Yoruba Culture Research Paper

“Citizenship is so much more than a piece of paper, it’s a guide to live your life”

In 2004, a family of four boarded on a plane from Brazil to Mexico, leaving their homeland with the purpose of pursuing their dream to move to the United States. Thirteen years later, the youngest of the family tells the story of his journey at the age of three in the United States. He’s now sixteen years old and says he prefers to be referred to “Patriot X” rather than his real name. He claims he’s a patriot without citizenship and affirms that he would like to enlighten me about his struggles and his crushed and accomplished dreams.

I grew up in a small town in the state of Michoacan, Mexico until a few weeks after my seventh birthday. In 2001, after six years since my father petitioned to have us come to the United States with him and finally he had received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that his request had been approved. Being of that age, I was my mother’s companion everywhere, however, all I could grasp from those conversations was that we were going to the United States. I don 't think any of us knew what this meant or to what extent this would change our lives, not even my parents whom I thought knew it all.

Citizenship was granted to those who proved to the court’s satisfaction that they were of good moral character and who took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution.”

John sat quietly thinking about the events from the day before. A lot had happened in the last couple hours. He wasn’t sure whether to stare at the wall in shock or go out celebrating. John had just been naturalized. He was a citizen of the United States of America. He never has to go back home. He had rights. He could out and say anything! He could practice his religion! He was American.

Thirty years from today I left my native country, Romania with my family to come to America in the state of New York. I remember with perfect clarity, the day we arrived at John F. Kennedy airport. I was only nineteen years of age. I have to admit that my family and I were afraid of the unknown. We exited the airport, got into a van,drove for about 45 minutes , and checked into the Aberdeen Hotel. At that time Aberdeen Hostel was mostly for transit immigrants. To be precise, it was for political refugees. My parents received a United States visa after my mother ended her twenty-one days of hunger strike. During our stay in the hotel, we went job hunting. I was fortunate enough to find a job right across the street from the hotel. It was

I came to the United States on October 1st 2009. As an eight-year-old, I didn’t realize the changes my life was about to go through. I would always dream of coming to the united states because of the amount of opportunities that I could have here, that I could never have in El Salvador. Although, I didn’t comprehend that would mean leaving my whole family and making such a huge change in my life. Growing up in El Salvador I got used to depending on my family and having their support no matter what. After I moved the changes were really hard for me: Not having my family around, learning a new language, and getting used to a new lifestyle; took me some time to get used to.

Traditions are very important in the Ibo tribe of Nigeria. Death and afterlife play a very important role in their culture. The traditional Ibo people believe in worshipping their gods and spirits. They pray to their ancestors and gods in hope for a better future. They also believe a person has two souls; the eternal ego (the Ibo "Maw") and the life that dies with the body. The eternal soul takes the form of ghost or shadow when a person dies. The Ibo believe in karma and praying to their ancestors before meals. The music of the Ibo is designed from forged iron. They play many melodic instruments including the igba, ichaka, and the opi, an instrument similar to the flute. Another musical form in the Ibo culture is highlife, which

Springboard defines culture as; “the shared set of arts, ideas, skills, institutions, customs, attitudes, values, and achievements that characterize a group of people, and that are passed on or taught to succeeding generations.” Culture is very important to a person’s identity but, when a culture starts changing things may begin to fall apart. In the book “Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe, he writes about a man named Okonkwo who was heavily invested and fond of his Ibo culture, he held high title in the community and was known as a strong and powerful man. All this changed when the white men arrived in Nigeria, many of the Ibo people left their old belief system and old way of life behind and conformed to the ways of the white men. Okonkwo on the other hand resisted the change and reacted to it in a violent way which paved the way to his tragic death.

In a lengthy conversation with the assistant stage manager, I finally realized how important ethnicity can be to a person. He identifies himself as British and not truly American even though he was raised in America.

I remember the day I first came to America. I was in the LAX airport, looking around the totally strange place which was full of strangers. All I could hear was the strangers' buzzing. I was upset about leaving all of people I knew and loved behind me to follow my father, mother and, sister here where we could find better "educational opportunities". I had grown up being around people who used the same language as me and had black hair and brown eyes. I spent my entire childhood in Buwtal Nepal until 2010. On April 27th 2010, I departed from Tribhuvan International Airport with my lovely parents and sister. My uncle was receiving us at the Airport. I still remember landing in New York around 8 o’ clock in the morning and that fresh smell in the air with the start of a whole new life.

1.Yoruba: linked to the Nok cultured who can been seen in museum today. The Nok culture actually predated the Yoruba by hundred years. Late 16 the century saw the rise of new power among Yoruba. The trading stated of Nupe north of Benue river

It was back in the year 2008, a hot night in the month of August my brother asked me on the phone, calling from Miami, if I was determined to come to the United States with the possibility to take along my wife and kids , I did not hesitate for a second on a positive answer, although I was still living with my parents at the age of thirty two, being so close to them was a heartbreaking decision but you cannot think twice when the future is so cloudy and grey in Cuba, the communist island. Of course, he legally claimed for us as an immigrant, and today, I still feel ashamed to fly on an airplane, comfortly and easily when so many Cuban brothers, women, children and men have found a terrible end on the Straits of Florida, drowned or eaten

In the form of African culture, the country Ghana has its own definitive form that is somehow similar with other African country’s culture but different in various elements. This is why it is the most intrinsic characteristic of Ghananese culture; with its deployment of systems, structures and social elements, it is set apart from other African cultures. But what should be given importance is its original context, which also sprung from the African importance of culture. According to Steven J. Salm and Toyin Falola (2002), “Africans regard culture as essential to

In Africa more specifically West Africa in the Southwestern Nigeria, parts of Benin and Togo where the Yoruba religion started, Yemoja represents all things relating to femininity, childbirth, the patroness of motherhood, giver of life, and the womb. The Yoruba religion says “She is the great nurturing force linked to water and the seas, as water is the sustainer of life, energy behind the creation of all things alive”. Because the ocean often correlates with the moon she is also known as The Moon Goddess. Her symbols are coral, a gourd rattle, seashells, turquoise and white, and an anchor or key. In the Yoruba language her name is a contraction of Yoruba words,”Yeye emo eja” which means “Mother whose children are like fishes.” She is often