Yorubas; greeting and respect. We do it for the culture!
Feeling: Lazy. Wanna be in bed all day
Time : 6:44a.m
Lol this post was scheduled for a day in May, but NYSC decided to scatter it. So, I'm just writing it.
If you're Nigerian say "yo!" More specifically, if you're Yoruba say "ayyeee." This post is going to be about our culture and one very important aspect of it - Greetings and Respect . I hear that the Yoruba culture is probably the most respectful culture not only in Nigeria, but in the whole world. I wouldn't disagree with that if it's true.
The proper way for a girl to greet elders is for her to go down on her knees and for the guys, they prostrate.
Imagine during the trad wedding, going to greet the girl's parents and not fully prostrating!!!! Just know you have forfeited the girl.
Growing up, my parents weren't crazy crazy fans of going down fully on your knees to greet them in the morning, though I remember one time, when I was probably 12 or 13, my daddy said we should be kneeling fully and I think my mom said something like, it was too late to start that one, and we should just kneel a little (like not go all the way down, more like we should just bend our knees a little.)
Sometime ago, I wrote on this blog how greeting a guy earned me some free groceries. Yeah, you can get a billion dollars for being respectful.
Sometime in May, I was in the hospital to get my medical report, I've made it a habit to greet people on the road, whether they know me or not, or I may bow my head to indicate I'm saying hello. So, this day, I was walking to the psychiatric ward to see a nurse (no, I wasn't loony.) and as I was going, I saw this elderly woman, maybe in her fifties if I were to take a lucky guess. Greeted her and continued my journey. Turns out we were going the same way. I eventually saw the nurse I went there to see, there was another nurse in the room (elderly as well) and just as I was going out if the room, the woman came in. So I had to step back a little. The nurse in the room was already loving me, probably cause I was smiling, she said I have a beautiful name and blah blah you know the way those old women praise your life? So this other woman came in and was like oh I didn't even know you were going to be in here, then told the other woman who was apparently her friend "omo daadaa ni, o ki mi lona" she's a good girl, she greeted me on the way. I was blushing of course.
As I went back to sit down, I kept replaying the scenario. I do this a lot. I asked myself, "what if I was a cultist?" or something not cool, but cause I greeted her I became a good girl?" It was at that point I decided that Yorubas just like to feel good about themselves. I think Dopamine is released into the body, but they do not just know.
Yorubas have greetings for every everything. When you're sitting "Eku ijoko" when you get back from an outing "Ekuile" what does that even mean?! "Thanks for staying at home?
A fellow Corp member here told me that one little child greeted her and said "how are you?" and she corrected the child and said she should say "good afternoon" (we're in Kwara state, the part occupied by the Nupe people) obviously, the girl doesn't understand much of English (she said so). In my mind I'm like she just ruined the genuinety of the greeting, after all the girl was asking after her.
I have soo many other experiences with elderly Yoruba people... oh lemme quickly insert this one, I'll make it as short as possible .You know those memories you cringe at when you remember? Yep this is one of them. I was writing my final project. Supervisor was Err no worries. So one day, he was leaving his office I met him on the way. He was carrying some stuff (that weren't at all heavy) trust me o. The weird thing's that helping him carry the stuff came as a fleeting thought, but I'm like "Ahn Ahn it's not that heavy, he's doing fine on is own." All this conversation happened in like two minutes, before I knew it! Gosh the guy just insulted me, I hate embarrassment like what I dunno, blah blah blah started talking, and then I was looking at what he was carrying and wondered how why he was making so much fuss, another old professor passed, and I can't remember what exactly happened, I think he was pleading on my behalf. He told me to kneel down to apologize (probably one of the worst days of my life) I think I was already crying at this time (I'm a softie). He Sha successfully embarrassed me in front of me and my friend.
I think my problem was the fact that I like rationalizing things, if I had done it as soon as I had thought of it, the whole scenario would have been avoided, but no, I figured he wasn't injured, neither was it heavy for him, so he could as well carry it himself. I think he was really mad cause the Dopamine wasn't released, the feeling of pleasure he would have felt was denied him.
If you see a Yoruba person and you want to win points with him or her, Just Greet .Extra 50. points for going down on your knees, 200 points if you help carry their bags, shoes (lol) or they themselves.
This coming generation is quite horrible when it comes to respect and all, I'm sure that if the ancestors were alive they'd probably be mad! Do you think it's cause of westernization? Whatever it is, kids of this generation do not seem to care. Only few. Like 5%.
