Culture

Exploring The Tourism Potential of the Odun Oba Festival Using Printmaking (Published)

The Odun Oba festival is a major cultural celebration in Ondo, Nigeria, which annually serves to showcase the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Ondo people. This study examines the festival’s socio-cultural viability as it relates to improving the kingdom’s tourism potential. This study deployed printmaking as a medium to capture and depict the Odun Oba festival, using printmaking’s diverse techniques and expressive capabilities to provide a distinctive platform to document the multifaceted nature of the Odun Oba Festival. The researcher has also tried to portray the lively attires, intricate and dynamic dance performances that are integral components of the festival through relief, intaglio and planographic print media respectively. The finished prints were exhibited physically and virtually, after which a survey (using Google form) was conducted to evaluate public perception of the works. The researcher recommends that the prints be displayed in galleries, cultural hubs, and public arenas, allowing people of diverse backgrounds access to connect with the festival’s cultural legacy. It further suggests that the socio-cultural presentation of the Odun Oba Festival through the printmaking medium would not only encourage the flow of artistic expression but also act as a vehicle for preserving and passing down knowledge of the kingdom’s cultural heritage. Thus, promoting intergenerational discussions, and the nurturing of indigenous cultural identity and pride.

Keywords: Culture, Odun Oba., exposition, festival, printmaking

Philosophical Anthropology and The Concept of Human Nature in The Contemporary Society (Published)

The problem is that, in contemporary society in which we live, there seems to be a negligence in identifying what is in conformity with human nature than the contrary. The over-riding issue is “workability” whether good or bad, to the detriment of goodness (virtue). Analytically, this work sets out to underscore the fact that prior to the contemporary society, virtuous living thrived so much. It was observed that there was a shift from the ocentricism to secularism. Cultural infiltrations balked the long existing primordial cultures, diverting man’s attention to what is in vogue without any consideration to its incongruity to human nature. Therefore, for man to re-determine himself, there must be a counter-shift to virtuous living in tandem with his nature.

Keywords: Culture, Human nature, Morality, Religion., contemporary society

Digitisation versus authenticity: towards digital representation of museum artefacts (Published)

Educating and engaging museum audience in contemporary times have become imperative considering the increasing persistent information society which has brought about the need for museums to utilize new methods of disseminating information. Digitisation therefore has become the new instrument for access and preservation in museums but can be perceived as a threat to authenticity.  Loss of authenticity of artefacts through reproduction could result in the loss of connection between the audience and the artefacts otherwise known as aura. The object value with respect to authenticity and aura will be discussed in this paper in relation to digitisation. A theoretical approach will be used in exploring how authenticity can be used as a tool to validate digitisation of artefacts used in the representation of culture.

Keywords: Authenticity, Culture, artefacts, aura, digitisation, reproduction

The Paraphernalia and Symbolism of Uvie Drum as an Idiophone of Traditional Religious Communication among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria: The Aguleri Experience (Published)

The ritual decoration of the Uvie sacred drum is highly impregnated with its ritual symbologies that are imbued with mystical powers and these nurtures the cosmological Aguleri people’s belief system. In Aguleri culture and tradition, white chalk (nzu), alligator pepper, fowl feathers, blood and kola-nuts are parts of valuable ritual paraphernalia which acts as a power house for the ritual decoration of the sacred drum of the Uvie drum which imbues it with the mystical powers in order for it to speak ritualistically. This paper examines and equally predicates these ritual items from the Aguleri cosmological paradigm in order to bring out its symbologies and ritual implications through an ethnographic method to demonstrate that ritual is part and parcel of decoration of the Uvie sacred drum for it to speak ritualistically in traditional religion of the Igbo people as a study in musicology.

 

Keywords: Cosmology, Culture, Sacred, Symbolism, decoration, imbues, rituals

Female Genital Mutilation: A Rite Of Passage or a Breach of Women’s Rights in Nigeria (Published)

Female genital mutilation or female circumcision constitutes one of the vital challenges confronting the rights of women in Nigeria. Attempts geared towards its complete eradication have remained unsuccessful to date due to the fact that the practice is entrenched in the culture or traditional beliefs of the people. The article sought to address the question whether female genital mutilation was merely a rite of passage or it amounted to a grave violation of women’s rights in Nigeria. A number of justifications have been advanced for the continued practice of female genital mutilation in Nigeria. Nonetheless, the study revealed that the practice, though considered as an initiation rite into womanhood in some communities, posed serious immediate and long term health consequences to the victims as well as violated various human rights’ principles guaranteed under international, regional and national instruments. Thus, the article recommended, inter alia, that the Nigerian government and all relevant global and local stakeholders should adopt suitable mechanism towards the abolition of the practice in Nigeria. 

