Teaching children about their culture.

I think we should pass as much culture as we possibly can to our children. Culture is not simply about being traditional. Culture is a part of who we are. Culture makes us who we are. Culture gives us identity, pride, and belonging. By passing it to our children, we're passing on to them something priceless that money cannot buy.

I am an Igbo, and that culture is rich and lovely. The language, foods, dressing, respect for older people, ways in which we celebrate, ways in which we bond among ourselves, these were all that made us us. I am terribly distressed that I don’t get to take my kids often to the East so that they see all these by themselves. At times, I worry that all that I narrate to them is legend and not fact. I look back at their raising, at festivals to commemorate new Yam, at reunions at home, at gatherings at the village. We used to play with cousins in the compound, we used to listen to oral traditions at dusk. I wish that my kids could feel that happiness as well.

There is a very big between listening to it and seeing it firsthand. I try to describe our culture to my kids, but I know that they're curious, but it is simply not the same. I have at last taken them to an event in our city. They saw masquerades and people dancing to the drum. My little one could not stop grinning. He kept asking questions, “Why is that masquerade wearing that cloth that is making us not see his body?”, “Who is that man singing?” That made me realize how much it is imperative that they connect with their heritage.

Culture also instills values. I was taught to respect elderly people by welcoming them in their due manner, to help other people, and to work hard from my culture in Igbo. These I try to pass on to them at home every day. I talk to my kids in Igbo at times. I let them have traditional foods to eat and we have music that is from their culture in the house. Despite being far from the village, I want them to feel as if they still belong.

I feel like I cry in my heart because I don't feel that I'm doing enough. Life is busy. School, work, bills, all of those demand their time. But I have made it my choice to try again. My children have to have been able to look at where they came from with pride. I don't want them to feel lost or empty because they don't understand their own culture.

Lastly, culture is not dressing or speaking the language. Culture is the way we live, the way we treat others, and the stories we tell. That's in our blood. I want my kids to have that regardless of where in this world they might end up. I want them to pass that on to their children someday. As far as is possible, we should pass down to our children our culture. It is one that will always remain precious to them.

All images are screenshots on my phone.