Is modernity affecting traditional greetings?

A popular definition of culture is that it is a way of life. Dictionary.com defines it as “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another”. Scholars have also defined it as “the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by […]

A popular definition of culture is that it is a way of life. Dictionary.com defines it as “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another”. Scholars have also defined it as “the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts”.
In Nigeria, for instance, the Yoruba prostrate on the floor to greet their elders. In some parts like Delta and Edo, it is the norm that a female either kneels or curtseys, as the case may be. But today all that seem to be fast fading away. A cross-section of the public expressed their views on the fast-fading culture of the different people of Nigeria.
“I think the proper way of greeting is gradually fading and paving the way for a modern method of greeting,” Dotun Ajumobi, an NYSC member said, adding: “Growing up, I dared not greet my parents or any other elderly person standing. But these days, I see young people passing by without greeting, not to talk of kneeling or prostrating. This is not part of our culture. In our culture, it is normal that when you see an elder, you greet.  Also, when you see an elder carrying stuff, you are expected to relieve them and take it to his or her home.”
Favour Kyaune had an opposing view to that of Dotun. She said “personally, I don’t think our way of greeting in Nigeria has changed because in most homes I visit, children and adults greet visitors. To a large extent, our cultural values of greeting are still in us. A child who doesn’t have the habit of greeting can be said not to have been given proper home training. Some people see greeting as an obligation or something which is not compulsory. I personally think that if you want to change the view of the youth then you have to lead by example. I’m saying this because of an experience I had. I was passing by and didn’t notice an elderly woman nearby, who saw and greeted me knowing I was young enough to be her grandchild. I felt ashamed even though my not greeting her wasn’t intentional, but she made me feel guilty of some sort.
Patricia Ufuoma, a business woman and mother of three says she’s neutral. “I can’t generalize by saying our traditional way of greeting has faded because some people still do it. Though if you look at some of the young ones today and their attitudes towards elders, you would stop to wonder what kind of training they are getting from their parents. You will walk past a young person in the morning and instead of greeting you first, the child would look you straight in the eye. I blame the parents of such children, because I believe strongly that charity begins at home and that the first attempt to socialization comes from the parents.”
Ufuoma went on to give a personal experience she had with a child and her parent.  “In the absence of my children, I went out to get items to make breakfast and when I got to the shop, I met the shop-owners’ teenage daughter and the first thing she said was ‘What do you want to buy?’ I felt so angry that I shouted at her. Her mum walked in and asked what the matter was and I told her, but instead of scolding her daughter she just kept mum.”  
Ufuoma also said parents are the ones to make sure culture doesn’t fade.
Victory Andrew, a Delta State-based student, feels modernization has taken over virtually every aspect of the world. “I personally don’t feel that you have to kneel while greeting to show respect to your elders. Greeting, to me, doesn’t connote respect. Modernization is the way to go.”
Bright Ojumah wondered why greetings like ‘hi, hello and what’s up’ are used popularly. The undergraduate said western culture should not be allowed to bridge into tradition. “How can you see me in the morning and you tell me ‘hi’? I expect that parents should continue to teach their children the proper way to greet, because it is their first duty to breed good children who would later become upright elders. Let us all join hands to make sure that our culture and traditions don’t die, because that’s our identity.”