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TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 1:13pm On Sep 21, 2019 |
Marianne, started getting interesting from episode 3. |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 1:10pm On Sep 21, 2019 |
Percival9: LMAOOO art is truly subjective. 1 Like |
Literature / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now And What Page Are You? by AdorableJosh(m): 9:03pm On Sep 16, 2019 |
Preshfrances1: Sent. |
Literature / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now And What Page Are You? by AdorableJosh(m): 8:52pm On Sep 16, 2019 |
Memunah: I'm just a few pages in, but so far I love it. 1 Like |
Literature / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now And What Page Are You? by AdorableJosh(m): 8:17pm On Sep 16, 2019 |
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. |
Family / Re: Indomie Generation: Who Exactly Are They? by AdorableJosh(m): 7:49am On Aug 31, 2019 |
ladyGKilaBCrueD: Modern music is shiit though. |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 1:34pm On Aug 19, 2019 |
Ah! Elementary, what a thoroughly satisfying series finale. |
Culture / On Culture: Ebalu Aluụ - Cheta Nwanze by AdorableJosh(m): 10:57am On Aug 13, 2019 |
The Esan people of Edo State have a very interesting saying, “Ebalu alụ.” It simply means, “What we do is what we do.” I have seen this statement deployed to almost devastating effect in a funeral situation when the proverbial (and literal) village people were trying to extort money from a friend of mine (and his siblings) who were simply trying to bury their father. The village people were making rather unreasonable demands and justifying those demands by hiding behind ‘culture’. When the inevitable pushback came, my people were told, “ebalu alụ,” and that was that. Recently, an online movie entrepreneur, Jason Njoku, made a comment about not teaching his children the Igbo language in favour of Mandarin and French. Many people attacked Njoku, and one thing that kept coming up was that “he does not value our culture.” What is culture? Anthropology defines culture as the ways of living built up by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to another. No story to me illustrates the concept of culture better than the story of the monkeys, so let me tell that one, and another… A researcher puts some monkeys in a cage which has some bananas on top of a ladder in the middle of the cage. As soon as they get in, the monkeys go for the bananas and the researcher sprays all the monkeys with freezing water for five minutes. Each time a monkey inevitably tries to go for the bananas, the researcher again sprays all the monkeys with cold water for five minutes. After a while, the monkeys connect going for the bananas with getting an ice bath and stop attempting to go for the bananas. The researcher then puts the hose away for good. But when another monkey tries to go for the bananas, the others attack him to prevent him from climbing that ladder. They are afraid of possible punishment. Then, the researcher replaces one of the monkeys with a new monkey who was never sprayed with water. As soon as this new monkey comes in, he goes for the bananas, and the other monkeys attack him. If he tries again, they attack again, and eventually, he too learns not to go after the bananas because he’ll get attacked if he does. The researcher replaces a second original monkey. When this new monkey goes for the bananas, the others attack him, including the first new monkey who was never sprayed with water. One by one, the original monkeys are removed from the cage. Each time a newcomer goes for the bananas, the others attack, including those that never received the cold water bath. They have learned not to go after the temptation of the bananas, and have learned to punish those who go after the bananas. This is their culture in the cage. Ebalu alụ. Both the United States and Canada had reasonably similar beginnings in that they were both settled by Europeans in various colonies, and grew up to a point where they were strong enough to let go of their mother countries. Despite this overarching similarity, however, the US has developed a gun culture, while Canada did not. In the US, the settlers rebelled, violently, against their colonial overlords, the Canadians had a more benign move to independence from the British, and as a result did not need to raise a militia, with a Second Amendment, to ‘defend our freedom.’ Ultimately, two countries with very similar beginnings took very divergent paths and built different cultures due to the nature of the means by which they achieved independence. That is how cultures are born and handed down through generations. There is nothing immutable about cultures. In Nigeria, we get too caught up in these sentimental arguments about how great our cultures were while forgetting that there is a reason that some of these habits (which became culture) were pretty bad habits, which only changed due to the arrival of our colonisers. I’m Igbo by ethnicity. What if the Igbo had blindly held on to a ‘culture’ that was prevalent 150 years ago? I happen to be a twin, would I have been able to write this? The world is in a constant state of evolution, and if your culture, whatever it is, does not evolve, then it will die. Language, dances, et al, are just parts of culture, and they too have to adapt to realities, or they die. Sometimes, an old language has to undergo a change, or be subsumed, so a new identity can blossom. The Igbo language, for example, has not adapted to a changing world. In my lifetime, I have seen the word “ngaji” get supplanted by the English equivalent, “spoon”. Is that a tragedy? In parts it is. But language and other parts of culture are living things. So are nation-states. Nigeria is still a geographical expression. To use the American motto, “e pluribus unum,” or “out of many, one”, to create a Nigeria, our various cultures will all have to give up something. You cannot say, “ebalu alụ,” and expect Nigeria to thrive. Source: https://m.guardian.ng/life/culture-lifestyle/on-culture-ebalu-aluu/ 1 Like
