Thoughts About Our Culture

 

  1. by William Skinner


  2. I don’t think that it can be seriously argued that a Bajan(Barbados) Tuk Band performing in any other country, will automatically turn them into Bajans.
    That being said, the truth remains that it is ironic that we seldom see the promotion of authentic African culture on our island . We tend to restrict it to dancing and so on and this often degenerated into wukking up and almost pornographic vulgarity, that really may be our culture but has nothing to do with Africa.
    In other words while other cultures within our community tend to produce elements of their culture, we often display that we are not that knowledgeable about our African culture.
    This then, in my humble opinion, means that in order to counter this obvious ignorance of our authentic culture, we ought to teach our children from very early( primary schools) about their African heritage.
    Quite frankly, regardless of what is said, in a country with a population that is 95% African, we have determined that the teaching of African culture/history in our schools , is not that important.
    Therefore, if minority groups and expatriates in the country seek to promote their culture, we cannot honestly blame them.
    It is our fault that we choose to be underlings in our own country.
    Also, the point that our children should not be deprived of being exposed to other cultures is progressive. The best way to understand and appreciate others is to understand their culture.
    In all seriousness, a strong argument can be made that most of us seem more comfortable with the Eurocentric/ white culture.
    I often observe how we gather in Queens Park, to promote “ stand pipe “ brawls and obnoxious portrayal of “ lower class “ people “ as our culture/ art.
    I brought water from a standpipe for seventeen straight years and I never saw that behavior. I came up in a village with poor people and their were not loud and ignorant/ aggressive.



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