Igbo Culture?
I shall start of by saying that I have not studied “Igbo” culture in any form, so I welcome all criticisms and corrections that will follow.
Culture, as a body of learned behaviours common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (ie. it has predictable form and content), shaping behaviour and consciousness within a human society from generation to generation. So culture resides in all learned behaviour and in some shaping template or consciousness prior to behavior as well (that is, a “cultural template” can be in place prior to the birth of an individual person). This is my understanding of it.
To the best of my limited knowledge of “Igbo” culture, it varies from one town to the next and with the coming of Christianity and influence of western culture a lot of the practices have either died away, been adulterated or altered.
Though we have diversity in “Igbo” culture, there are many other traits that make us unique apart from the language. Respect for elders and ones parents is universal in “Igbo” culture. The family and the extended family play an important part in our upbinging, marriage and burial ceremonies.
To help us and our children grasp a better understanding of what makes us unique, we will welcome any article dealing with “Igbo” culture.
I am willing to learn and I am sure there are many others who are in a similar situation.
