ERASED . . .
By Chidij
I am no longer mad at our fathers for not sharing our culture with us or passing down our traditions. I have now realized that unlike their fathers, they have no culture or traditions to give us. We have no more tales by the moonlight to connect us, no more white chalk rituals to school us, no more new yam festival feasts to celebrate life, no more fables with moral endings to guide us, no more thought provoking idioms to tickle our mind, no more memories of our ancestors to uplift us, no more stories of grand father's or great grand father's exploits to revel in, no more herb recipes to keep us well, no more obi to call home.
Our fathers are unaware victims and vectors for colonialism. They should be forgiven. At a young age, foreigners convinced our fathers to look down on our traditions, culture, and identity. Now, we have elders who spent their entire life submerged in a culture and tradition that is not their own. Our fathers are just as lost as I am, just as lost as my young children in diaspora.
Last December, I watched the world celebrate christmas as a religious holiday, as a euro cultural heritage, and as a capitali$t $ociety'$ dream. I envied those who had maintained and globalized their traditions.
Then, my heart broke as I realized that this beautiful bronze skin child of Umuahia, has absolutely no African Igbo traditions to boast of. Lost, I am lost.
It only took three (3) generations - my parents, me and my children. Mission accomplished!
We have been
ERASED . . .