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Literature / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now And What Page Are You? by AdorableJosh(m): 10:29pm On Aug 08, 2019 |
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. 1 Like |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 11:27am On Aug 08, 2019 |
Andersonjr: I understand why it ends with season 7, apart from it ending with the 100th episode which is kinda poetic, it's better to leave when the ovation is loud, dragging it out will inevitably dilute the quality. |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 10:05am On Aug 08, 2019 |
The 100 is my favourite CW show, granted I've only watched a few of them, like the previous finales, this also did not disappoint, somehow the show writers managed to raise the bar. I did not really warm up to the Prime angle though but it's interesting nonetheless. The best thing about the show still remains how they navigate the murky grey areas, the heroes are always committing genocide, committing atrocities but you still find yourself, understandably, rooting for them. |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 10:04am On Aug 06, 2019 |
KoiceReloaded: I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the dry humor is top notch, plus the series is short and not draggy. 1 Like |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 8:07am On Aug 06, 2019 |
henrydadon: Sacrilege 1 Like |
Celebrities / Re: Rape: Amnesty International Calls Out Nigerian Police For Invading Timi Dakolo's by AdorableJosh(m): 8:10pm On Jul 21, 2019 |
E99E: Actually they did, try to keep up. 4 Likes |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 1:58pm On Jul 21, 2019 |
Veronica Mars season 4. |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 9:57am On Jul 21, 2019 |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 9:55am On Jul 21, 2019 |
ositadima1: Doing the good Lord's work. |
Celebrities / Re: Wizkid Featured In Beyonce The Gift Album, Trends In UK - Twitter. Photos by AdorableJosh(m): 4:51pm On Jul 19, 2019 |
Olodo24: Beyonce is not struggling to win Grammys for herself, you'd be correct to say the album of the year continues to elude her, she's the most nominated woman(66) and the second most awarded woman (23) in Grammy history. 1 Like 1 Share |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 6:06pm On Jul 18, 2019 |
Achilles100: I actually love the series, plus I have a bias towards Carla Gugino and I'll watch her in anything. |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 2:29pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
sameni123: It is obvious you are a lout, I wouldn't have replied you but I want my last reply be a warning so you have no excuse when you start reaping your evil proceeds, desist from cultism before you die like a chicken. 14 Likes 1 Share |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 2:08pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
Harlots S03. 1 Like |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 2:06pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
sameni123: You are a dunderhead, what has his father got to do with this? He only told you to renounce cultism, that doesn't warrant you involving his folk. 7 Likes |
Politics / Re: Bisi Fayemi Shares Rape Experience, Blasts Women Shaming Busola Dakolo by AdorableJosh(m): 7:01pm On Jul 08, 2019 |
scoory: Man, what a load of crap. |
Celebrities / Re: Patoranking Daughter, Wilmer Baptism In Georgia (Photos) by AdorableJosh(m): 9:57am On Jul 08, 2019 |
nairalanduseles: Your masculinity must be fragile to be triggered by that. 2 Likes |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 11:29am On Jul 07, 2019 |
As they say, he who has ear... it should be reiterated that the endgame of cultism is death, OP was lucky to escape, you'll only be deceiving yourself to say you can join and leave later, as if! If you don't value your life, value your family's. Continue holding on to God, saynotocultism, your deliverance shall be complete, amen. 2 Likes |
TV/Movies / Re: What Series Are You Watching Now? Part 2 by AdorableJosh(m): 10:35pm On Jul 06, 2019 |
Politics / Re: FG, Govs Seek Recruitment Of Corps Members For Community Policing by AdorableJosh(m): 10:28am On Jul 06, 2019 |
This is a disaster waiting to happen. |
Crime / Re: E Plex Hair: Rikeino On The Run After Buying N107k Hair With Fake Credit by AdorableJosh(m): 11:42pm On Jul 05, 2019 |
CallMeGod: It is highly annoying that the mods are enabling it, Nairaland is a bottomless pit of stupidity. |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 11:23pm On Jul 05, 2019 |
Fgbread: Please check my previous posts on this thread, you'll see I have zero tolerance for cultism, both dirty and 'clean' as you deceptively put it, that was why it was in quotations. 3 Likes 1 Share |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 3:03pm On Jul 05, 2019 |
'Clean Axemen' gbuo gi there. 25 Likes 1 Share |
Crime / Re: My Story As A Cult Member........initiation Phase Included... by AdorableJosh(m): 3:02pm On Jul 05, 2019 |
Fgbread: I really, honestly, truly hope nobody here believes this. 66 Likes 3 Shares |
Religion / Re: Ex-COZA Staff: I Was Raped By Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo (Video) by AdorableJosh(m): 12:09pm On Jul 04, 2019 |
sweetrace:[/s] Your favourite pastor is a sexual predator. 4 Likes |
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