Tèmítópé, you write so well and I enjoy reading your pieces.
I did a course when I was in school called Traditional Medicine; we called it Babalawo 😂. Yes, all these incantations and herbs, and all of that—we were taught. Comprehensively, I must add. You'd be surprised at how explorative these guys were. They explored different aspects of nature and made sense of everything they had at their disposal.
One of the topics we covered was about preserving the authenticity of what worked for our ancestors—stories. Oral transmission alone is not sustainable. There are limitations to it. Firstly, the veracity of information can decline as it passes from one person to another. Secondly, what happens in the event of unexpected death? And, I should add, many of our stories have been lost or fragmented because of these challenges. I was reading a piece on African history sometime last year and this was exhaustively discussed (if I find the piece, I'd share it with you).
Now, writing would be an excellent option for preserving such information. And while writing, in different forms, is as old as the world itself, many of our ancestors didn't fully explore it—or when they did, documentation and preservation faced challenges. Don't get me wrong, African writing systems are one of the oldest. However, broader documentation and preservation faced obstacles and this due to some reasons, which I'll just leave for now.
Now coming to the advent of technology and civilization, generally. I think it does three things:
1. It helps us understand some practices better. Example: we now understand that what our ancestors called Abiku—children who seemed to die and return repeatedly—was likely linked to preventable causes of infant mortality like sickle cell disease, malaria, or birth complications. Modern medicine addresses the physical aspect, even as the cultural-spiritual understanding remains meaningful to many.
2. Technology and civilization give scientific context to some traditional practices. For example, the reason our forefathers collected plants early in the morning or at midnight is largely because that's when the concentration of active ingredients is highest. In the afternoon, because of the sun, the concentration won't be as high. We now understand why certain plants work in the management of certain diseases—not just that they work, but how.
3. And finally, technology helps us tell our stories better and more importantly, preserve them for future generations, as you have rightly said. Not to replace oral tradition, but to complement it.
Culture is dynamic. That's another thing we've come to understand more clearly with time. Culture isn't static. It's dynamic and vibrant, just like us humans. It adapts, it evolves, it responds to new realities while carrying forward what matters.
We have stories to tell, as individuals and collectively, and there's no better time to tell them. In essence, technology isn't the devil. If anything, it's a tool—like any tool, it can be used well or poorly.
We just have to be more conscious of the stories we tell and the culture we promote, because unlike before, digital records may not be as easily erased. That's both a blessing and a responsibility.
Omo, let me stop here. Tèmítópé, this writing is impeccable 👏🏾 👏🏾
You said everything I hoped to say... And then some.
Technology isn't the enemy of culture. It could be its saviour.
Why this issue especially bothers me is because personally there is so much I do not know about the Nigerian culture especially the Yoruba culture. (I'm working on changing that.)
I think we accepted the "white man culture," what we thought was cool and trendy and started to neglect our own stories. We know the history of other places and nothing of our land. It's unfortunate that the educational system is patterned to educate us about the people that colonized us instead of the ones that fought for our freedom.
But it's up to us to change it. If we tell our stories without shame and without trying to "westernize" the basis, we can preserve them for generations to come. Because the way we are going ehen, there will be a generation of Nigerians that no nothing of their history. And while there's so much talk about forgetting the past, sometimes you need to understand where you are coming from to pave the path to the future.
I would love to continue this discussion with you?
Can I send you a DM.
Thank you so so much for reading and for your very insightful comment.
The issue of us glorifying the white man's culture at the detriment of ours is long-standing and so ingrained into our system. There is arguably no sector of our society where you won't find it.
We had better get back to rewriting our stories — and myths, really — our own way. It’s why I appreciate writers like Oyin Olugbile, and Nnedi Okorafor, who make obvious actions towards shedding light on African narratives.
This was such an enjoyable piece. I’m sorry I’m just getting around to reading it. 🧡✨
True. But I think more importantly or firstly, we need to learn our stories, especially our generation. We cannot tell the stories of things we have no knowledge about.
Tèmítópé, you write so well and I enjoy reading your pieces.
