewee. The way they live is so different from the way I live. I knew this, but until I actually did some research and spoke with him about his life in Nigeria, reality finally hit. The way they abide by their customs and rituals is amazing. I enjoyed learning about how they get their names. He was apart of the Yoruba culture so they don't name their children until the 8th day. The family will come together and name this baby on the eighth day. The name is earned by what circumstances surround the baby at the time of birth. Dr. Oyinade earned his name "Babatunde," because his grandfather had just past and they believed the old man came back through his birth. I thought that was so amazing because their could be a million Babatundes' in that country. He also said if a child is born into a family that is wealthy, the child's name will be Ola (abundance of wealth), if their are warriors in the house, Akin will precede the child's name. Finally in another part of the country, if you worship the God of Ian, your name will be Ogun. This custom has been followed since the beginning of time and this tribe still follows this even if they are abroad or not.
The way they cook their food is even different. They use their resources to their advantage. They have to do this because they usually don't have the money to afford to get meat (only for special occasions) so most of them are vegetarians. It was fun trying to experience how they cook, but it'll never be the same as the way they use plants, fruits, and vegetables to produce the way they eat.
Just learning about all of this, made me appreciate my culture and theirs too even more. I feel like I'm so quick to look down on other cultures or say that's crazy the way they live, but it's not. It's their way of life and it's what makes them unique. I think performing Dr. Oyinade, was in some way me attempting to bridge the gap between my culture and his. It was GREAT! Thanks Dr. Oyinade for contributing to my experience.
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I know what you mean Mel. Doing this project helped me gain a new interest in learning more about, not just Nigeria, but Africa as well. I guess I never really thought how close we are to our, as Dr. Njoku would say, "brothers and sisters". Even though we may not be able to directly link our family trees in Africa, we are so closely linked by blood. There are just things that are instinctly within our blood that can be traced to Africa. For example, I use to have a lateral "s", it sometimes sounded as though I had a lisp and it's a sound commonly heard in African-American women predominantly from the south. Well, I was telling this to an African scholar and they told me that that sound can be found in speakers in West Africa. Now that I have lost that sound I feel as though I have lost even more of a connection to my roots.
Playing the drum for the group allowed me to feel connected to my roots. Just to know that these same rhythms have been played for millenia and have been heard by countless generations is a feeling that is indescribable. These same rhythms nurtured the first universities, calmed the first scientists and mathematicians, comforted us on slave ships, uplifted us through slavery and oppression and now have been reclaimed in a time of freedom. The sheer history behind the rhythms is mind-boggling, and it humbles me to be able to play them.
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