The world is frequently reported to be coming to be a global village, either it be taken positively or negatively.
Cultural hegemony is one of the frequently lauded reasons for the cultural assimilation among others. History has it well recorded that the primary reason for the cultural hegemony is colonization. Apart from the scramble for manpower and natural resources, colonialist powers highly influenced the cultures, traditions, norms, beliefs and life styles of endogenous people.
The 19th C, which entertained the colonization and guardianship of European countries over Africans, is marked as one of the landmarks for the expansion of migrant cultural and traditional manifestations. The incidence is blamed for dismantling cultural assets, life styles, and other related indigenous assets. Far beyond that, colonization was not only to blame for cultural hegemony, globalization is too.
The digitalization induced globalization plays unprecedented role for the erosion of endogenous assets thereby resulting to vulnerability to migrant cultural trends. Though not colonized, Ethiopia is also one of the victims of cultural hegemony, which is a showcase for the unprecedented consequence of digitalization for the set topic.
Experts in the field debate that currently we are witnessing massive migrant cultural manifestations here and there. The way holidays celebrated in Ethiopia is mixing with the European. Addis Ababa City Administration Culture and Tourism Bureau Intangible Heritages Senior Expert, Memhir Mekibib Gebremariam indicates that Christmas tree, Christmas father and Christmas gift are totally out of Ethiopian culture.
Currently, students from kindergarten up to preparatory schools tend to celebrate European Christmas in schools, he added. “The main reason to this [marking the day] is due to the growing influence of technology, social media and international mainstream media messages”, he said. Some individuals from these generation are fading out from preserving own cultural values which open sadmission for others’ cultural influence over our culture directly or indirectly, he emphasized. As to him, there is low local media coverage in the country to local Christmas and other cultural holiday’s celebration process.
Growing globalization, technology, social media access and interaction,lower attention among the public and government, lack of educational curriculum on culture, among others are causes to the ongoing cultural assimilation, he indicated. That is why now the new generation becomes negligent to keep own cultural values and shifting the ways of marking our cultural holidays, festivals and national days at schools and party clubs, he argues.
Thus, it seems that the European way of Christmas celebration is swallowing the traditional Ethiopian Christmas celebration. Ethiopian Christmas is marked with various traditional plays and games among the youths, women and children. Rur(cultural game) is played widely during Ethiopian Christmas celebration especially in the countryside. Various cultural cloth like;Jano, Bernosare also a special adornment while people are celebrating Ethiopian Christmas. Further to this, different cultural songs and dancing are played with youths in different cultural backgrounds throughout the country.
The practical implementation of the Cultural Policy is important to handle such intangible heritages and save from extinction, he noted. There is no any natural or artificial Christmas tree adornment in our ancient Christmas cultural celebrations says Addis Ababa resident and City Administration Plan Commission Team LeaderTeshaleAlemu.
The cultural way of Ethiopian Christmas celebration is fading out and changing with the European style, he added. “We should work jointly on preserving our intangible cultural heritages to inherit it to the future generations. Parents, schools, culture and tourism sector and other institutions should fulfill their responsibilities in creating awareness to cultivate a pride generation that keeps his/ her identity”.
Encouraging our children to learn our history, schools, the media, every family and everyone’s role marks a significant contribution to preserve our own culture, he recommends. There was not any artificial Christmas tree in the country in the past. But, in recent years it enters to the Ethiopian market abundantly. And the riches tend to change their natural Christm.
The Ethiopian Herald, January 9/2019
BY TEWODROS KASSA
