By Osaru Osayi-Osazuwa
There is a large presence of Edo descendants in the United States of America. What I observed in the Edo community is that it is evident that parents are not teaching our youths the traditional Edo customs, such as greetings.
At a function I noticed that one of my peers greeted an elder “Hi Auntie.” This bothers me because it shows that Edos are allowing their traditions to die.
I was taught that one must address an elder as: “Domo” or in their family salutation. For example, my family greeting or salutation is “Lamore.”
I am proud to know my family greeting because this gives me a sense of identity. This is part of the reason why I created a group on Facebook called “Edo State For Life.”
The group is intended to enhance awareness of Edo culture to descendants outside of Nigeria. I have posted Edo language lessons which include greetings, months of the year, and common nouns.
When I post on my group page I realize that many of the youths all over the United States are eager to learn about their heritage.
This gives me cause to have faith in the progress of my people and culture, especially now that there are many other Edo Youth Movement pages on social media.
Igue Festival was one event the Edo people of Nigeria celebrate. The purpose of celebrating Igue is to thank God for sustaining oneself and family throughout the year and to usher in great things into the new year while discarding negativity from the previous year.
Celebrating Igue Festival recently hosted by the Benin Club of Massachusetts showed me how important it was to include the youths in events.
We are the future and we want to preserve our heritage so we can have something to pass down to the next generation.
A fashion exhibition was incorporated into the celebration to show how ways of dressing transitioned throughout the years. This included the ancient and the contemporary way of dressing.
Being part of this project helped me to realize that I am not getting any younger and showing the future generation that Edo traditions is vital so that the youths have a sense of identity.
This way they will know that they are products of the Edo culture and being born in America should not deter them from practicing their traditions.
My siblings, along with other Benin Club members’ children felt a sense of belonging and were even excited about participating next year.
