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The term 'renaissance' has come to mean different things to different people.In this light, it is compelling to put the word into context.The Collins Cobuild Engish dictionary(1995:1403) defines renaissance as:"the period in Europe, especially Italy in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, when there was a great revival of interest in art,literature, science and learning." If something experiences a renaissance, it becomes popular again after a time when people had lost interest in it.
As products of Western education systems, most educated Africans straddle the Europe/Africa divide. We have no choice but to embrace Western Civilization. But this must be done within the context of our own indigenous cultures. Traditionally, Africans have a rich culture of care, mutual respect, self-esteem, love and protection. Child care for instance, is not perceived by Africans as the sole duty of the child's parents, but rather as a shared responsibility involving the nuclear family, members of the extended family and the community at large, That's why in Africa the young address the elderly as "Pa" or "Ma" regardless of blood relationship. on the other hand, the elderly address the young as my "son" or my "daughter" whether they are biologically related or not.
Africans possess time-honored methods of inculcating moral values and life skills into their offspring. This is a task that should commence at the level of the family and is pursued right through the child's life. This preservation of cultural heritage is, to my mind, a manifestation of African renaissance. This makes us distinct among world cultures.
African renaissance is the reclaiming of those elements of our culture that will help restore the moral fiber that has been eroded by the europeanization of some of our cultural values. African renaissance should be construed as the quest for a modus operandi that would enable African parents, community leaders teachers, social workers,etc to instil into our children a sense of respect for our own cultures within global cultures.If we fail in this endeavor, we'll inevitably end up with cultural"bastards".
The pursuit of renaissance will empower us with the tools necessary to embrace our African roots with pride. This should not be misunderstood as a negation of our western education. We are condemned to take the best of both worlds. At the same time, though, it is incumbent upon all of us to pass down our African identity to our children and teach them to proud of their African heritage: languages, styles of dress, cuisine, ceremonies and rites.
In the past, cultural education was seen as the preserve of parents. I think it is high time we started pondering over the possibility of Africanizing our school curricula. This is a daunting but feasible task. So as we celebrate AFRICA FEST 2004, we not lose sight of this compelling task that lies ahead of us. This is no job for outsiders. This task is ours.
PETER WUTEH VAKUNTA 2004
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