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| The paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, Prof. James O. Ayatse, Tor Tiv (V) |
In the past and infact, around the world, a Tiv man was identified by his culture. The cultural values and practices of the Tiv race were respected and adorned to the envy of other ethnic groups in Nigeria. This formed the basis upon which children were raised and brought up.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In Tiv land generally, the quest for bringing up cultured and well mannered men and women was the core mandate which occupied the center of the Tiv values system.
In those days, children aspired to take over their parents’ occupations as hunters, farmers, warriors, wife materials etc as it was demanded of them. By so doing, respect for traditional and constituted authority, elders, age grade, communal works, obedience, humility and for festivities were intact.
READ ALSO: Our cultural heritage mustn’t be ignored,as we saw the efficacy of SWEM; says Begha Usar(III)
Sadly enough today, about 45% of Tiv are not willing to identify with their indigenous culture. More worrisome is the fact that, 25% of the female counterpart out of 45% stated earlier have preferably found peace with borrowed or rather, foreign culture and wish to addressed as foreigners.
The introduction of Christian religion is an issue with it’s negative impact on the extinction of Tiv cultural values. It’s clear that most of the Tiv beliefs and value system such as “akombu”, “swem”, “igbye”, “indyer”, etc were all considered as native, primitive and barbaric, therefore, should be discarded.
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| Tyoor USAR, His Royal Highness, Chief Tivlumun Ako holding the Swem. |
Again, Western education is another factor in the extinction of Tiv cultural practices. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The acquisition of Western education poses a threat to Tiv culture in that, most educated parents in Tiv land have discouraged their wards from indigenous cultural activities including, even the mother’s tongue, just to demonstrate erudite and a departure from it.
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| A Tiv lady displaying cultural dance. |
Similarly, modernization/civilization has dealt a big blow too. This is true of the exposure to foreign lifestyles and the use of internet resources thereby, eroding the Tiv cultural values in total.
It is unarguably true that though, no society is static. However, societal progression should carry along and improve on all aspects of the society.
If this moral decay is not curtailed, the Tiv race and future generations has a deadly moral threat to contend with. While the consequences are better imagined than told.
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