This is a topic very dear to my heart because the Yoruba race is yet to recover from the huge assault dealt on it by the combined forces of transatlantic and transcontinental slave trade, the British colonisation,the invasion of Islam and Christianity, the mental colonisation of our cherished world view, the forced amalgamation and the dysfuntionality of the Nigerian contraption.We also have as a quick fall-out of the above, the serious encroachment of our rich traditions, cultures and cultural values, the loss of our history, the near-loss of our language, the obvious loss of our identity, the aping of eccentric values of the United States of America, arrant inferiority complex, and loss of both our political and hitherto buoyant economic structures.But let us begin by exploring what in fact constitutes a people's culture. This will be the first leg of our discourse today. Thereafter, we shall examine our identity and follow it up with the role culture and identity play in a society's emancipation. We will then cap it up with the erosion of cherished values which the Yoruba have suffered as a race and a clarion call to awaken ourselves and reposition for survival, emancipation and permanent preservation. In all of these, I am going to quote profusely from scholars and leading authorities whose researches, thoughts and opinions have guided our own efforts in this submission. Now, to culture.Culture (Latin: cultura, lit. "Cultivation") [1] is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions.[2] However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:* Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture* An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning* The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterises an institution, organisation, or group.German Romanticism Culture is:1. The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.2. That which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc. 3. A particular form or stage of civilisation, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture. 4. Development or improvement of the mind by education or training.5. The behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culturea : The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or timeWhat is Culture' The word culture has many different meanings. For some, it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For a biologist, it is likely to be a colony of bacteria or other microorganisms growing in a nutrient medium in a laboratory Petri dish. However, for anthropologists and other behavioural scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behaviour patterns. The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist, Edward B. Tylor in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871. Tylor said that culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." Of course, it is not limited to men. Women possess and create it as well. Since Tylor's time, the concept of culture has become the central focus of anthropology.Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason, archaeologists can not dig up culture directly in their excavations. The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patterns--they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills.Layers of Culture There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behaviour patterns and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these peoples apart from others. In most cases, those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and other family members who have it. The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture click this icon to hear the preceding term pronounced In complex, diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often retain much of their original cultural traditions. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest of their society. Examples of easily identifiable subcultures in the United States include ethnic groups such as Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. Members of each of these subcultures share a common identity, food tradition, dialect or language, and other cultural traits that come from their common ancestral background and experience. As the cultural differences between members of a subculture and the dominant national culture blur and eventually disappear, the subculture ceases to exist except as a group of people who claim a common ancestry. That is generally the case with German Americans and Irish Americans in the United States today. Most of them identify themselves as Americans first. They also see themselves as being part of the cultural mainstream of the nation.These Cuban American women in Miami, Florida have a shared subculture identity that is reinforced through their language, food, and other traditions.The third layer of culture consists of cultural universals. These are learned behaviour patterns that are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, they share these universal traits. Examples of such "human cultural" traits include:1. communicating with a verbal language consisting of a limited set of sounds and grammatical rules for constructing sentences.2. using age and gender to classify people (e.g., teenager, senior citizen, woman, man).3. classifying people based on marriage and descent relationships and having kinship terms to refer to them (e.g., wife, mother, uncle, cousin).4. raising children in some sort of family setting5. having a sexual division of labour (e.g., men's work versus women's work).6. having a concept of privacy7. having rules to regulate sexual behaviour8. distinguishing between good and bad behaviour 9. having some sort of body ornamentation10. making jokes and playing games11. having art12. having some sort of leadership roles for the implementation of community decisions.While all cultures have these and possibly many other universal traits, different cultures have developed their own specific ways of carrying out or expressing them. For instance, people in deaf subcultures frequently use their hands to communicate with sign language instead of verbal language. However, sign languages have grammatical rules just as verbal ones do.Is Culture Limited to Humans' Non-human culture' This orangutan mother is using a specially prepared tick to "fish out" food from a crevice. She learned his skill and is now teaching it to her child who is hanging on her shoulder and intently watching.There is a difference of opinion in the behavioural sciences about whether or not we are the only animal that creates and uses culture. The answer to this question depends on how narrow culture is defined. If it is used broadly to refer to a complex of learned behaviour patterns, then it is clear that we are not alone in creating and using culture. Many other animal species teach their young what they themselves learned in order to survive. This is especially true of the chimpanzees and other relatively intelligent apes and monkeys. Wild chimpanzee mothers typically teach their children about several hundred food and medicinal plants. Their children also have to learn about the dominance hierarchy and the social rules within their communities. As males become teenagers, they acquire hunting skills from adults. Females have to learn how to nurse and care for their babies. Chimpanzees even have to learn such basic skills as how to perform sexual intercourse. This knowledge is not hardwired into their brains at birth. They are all learned patterns of behaviour just as they are for humans.Let us now examine the identity of the Yoruba person. What are the traditions that sharpened the Yoruba identity' What are the values that threw up their culture' Or in another way, what cultures have combined to shape up their values' We may spend a whole day to itemise the salient structures that constitute the Yoruba plethora of cultures and traditions. But the most prominent are the Yoruba political structure, the social fabric, the sociology of the race, especially in areas relating to love, marriage, inheritance, in-laws, respect for elders, and unmatched love for neighbours and everybody a Yoruba person has contact with. The communalism in labour matters, and the Esusu, a Yoruba co-operative banking system are some of the cultural tenets that define the Yoruba.The Yoruba identity is summarised in the age-long concept of Omoluwabi. Omoluwabi is quintessential Yoruba. Omoluwabi is not lazy. Omoluwabi cherishes industry and he gets respected through hardwork and the accomplishments hardwork brings his way.Omoluwabi is ever truthful. An Omluwabi will NEVER tell lies under any circumstance. Omoluwabi is bold and courageous. And when he is on the battlefield, he will defend his rights with his blood if need be. But he is not foolhardy. Moja-mosa ni Akin ogun!An Omoluwabi will not steal, because he hates anything that will bring shame to his family or to himself. To the Yoruba man, Iku ya j'esin! Death is preferable to disgrace!The sum total of Yoruba philosophy is Iwa l'ewa. Character is beauty. And to the Yoruba, Your attitude determines your altitude!The Yoruba are very philosophical, and hence, most of their day-to-day conversations are laden with proverbs and rich idioms. E wo oju obe k'e mu'yan! Iyan is work, obe is character!But the richness of our culture, tradition, wisdom, witticism and varied expressions lie in our language. Take away a man's language, his entire being is rendered postrate. There is therefore a crying need to restore our language to its historic dignity and pride of place.
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