I did a course when I was in school called Traditional Medicine; we called it Babalawo 😂. Yes, all these incantations and herbs, and all of that—we were taught. Comprehensively, I must add. You'd be surprised at how explorative these guys were. They explored different aspects of nature and made sense of everything they had at their disposal.
One of the topics we covered was about preserving the authenticity of what worked for our ancestors—stories. Oral transmission alone is not sustainable. There are limitations to it. Firstly, the veracity of information can decline as it passes from one person to another. Secondly, what happens in the event of unexpected death? And, I should add, many of our stories have been lost or fragmented because of these challenges. I was reading a piece on African history sometime last year and this was exhaustively discussed (if I find the piece, I'd share it with you).
Now, writing would be an excellent option for preserving such information. And while writing, in different forms, is as old as the world itself, many of our ancestors didn't fully explore it—or when they did, documentation and preservation faced challenges. Don't get me wrong, African writing systems are one of the oldest. However, broader documentation and preservation faced obstacles and this due to some reasons, which I'll just leave for now.
Now coming to the advent of technology and civilization, generally. I think it does three things:
1. It helps us understand some practices better. Example: we now understand that what our ancestors called Abiku—children who seemed to die and return repeatedly—was likely linked to preventable causes of infant mortality like sickle cell disease, malaria, or birth complications. Modern medicine addresses the physical aspect, even as the cultural-spiritual understanding remains meaningful to many.
2. Technology and civilization give scientific context to some traditional practices. For example, the reason our forefathers collected plants early in the morning or at midnight is largely because that's when the concentration of active ingredients is highest. In the afternoon, because of the sun, the concentration won't be as high. We now understand why certain plants work in the management of certain diseases—not just that they work, but how.
3. And finally, technology helps us tell our stories better and more importantly, preserve them for future generations, as you have rightly said. Not to replace oral tradition, but to complement it.
Culture is dynamic. That's another thing we've come to understand more clearly with time. Culture isn't static. It's dynamic and vibrant, just like us humans. It adapts, it evolves, it responds to new realities while carrying forward what matters.
We have stories to tell, as individuals and collectively, and there's no better time to tell them. In essence, technology isn't the devil. If anything, it's a tool—like any tool, it can be used well or poorly.
We just have to be more conscious of the stories we tell and the culture we promote, because unlike before, digital records may not be as easily erased. That's both a blessing and a responsibility.
Omo, let me stop here. Tèmítópé, this writing is impeccable 👏🏾 👏🏾
👏👏👏👏
What a comment.
You said everything I hoped to say... And then some.
Technology isn't the enemy of culture. It could be its saviour.
Why this issue especially bothers me is because personally there is so much I do not know about the Nigerian culture especially the Yoruba culture. (I'm working on changing that.)
I think we accepted the "white man culture," what we thought was cool and trendy and started to neglect our own stories. We know the history of other places and nothing of our land. It's unfortunate that the educational system is patterned to educate us about the people that colonized us instead of the ones that fought for our freedom.
But it's up to us to change it. If we tell our stories without shame and without trying to "westernize" the basis, we can preserve them for generations to come. Because the way we are going ehen, there will be a generation of Nigerians that no nothing of their history. And while there's so much talk about forgetting the past, sometimes you need to understand where you are coming from to pave the path to the future.
I would love to continue this discussion with you?
Can I send you a DM.
Thank you so so much for reading and for your very insightful comment.
The issue of us glorifying the white man's culture at the detriment of ours is long-standing and so ingrained into our system. There is arguably no sector of our society where you won't find it.
And, yes, you can send a DM.
We had better get back to rewriting our stories — and myths, really — our own way. It’s why I appreciate writers like Oyin Olugbile, and Nnedi Okorafor, who make obvious actions towards shedding light on African narratives.
This was such an enjoyable piece. I’m sorry I’m just getting around to reading it. 🧡✨
All that matters is that you've read it.
True. But I think more importantly or firstly, we need to learn our stories, especially our generation. We cannot tell the stories of things we have no knowledge about.
Thank you for reading and for your comment.✨💕
Salient point. 🧡✨