Good day everyone,
I'm not really a good writer so will make this short an concise. So this afternoon at work a colleague's son came to our office after school because his school I no far from the office.
So this little boy came in an started taking handshakes with everyone , he wanted to do same with me but as a typical Nigerian rooted in Culture and tradition I felt disgruntled and told him if he wants to greet people especially elderly ones he should prostrate.
Asif I wan infested with plagues, everyone started yelling at me, that what sort of arrogance is that and all that, how could I have asked for small boy to prostrate... Jeez Nairalanders I was dumbfounded and it was so embarrassing. This was the way I was brought up, total respect for elders which is helped me to so many ways. what happened to norms and morals in our society?. Why do do have to say away from morals an copy the whites? Have I done the wrong thing by trying to imbibe some knowledge?
Note that this boy doesn't even know what to prostrate mean.

Cc Lalasticlala, seun,ishilove,bigfrancis21, Fulaman198, odumchies

I want your comment please, don't just view

toms55:
Good day everyone,
I'm not really a good writer so bill make this short an concise. So this afternoon at work a colleague's son came to our office after school because his school I no far from the office.
So this little boy came in an started taking handshakes with everyone , he wanted to do same with me but as a typical Nigerian rooted in Culture and tradition I felt disgruntled and told him if he wants to greet people especially elderly ones he should prostrate.
Asif I wan infested with plagues, everyone started yelling at me, that what sort of arrogance is that and all that, how could I have asked for small boy to prostrate... Jeez Nairalanders I was dumbfounded and it was so embarrassing. This was the way I was brought up, total respect for elders which is helped me to so many ways. what happened to norms and morals in our society?. Why do do have to say away from morals an copy the whites? Have I done the wrong thing by trying to imbibe some knowledge?
Note that this boy doesn't even know what to prostrate mean.

Cc Lalasticlala, seun,ishilove,bigfrancis21, Fulaman198, odumchies

Some great questions, Hausa culture is definitely not dying. Although I'm not Hausa, I can say with supreme confidence that in both Niger republic and Nigeria, Hausa language and culture is extremely strong.

Traditional music, food and the language are showing no signs of diminishing amongst the Hausawa. I'm pretty proud of them for being able to maintain and keep their culture strong.

I hope that this is also the case for the Yoruba and Igbo. I hope that they are not selling out their respective beautiful culture(s) for foreign ones.

Fulaman198:


Some great questions, Hausa culture is definitely not dying. Although I'm not Hausa, I can say with supreme confidence that in both Niger republic and Nigeria, Hausa language and culture is extremely strong.

Traditional music, food and the language are showing no signs of diminishing amongst the Hausawa. I'm pretty proud of them for being able to maintain and keep their culture strong.

I hope that this is also the case for the Yoruba and Igbo. I hope that they are not selling out their respective beautiful culture(s) for foreign ones.

you know,the rate a which people shy away from culture especially among the 21st century parents is alarming.

toms55:
Good day everyone,
I'm not really a good writer so will make this short an concise. So this afternoon at work a colleague's son came to our office after school because his school I no far from the office.
So this little boy came in an started taking handshakes with everyone , he wanted to do same with me but as a typical Nigerian rooted in Culture and tradition I felt disgruntled and told him if he wants to greet people especially elderly ones he should prostrate.
Asif I wan infested with plagues, everyone started yelling at me, that what sort of arrogance is that and all that, how could I have asked for small boy to prostrate... Jeez Nairalanders I was dumbfounded and it was so embarrassing. This was the way I was brought up, total respect for elders which is helped me to so many ways. what happened to norms and morals in our society?. Why do do have to say away from morals an copy the whites? Have I done the wrong thing by trying to imbibe some knowledge?
Note that this boy doesn't even know what to prostrate mean.

Cc Lalasticlala, seun,ishilove,bigfrancis21, Fulaman198, odumchies

The thing is respect is shown in several ways and is not limited to one way of showing it. Different cultures have different ways of expressing respect. While in the Igbo culture, a simple greeting and/or head bowing movement is enough to portray greeting, in the Yoruba culture, respect is often expressed in the form of prostration or genuflection. In the Western world, a handshake is enough to express respect to someone or an elder. From the type of respect you demanded, I would assume you're Yoruba.

However, it would be wrong to expect a particular form of expression of respect from everybody you come across because people come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. While it might be ok to expect a younger person of Yoruba ancestry to prostrate for you given that you both share the same culture, it would be wrong to expect a non-Yoruba to do the same because you do not share the same culture. Thus, expecting your colleague's son to prostrate to respect you would be wrong especially if the boy does not come from the same culture as you or maybe even if of the same tribe as you may have been raised differently by his parents. In his simple mind, the boy may have been expressing respect to his elders in the only way he has been taught to. We need to be open to different cultures and modes of expression.

Cultures often change and the acceptable mode of expression of respect in a particular generation might not be acceptable the following generation or might change completely to something else by the next generation.