IRONY OF CULTURAL DAY CELEBRATIONS.

Some primary schools recently celebrated cultural day. I remember such celebrations from when I was younger, it is almost still the same. Little children are made to put on costumes which should be a native attire. Unfortunately, our traditional wears have been whittled down to a costume. This is disheartening. 

The children adnorned their beautiful cultural wears. The boys looked majestic in their attire for men. You could see their shoulders raised high as they carried themselves with great pride. Just as it should be. Too bad even  our elders today rarely exude such swagger. The girls were dressed as either maidens or mothers. Each striding accordingly,as the madiens walked with style and the mothers in grace. Just as it should be.

I watched as one Aunty (Class Teacher) took her time to rearrange wrappers of young girls, helping them tie it properly. Unfortunately, young mothers do not even know how to tie wrappers properly the Igbo way. As they blatantly refuse to tie wrappers anymore.  How then would they teach their little girls. Thankfully, the event was an opportunity to remind young ones that shorts, trousers, gowns and skirts are not our traditional mode of dressing.

The dressing was not the only highlight of the day. The display of array of native dishes, cultural dances, traditional songs, folktales and stories, news in native language, etc. One feature at the event interested me the most. An interactive session where contenders were made to converse in Igbo language for as long as they can without inserting an English word. The competition lasted for less than 4 minutes, as all the 5 contenders could not resist adding English conjuctions, nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. That was quite exposing. It revealed how much our language has been eroded.

The array of meals was spectacular. These are dishes we have traded for quick - to - prepare meals as everyone is on the go and has little time to settle down and cook real (Igbo) food.

The children performed a short drama. The drama portrayed the African setting where the father was the head, both in deeds and in words. The mother was soft - spoken and humble, and the children were dutiful and had respect for their elders. Today, this three combination is rarer to find than gold.

I enjoyed the day, everyone did. Culture is a beautiful thing. It is literally the peoples way of life. It saddened my heart that cultural celebration is apparently an annual event. If should not be so. We should celebrate our culture everyday. Too bad we must wait for cultural day for us to be reminded of what should be our ways. To see the beauty and full colors of custom and tradition.

We long lost touch with our ways. We traded it for modernizatin, style and convenience. Our little children are not getting it right, they were not shown how. I weep for the generation that would only get to see Igbo ways as it is displayed in museums or achives. Just like other lost cultures.

Cultural day celebrations are not merely for entertainment. It is a reflection of what we used to be. It is a reflection of what we should be.