Uncultured?

I am Nigerian and I am proud to be one. It is a strong part of our culture to be courteous to others and especially to those who are older. Although this is sadly no longer being practiced in the cities, don't be surprised to be greeted warmly especially in the morning by a total stranger in the not too urban parts of the country.

And we also give a special respect to our elders to the point of bowing very low and sometimes prostrating before them when greeting them. Females don't prostrate or bow, only males do. Females kneel or give a low curtsey when greeting an older person. When handing over something to an older person, a male will give a slight bow while a female will curtsey. Sadly, most part of our culture is being eroded by westernisation and most of our youths no longer practice these things. That's a story for another day.

In all these, the Yorubas have carved a niche in greeting and showing courtesy. The Yorubas are predominant in the South Western part of the country. And by the way, I am Yoruba and we like to greet and show courtesy. There is a show of courtesy for every little single thing. When someone is sitting down, he'll be greeted "eku ijoko" for being on a seat. When someone is doing some work, she will be greeted "eku ise" severally in the duration of the work. When someone is planning and preparing for an event that might be two months away, she will be greeted "eku ipale mo" for the preparation. We greet when someone is eating, we greet when someone is resting. We greet each other when it's raining, we even greet each other when the sun is high and it's hot weather. It's all in the show of courtesy.

So why am I writing about our culture of showing courtesy? Something happened. I was walking with someone around the neighbourhood sometime ago when we approached an older man who was familiar to me. I greeted the man and the man responded warmly and we moved on but I noticed that the person I was walking with did not show any courtesy by greeting or acknowledging the man. I was thinking, "so why didn't she give a greeting to the man after she had seen me do so?". I believe courtesy demands that one shows courtesy to the person you see a friend or acquaintance show courtesy to, especially when they are together. So if one is with a friend, and that friend sees a person he or she knows and he says hello to the person, that one is also obligated to say hello to that person; that's just courtesy.

In my culture, that's the normal thing to do. Like I wrote before, westernisation is eroding our very rich and unique culture. What that means is that we are allowing the culture of the western world replace ours. Please don't get me wrong, each culture in the world is unique and beautiful, but there are cases where not all parts of a unique culture is totally acceptable. What that means is that there are some parts of some cultures that are no longer practicable because they have been found to be inhuman, unhealthy and no longer beneficial and necessary. And there is also no harm in practicing some parts of a foreign culture but this should not be at the detriment of ones own culture.

If an English woman  practices her culture, we say she is a well cultured lady but if she throws caution to the wind and does not do so we say she is uncultured. In India, a younger person will bend low to touch the feet of an older person to greet and receive a blessing from the elder. This is being cultured but a person who refuses to do this in India will be seen as uncultured. It is the same thing with anyone who refuses to practice the beneficial and relevant aspects of her culture. Are you cultured or uncultured?