Africa Press-Nigeria:
A person usually loses culture because of a change in environment.
Such a change may be due to immigration and when an individual attempts to merge many different cultures into one, the individual ends up with no culture at all. The culture of a people is their identity as it affords them due recognition.
It has been found that there is a positive relationship between the local family structure and the foreign culture. In sub-Saharan Africa, people and culture are inseparable since there is no denial of the fact that what makes any human society is its culture; a Latin word which was derived from “colore” meaning to practice or cherish. A society must be cultural and therefore, society and culture are intertwined.
In the same vein, going by the theory of environmental determinism, the culture of any society is largely dictated by its geography. Put in another way, there is conspicuous sociological interplay among the concepts of culture, nurture, and nature.
Zimbabweans in diaspora are comforted by the thought that one day, they will send their children back home to learn and understand the Zimbabwean culture. Many have cultivated the thought of sending their children to Zimbabwe for cultural lessons as a noble idea.
In this thought, the reality from Zimbabwe is disappointing. It cuts through the soft spots of the heart giving a sharp pain of disappointment.
Zimbabweans back home are losing their identity, their culture and values. It seems those who remained in the country have failed to hold fort and they are giving more value to everything from the West more than our own.
It is painful that modernisation is now ruining our culture. Culture is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person’s self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group.
Cultural (and ethnic) identity is a subset of the communication theory of identity that establishes four ‘frames of identity’ that allow us to view how we build identity.
Mika Shumba of Milton Keynes, the United Kingdom said: “I was horrified during the burial of the late national hero Oliver Mtukudzi that a Zimbabwean dancer offended our culture by her raunchy dance style in honour of Mtukudzi.”
Some songs played on national radio stations are vulgar.
A tradition is a belief or behaviour passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance originating in the past. Common examples include social norms such as greetings.
