Nigerian Independence Day

Besides Christmas and Spring Break, 5-day weekends don’t happen in the US. I’ve decided that I like them! Monday and Tuesday were off because of Sallah, the end of Ramadan. This is a perk of living in an area with a significant Muslim population despite teaching at a Christian school! Then, Wednesday was Nigerian Independence Day. They didn’t gain their independence from Britain until 1960, so they’re a fairly young country! As part of the Independence Day celebration, Her Excellency (the wife of the governor) hosted an event to celebrate the rich cultural heritage within the state of Taraba in which students from the surrounding schools were asked to represent a particular tribe from the area and perform that tribe’s dance in appropriate garb. Students from JSS were asked to participate, so I was able to go and observe!

I was intrigued by how distinct the particular tribes were. As a couple of my co-workers were taking me around to view the different tribes, they could tell which tribe they were just by looking at their costumes. There are over 60 different tribes, each with their own dialect, traditions, and sub-culture within Taraba state. As I was watching the dozen or so different dances I was thinking about how neat it is that they have this special connection with this particular group of people. All of the people here can tell you what tribe they’re from. Then, when they run into someone, they can somehow tell if a person is from their particular tribe even if they’ve never met and they begin to speak in that specific dialect.

At the end of the performances, Her Excellency gave an address to the students and gathered audience about the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Dress is very important to Nigerians and she stressed if they leave the country they should dress in their Nigerian attire with pride. She also stated that though Nigeria has some challenges with poverty, they should be thankful that they have peace because many nations that are better off economically are at war. I thought that was an interesting statement almost implying that the two are mutually exclusive. Taraba is considered the poorest and most undeveloped state in Nigeria. Trying to move the country forward developmentally speaking while preserving its cultural heritage is an ongoing challenge everywhere and it is even more pronounced here amidst the rich traditions and stark amenities.

Here is a link to some pictures from the event:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36276&l=45e17&id=501312909