Catch y'all later and don't forget to subscribe! 😉
Fifi🖤
Time : 6:44a.m
Lol this post was scheduled for a day in May, but NYSC decided to scatter it. So, I'm just writing it.
If you're Nigerian say "yo!" More specifically, if you're Yoruba say "ayyeee." This post is going to be about our culture and one very important aspect of it - Greetings and Respect . I hear that the Yoruba culture is probably the most respectful culture not only in Nigeria, but in the whole world. I wouldn't disagree with that if it's true.
The proper way for a girl to greet elders is for her to go down on her knees and for the guys, they prostrate.
Imagine during the trad wedding, going to greet the girl's parents and not fully prostrating!!!! Just know you have forfeited the girl.
Growing up, my parents weren't crazy crazy fans of going down fully on your knees to greet them in the morning, though I remember one time, when I was probably 12 or 13, my daddy said we should be kneeling fully and I think my mom said something like, it was too late to start that one, and we should just kneel a little (like not go all the way down, more like we should just bend our knees a little.)
Sometime ago, I wrote on this blog how greeting a guy earned me some free groceries. Yeah, you can get a billion dollars for being respectful.
Sometime in May, I was in the hospital to get my medical report, I've made it a habit to greet people on the road, whether they know me or not, or I may bow my head to indicate I'm saying hello. So, this day, I was walking to the psychiatric ward to see a nurse (no, I wasn't loony.) and as I was going, I saw this elderly woman, maybe in her fifties if I were to take a lucky guess. Greeted her and continued my journey. Turns out we were going the same way. I eventually saw the nurse I went there to see, there was another nurse in the room (elderly as well) and just as I was going out if the room, the woman came in. So I had to step back a little. The nurse in the room was already loving me, probably cause I was smiling, she said I have a beautiful name and blah blah you know the way those old women praise your life? So this other woman came in and was like oh I didn't even know you were going to be in here, then told the other woman who was apparently her friend "omo daadaa ni, o ki mi lona" she's a good girl, she greeted me on the way. I was blushing of course.
As I went back to sit down, I kept replaying the scenario. I do this a lot. I asked myself, "what if I was a cultist?" or something not cool, but cause I greeted her I became a good girl?" It was at that point I decided that Yorubas just like to feel good about themselves. I think Dopamine is released into the body, but they do not just know.
Yorubas have greetings for every everything. When you're sitting "Eku ijoko" when you get back from an outing "Ekuile" what does that even mean?! "Thanks for staying at home?
A fellow Corp member here told me that one little child greeted her and said "how are you?" and she corrected the child and said she should say "good afternoon" (we're in Kwara state, the part occupied by the Nupe people) obviously, the girl doesn't understand much of English (she said so). In my mind I'm like she just ruined the genuinety of the greeting, after all the girl was asking after her.
I have soo many other experiences with elderly Yoruba people... oh lemme quickly insert this one, I'll make it as short as possible .You know those memories you cringe at when you remember? Yep this is one of them. I was writing my final project. Supervisor was Err no worries. So one day, he was leaving his office I met him on the way. He was carrying some stuff (that weren't at all heavy) trust me o. The weird thing's that helping him carry the stuff came as a fleeting thought, but I'm like "Ahn Ahn it's not that heavy, he's doing fine on is own." All this conversation happened in like two minutes, before I knew it! Gosh the guy just insulted me, I hate embarrassment like what I dunno, blah blah blah started talking, and then I was looking at what he was carrying and wondered how why he was making so much fuss, another old professor passed, and I can't remember what exactly happened, I think he was pleading on my behalf. He told me to kneel down to apologize (probably one of the worst days of my life) I think I was already crying at this time (I'm a softie). He Sha successfully embarrassed me in front of me and my friend.
I think my problem was the fact that I like rationalizing things, if I had done it as soon as I had thought of it, the whole scenario would have been avoided, but no, I figured he wasn't injured, neither was it heavy for him, so he could as well carry it himself. I think he was really mad cause the Dopamine wasn't released, the feeling of pleasure he would have felt was denied him.
If you see a Yoruba person and you want to win points with him or her, Just Greet .Extra 50. points for going down on your knees, 200 points if you help carry their bags, shoes (lol) or they themselves.
This coming generation is quite horrible when it comes to respect and all, I'm sure that if the ancestors were alive they'd probably be mad! Do you think it's cause of westernization? Whatever it is, kids of this generation do not seem to care. Only few. Like 5%.
Catch y'all later and don't forget to subscribe! 😉
Fifi🖤
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