Thanks to all for that interesting reaction to my remarks. I guess we're all
entitled to our appreciation and analysis of what constitutes African
culture.
In a nutshell, I strongly believe that Africa  has failed to look into
itself and its values for answers to its development hurdles. And until it
does, this great continent of ours will continue to be marginalised and the
steroetypes we hate so much will forever be part of the world's portrayal of
us.

  What a shame it is to have to acknowledge that I  cannot read or write in
my mother tongue, or  in any of the other  Gambian languages. I wonder how
many of us are literate  or even fluent in  any one of the seven Gambian
languages? How many of us know the history of Fulladou West as well as we
master all the details of the the Great Trek, or about the Swing of the
pendulum" or about Devolution in United Kingdom?....  Do we ever stop to
think about how much it costs us all stock our supermarkets, stores and
houses with imports of all sorts,   furniture, textile, processed foods
,jasmine rice from Thailand, clothing, detergent you name it)How much do we
squander on all those white elephant projects we embark on to beautify our
urban areas?
These are some of the disturbing realities that I alluded to in my quick
reaction to Maria's piece.

>From: Rene  Badjan <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: African Culture Or A State Of Underdevelopment?
>Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 20:34:25 EDT
>
>Mariama,
>         Your point is well noted. May be, we should also realize that the
>issue is not so much as to the poverty of culture, but instead the culture
>of
>poverty. Our culture is our way of life. Regardless of our stations in
>life,
>the values and norms that characterized our culture, are permanent imprints
>that leave marks on the sands of time. Whether it is in Banjul, or in
>Wahington or New York or elsewhere, the way Gambians celebrate their joys
>and
>mourn their sorrows is essentially the same. The essence that validates
>these
>shared values is rooted in a deep sense of identity; a sense of belonging.
>It
>is not a surprise then, that a child who is born to a Gambian but the other
>parent from a different culture, here is the USA or anywhere else, might go
>through the same cultural rites of christening as the child born in the
>Gambia.
>
>     Secondly, most of the artifacts and the outward symbolisms of our
>culture, are concrete manifestations of the relevance they permeate in the
>past, whether for good or ill. The fears of the people, their beliefs and
>spirituality, their passions and tradegies, which had been an integral part
>of the very basis of their existence, are the core representations of most
>of
>the rites and ceremonies that shaped our culture. Whether it is the
>Kankurang
>or the initiation ceremonies into manhood, or the songs( kassak) that
>reverberates their melody from the confinements of the circumcised, to the
>family that eats together in one bowl under the big Mango tree, the
>cultural
>traits are as potent as the  drums that gathered the community together for
>a
>dance. This is what we should celebrate, but not the huts or dilapidated
>Keringting houses that characterized the poverty of the people. Poverty
>should not be equated with culture. People are subjected to poverty.
>Culture
>is their way of life.
>
>    Rene
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>You may also send subscription requests to
>[log in to unmask]
>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your
>full name and e-mail address.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------