Indigenous languages and oral Tradition preservations

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Am so super excited to be in this contest today and I must encourage @goodybest for her outstanding efforts which has been a path for us to follow.

This topic is the type that will help impact culture and customs in our youths today because so many of our youths today doesn't know their languages and culture, yes!!! Is what u said.

You will see a little girl of 2years,she doesn't know how to say come in her mother tongue. Who are we fooling? Who has done this to us? It is high time we come out and nurture ourselves with our traditions and also our customs.

I hope you join me as we hit the questions provided for this topic so let's go,......

WHAT IS YOUR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE,IS IT YOUR COUNTRY'S OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND CAN YOUR KIDS SPEAK THE LANGUAGE?

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Am a Nigerian.Nigeria is a known country for it's natural resources and population both in humans and land masses. Nigeria is a center for business of all sorts. Nigeria has been a place where you can trade your wares and goods and services.

Nigeria has so many languages and traditions as the tribes differs so is the tradition,so instead of going in details telling us the about 500 languages we have in Nigeria,I think i should list the three tribe in Nigeria that covers other languages and they are:

👉YORUBA

👉HAUSA

👉IGBO

I am an Igbo woman,married in Igbo,gave birth in igbo and I speak Igbo fluently, and my kids do speak Igbo fluently also. Sometimes I tried introducing another language but my kids will be like "mum!!" What are you speaking? I will come back to myself again. Honestly one should know what his /her language is.

In my house,I make sure I communicate with everyone with our native language so that a child or anybody around will actually know where you are coming and by so doing ,it makes our conversation to be more fun and happy.

Even in my children's school,when it is time for cultural display of where they are from,parents are invited to view our children,I see children breaking protocols with their native languages,and I was like wow!!! Even after that moment they will still go back to using English to learn but when they are home with me,I try using their native language to communicate with them and they are responding positively.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR COUNTRY'S TRADITIONS AND HOW DO YOU PRESERVE THEM ORALLY?

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✍️YAM FESTIVAL:-This one is one of the most important traditions of our land. Eating of new yam in Igbo land is very serious because the elders of the land will assemble at a place called "OBI"(A little palace for only elders) by then the new yam has been dug and it will be cooked as yam pepper soup,some side will go with roasting the yam and eating with palm oil.

After the elders might have finish eating the yam with celebration of dancing and singing for been alive and eating the new yam for that day it announces that everyone should now eat the new yam whether from your farmland or in the market, without the festival no one is allowed to eat the new yam.
Another one is;

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✍️TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE:- This is one of the important tradition in Igbo land whereby a woman is legally taken traditionally into doing the white wedding,you can do the traditional marriage, it is legally accepted and this involves;keg of palm wine,tubers of yam,wrapper for the mother and the father,bag of salt,stockfish, bottles of schnapps, alligator pepper,garden eggs,box of snuff, and ofcourse the bride price and this entails that she is now taken traditionally and after that the bride"s mother will give a gift to her husband's place,some give egg,some Bible,some kitchen seat for cooking in the kitchen all these things signifies something mysterious.

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✍️SIN OF ADULTERY:-This one is very delicate and dangerous because it involves life.
If you are caught as a married woman with another man or your husband is found having this incurable sickness,the elders of the land will summon the woman and she will questioned after which if she is found guilty,she will be taken to a place,she will be tied a white cloth,with a roasted cock, she will eat the cock in the presence of the people.

But if she refuses to do so,the husband will die or when she is due to deliver any child,her neck will be turned backwards and you know what that means"death" so in order to avoid such,one needs to be very much careful with the way he or she live her life.

I do tell people around me about our traditions,so that when you are to be married off or into the land you'll be careful enough as not to fall victim.
Fear tradition it is sacred!!!

Thank you guys for reading my contest writeups
And as I invite ;@ninapenda @ihorgic @richy20 to join in this contest and share their own opinion as well.