A cultural exchange event was held virtually during the fourth session of the TUNEM’s Dandelion Program - Cultural Exchange Series on 6th May 2022 (Friday). This session was dubbed as “The Rites of Passage”. This session was hosted by a Ghanaian first year student, Sandra Ansomaa Asare, with the help of two orators from Nigeria, Philip Lori and Ibrahim, both the freshmen of the TUNEM program.
The rite of passage is a ceremonial tradition that happens when a person leaves a phase to begin another, and it entails a major shift in his social stature. The rites of passage are always linked to one’s life milestones, such as birth, adulthood, reproduction, and death, which resulted variation in sociocultural status. Generally, the rites of passage can be classified into three categories.
Philip Lori, who gave a wonderful presentation on “Iso Omo Loruko'' from the Yoruba Culture of Nigeria, shared the culture of Yoruba in celebrating the birth rites. One of the prominent traits of the rites in Yoruba land is that variety of foods will be served during the celebration, which encourage more people to participate in such unique culture.
Philip Lori (left) presented Yoruba Culture in celebrating birth rites (right).
Sandra, the host of the cultural exchange event, gave an awesome presentation on “Bragoro” from the Akan culture of Ghana. Bragoro, which is also known as Brapue, is an Akan puberty rite that marks womanhood for a young Akan girl. During the Bragoro, the people will be wearing traditional apparel which is popularly known as kente, dancing with traditional music while enjoying the iconic feast.
A video was shown to display the rich culture of the Akan of Ghana.
The final speaker, Ibrahim, presented on funeral rites based on the Northern Nigerian’s culture. The rite is a reminder to the people that one’s life will end one day, which at the same time to pay last respect to the deceased. Prayers will be made to commemorate the transition of the deceased from life into death. This is not only a cost-effective way of burial, but also to uphold the value of moderation without compromising the tradition spirit of the Northern Nigerian. This is not a celebration, but a wake-up call for the people to reflect on themselves and to make improvements in their lives before death comes.
The diversity of culture was seen across the board and appreciated accordingly by the attendees. They were exposed to various cultures as well as some local dialects of a few West African countries.
