Chido Murambiwa, Grade 11
UWC Waterford Kamhlaba
The UWC program exposes you to various walks of life and the differences in the cultures globally. Learning at a UWC has really shaped my perspective on different not always political perspectives. Something that really has stuck with me was the lack of historical education in many previously colonized states globally.
In Africa, a large chunk of its history is oral but because of war, elders who had the knowledge died or the history became muffled. In other countries of the world oral history was also popular but never documented. In these countries, their stories begin with war and colonialism which isn't fair and not completely the truth. There is a very little history of traditional or cultural history. My friend spoke of how the only reason she is able to know so much of her culture is that her ancestors drew most of their history, but some of the buildings containing the information were destroyed. We both realized that if there wasn’t a small group of people practising a certain part of her culture, then she would know nothing. Even with some of the history being available, the government only allowed certain aspects of the history to be taught. History that is taught in classes also depends on its aesthetics of it. How it looks, how it sounds and how it makes one feel. Western history is considered more ‘beautiful’ and it’s more aesthetically pleasing. However, learning history that doesn’t explain or guide how life in my home country and others.
I would like to see a future where people get taught a history that’s related to them and not only the awful parts but the previous history that explains why my mother’s people paint their faces before weddings and how the evolution of languages reached this point. Exposing each other to our past allows us to determine our future and push forward. Cultures globally are dying out and languages are going extinct because there is a lack of knowledge regarding them and so many other factors. I would like to be part of the people who will empower the next generation with the past to decide the future and learn from the past. Despite having some form of understanding and grasp of my culture I always learn something new when it comes to more formal aspects. It’s always fun when my grandmother smacks my hand when I do something that is a big NO.
Culture shouldn’t have to look a certain way or sound a certain way to be worthy enough to be taught. Learning our history and being able to accurately present it to the masses will do wonders. Maybe not everyone will appreciate learning so much of their culture or learning so much of someone else’s culture, but to people like myself, it would mean the world. Self-identity comes from so many different aspects of our lives but a part of our self-identity such as culture should not only begin with war but so much more.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/4ywesqA
In Africa, a large chunk of its history is oral but because of war, elders who had the knowledge died or the history became muffled. In other countries of the world oral history was also popular but never documented. In these countries, their stories begin with war and colonialism which isn't fair and not completely the truth. There is a very little history of traditional or cultural history. My friend spoke of how the only reason she is able to know so much of her culture is that her ancestors drew most of their history, but some of the buildings containing the information were destroyed. We both realized that if there wasn’t a small group of people practising a certain part of her culture, then she would know nothing. Even with some of the history being available, the government only allowed certain aspects of the history to be taught. History that is taught in classes also depends on its aesthetics of it. How it looks, how it sounds and how it makes one feel. Western history is considered more ‘beautiful’ and it’s more aesthetically pleasing. However, learning history that doesn’t explain or guide how life in my home country and others.
I would like to see a future where people get taught a history that’s related to them and not only the awful parts but the previous history that explains why my mother’s people paint their faces before weddings and how the evolution of languages reached this point. Exposing each other to our past allows us to determine our future and push forward. Cultures globally are dying out and languages are going extinct because there is a lack of knowledge regarding them and so many other factors. I would like to be part of the people who will empower the next generation with the past to decide the future and learn from the past. Despite having some form of understanding and grasp of my culture I always learn something new when it comes to more formal aspects. It’s always fun when my grandmother smacks my hand when I do something that is a big NO.
Culture shouldn’t have to look a certain way or sound a certain way to be worthy enough to be taught. Learning our history and being able to accurately present it to the masses will do wonders. Maybe not everyone will appreciate learning so much of their culture or learning so much of someone else’s culture, but to people like myself, it would mean the world. Self-identity comes from so many different aspects of our lives but a part of our self-identity such as culture should not only begin with war but so much more.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/4ywesqA
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