I only do not love and subscribe to the sudden adoption of cakes to our Nigerian traditional weddings. Looking at the event of a traditional wedding, I think a cake is a total contradiction. The cake being of the Greek origin incorporated into our traditional I would say is a first-hand infilteration of our culture and traditions.
Today in Nigeria we point to so many ills in our society and link them to one culture imperialism or the other,, we blame it on our fathers who in their 'time' accepted and copied everything so absentmindly and shortsighted. But today in our 'time' we are also letting history repeat itself. And one disheartening thing about it is that we claim to be in the civilized time. We are supposed to know more. If our Father's had an excuse for their mistake what could we give us our excuse.
My point is this a traditional wedding is what it is -according to tradition. It should be comprised of ingredients according to the tradition. Bringing in a cake does it mean our traditions has lost its spice and richness and then we are trying to help it. Someone would say it's only an upgrade. An upgrade really? Our culture and traditions has to be upgraded by another one,, obviously the superior one.
It's not wrong for a culture to be admired by people of another culture but inter-locking and even marrying it with one's culture displays a low self esteem of your culture and then proves that the other culture is superior to yours.
The cake today is gradually becoming an important figure in a typical Nigerian traditional wedding today and more worrisome at the expense of our culture. So many elements, dishes, delicacies, ornaments that garnish a traditional wedding is given less priority and a cake a more priority. Most times this our indigenous elements are not there but we would always see a cake standing tall. That is a mockery to our culture and heritage.
The fact that the cake is moulded into different models of cultural elements, like the chieftain cap, the bead, the kolanut, the palm wine jug, it does not make it any less a cake. It is still a cake.
Do we really want to pass on cakes to our children as one of our traditional elements?
Our culture is becoming so porous by the day because of things we are gradually allowing to take full ground and things we are letting to die silently.
Cakes in traditional wedding is now trending and most people for the sake of wanting to the the 'in' thing ignorantly join the bandwagon.. Who says your day would be brighter or less complete without a cake.
Please let us respect and guard jealously this culture that was handed down to us. It is our heritage, it is our wealth, it is who we are.
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