Keywords: Culture, Female Circumcision, Female Genital Mutilation, discriminatory practices, female genital cutting, rite of passage, women’s rights

Language and Culture as Synergy for National Integration in Nigeria (Published)

Trends in historical evolution indicate that the nation-state of Nigeria came into existence since 1914. Her territorial boundaries were fixed with prejudicial colonial interests without considering the interests and aspirations of the traditional ethnic groups involved. Since then, the nation has been governed and exploited by the feudal-bourgeosie, privileged to inherit the nation from the colonial masters. Worst still, the various machineries at different periods and republics charged with the responsibility of ruling the nation has proved anti-social, adopting in their distribution of values, formulas detrimental to the general welfare of the citizenry. Thus, we are left with a fragile nation, drifting apart and her people resorting to communal and individual self-definition. The persistent call for national conference among the various ethnic groups to resolve the national question gives credence to the deduction that the nation was founded upon vested colonial interest, without consulting the component ethnic groups. The issue of national integration has become a re-assessment of the pre-requisite for Federalism towards the continued existence of the sovereign nation state in Nigeria. Thus, the focus of this paper is how to adopt a paradigm shift from the previous abortive methods that have been employed so far, to the pragmatic resolve of using language and culture in attaining the long elusive national integration in Nigeria.

Keywords: Culture, Diversity, Integration, Language, Nigeria

Promoting peace and social stability through cultural values in Nigeria: the Social Studies perspective (Published)

Conflict, insurgency, terrorism and crime had become the prominent super war agents, waging dynamic war against Nigerian territorial integrity and economic boom. This study sought to examine how peace and social stability through cultural values in Nigeria from the social studies perspective. To achieve this, two research questions were raised to guide the study. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Data used for the study were generated through a questionnaire titled “Promoting Peace and Social Stability through Cultural Values Questionnaire” which was administered to 70 Social Studies Educators purposively selected from the study area. Their responses to the questionnaire were coded to identify recurrent themes and patterns and were tested using the simple percentages, means and statistical frequency. The result of the analysis showed that in respect to the first research question, a mean percentage ‘Yes’ responses 74.69% and ‘No’ responses of 25.31%  Where as in respect to research question two  a mean percentage ‘yes’ response of 78% against the mean percentage ‘no’ response of 22% was obtained. The implication of this is that cultural values significantly influence the promotion of peace and social stability in Nigeria. , it was therefore concluded that the peace and stability of the Nigerian society can be promoted if cultural values are revived, promoted, taught and applied in the country and  recommended that administrative leadership of Nigeria should be broaden to include traditional leaders and priests in the governance of the Nation.

Keywords: Cultural Values, Culture, Nigeria, Peace, Social Studies Perspective., social stability

A New Dawn in Etche Names: A Cultural Threat (Published)

The paper investigates anthroponym- a type of onomastics in Etche. Anthroponym which is the study of personal names including their forms and uses is described differently cross-culturally. Using a descriptive research design, the paper describes one hundred and three (103) Etche personal names categorised into three broad socio-cultural groups: experience, theophoric and admonitory/salutary. Contrary to the Americans and Europeans belief that given names are mere tags and mark of identity, the paper holds that in Etche as it is in most African nations and Nigeria in particular, given names describe the world of the name givers and control the world of the name bearers. The paper therefore concludes that the dawn of a new naming system in Etche is an affront on the culture of the people and portends a great danger to the unborn generation

Keywords: Admonitory, Anthroponym, Culture, Experience, Name, Onomastics, Theophoric

Ethnography Of Communication – A Study of Just Lather, That’s all (Published)

Ethnography of Communication is a novel approach that relates language with the cultural norms, values and the speaking rules that are specific to a particular speech community. Duranti (1997)¹ defines Ethnography as follows:” Ethnography is the written description of the social organization, social activities, symbolic and material resources, and interpretive practices characteristic of a particular group of people”. A number of scholars including Dell Hymes (1962)² Sherzer (1983)³, Hill and Hill (1986)⁴ and Saville-Troike (2003)⁵ worked in the framework of ethnography of communication. Though the studies made by all ethnographers generally focus on the spoken language in a community, it is possible to extend the above frameworks to the analysis of short stories in view of the fact that many short stories are not merely narratives from a third person point of view but involve dialogues between characters. Often the speech patterns, expressions, motivations and the logical deductions they make are in conformity with the particular society they belong to. In particular, the SPEAKING Model evolved by Dell Hymes (1974)⁶ is found to be highly adaptable to the analysis of short stories.

Keywords: Characters, Conflict, Culture, Just Lather, Language, communication

An Appraisal of Traditional Yorùbá Pottery and Potters (Published)

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”, this statement is true of the traditional Yorùbá pottery and potters, in the sense that their work will be gone into extinction if adequate scholastic attention is not given. This paper therefore appraises traditional pottery art and artists. It focuses on the growth and preservation of Yorùbá pottery traditions and culture, through the various forms and vessels made of fired clay. The world of the indigenous Yorùbá potter is such a fascinating one; yet unpredictable because of the phases involved in the production processes. It also observes the techniques, styles and forms employed by potters from different parts of Yoruba nation. The paper further showcases some of the works of the traditional Yoruba potters that is still ongoing. In summation, the paper observes the challenges that may eventually send pottery art into extinction; as a result of the fewer apprentices that are engaged in pottery art practices

Keywords: Apprentices, Culture, Indigenous pottery, Traditional Pot Making, Yoruba People and places, Yoruba potters