TFA+Journal+2+(Sarah+B)

Chapter 3 - 6 Text-to-self: When I was reading about The Feast of the New Yam, I was immediately reminded of the manner my parents have always encouraged me to have: respectful to God and to the elders, particularly before eating. The Christian ways of living and the traditional Confucius culture have influenced my household, especially in these ways.

Umofia, the Ibo village in Nigeria, holds a feast every year to “honor the earth goddess and the ancestral spirits of the clan. New yams couldn’t be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers” (p. 36).

Always before eating a meal, my parents say a quick prayer, to thank God for the food that we have been provided with today. It is considered both rude and sacrilegious to eat the food before the prayer has been finished.

Whenever we go to our grandparents’ to eat a family lunch, my mother elbows me when I try to eat before my grandparents and uncles have eaten. When I was younger, I didn’t understand why she prevented me from eating, but now I realize that in a Confucius culture, it’s very disrespectful to even raise your spoon before your elders have.

Culture: One aspect of the culture that I was ready for was some of the harshness of the others’ words against the man who broke the peace during the Week of Peace. It is only expected that in a primitive village like Umofia, where it is believed that traditions and gods rule the world, there has to be consequences for those who violate the rules.

Okonkwo makes the mistake of beating his wife during the Week of Peace, and is forced to make sacrifices to the earth goddess. Ogbuefi Ezeudu and two other man gossip about him like old women, and how the consequences in the old days were much more harsh.

In my opinion, the sacrifices are much more appropriate than the old punishments, but I do feel that Okonkwo does not fear the rules enough, since he has so much to give, and that attitude could be rubbed off as rude and disrespectful, and I don’t blame the other men for gossiping about him.

Question: Do all cultures share similarities in terms of respect in society?