Thursday, March 04, 2010
Kylee Terrill
English 4
Research Paper
Nigeria
Nigeria is located on the continent of Africa. It is also Africa’s most populous, and one of the wealthiest. It has many different languages, religions, and cultures and many talented Authors. It ranks as the tenth largest nation in the world and the largest nation in Africa. It is twice the size of California. Nigeria has hundreds of different ethnic groups that have separate Independent ideas. They have never considered themselves as one country or part of the same culture. The country suffers from internal ethnic conflicts, and civil war.
On Oct. 1, 1960 Nigeria gained its independence, becoming a member of the common wealth of nations and joining the United Nations. This independent Nation had to try and unite over 300 Ethnic groups and try and form a Universal language. English is the common language usedfor government, education, and business. Hausa is spoken in the North; Yoruba in the south-east, an Ibo is spoken in the south east.
The modern history of Nigeria as a political state has from 250 to 400 ethnic groups with many different cultures and varied political leaders. British gained control in 1903 and Nigeria was formed by combining the Northern and Southern Protectorates and the Colony of Lagos. The history of the Nigerian people extends backward in time for some three millennia. In the 1960’s Nigeria gained its independence. From the 1960’s to the 1990’s Nigeria changed thirteen times from Military to Civilian Rule. The Currency in Nigeria is called the Naira and the coins are pretty much not used at all.
The Term Paper on Religious and Ethnic Groups 3
The religious group is chose was Jehovah’s Witnesses. I did some online research and also asked my children’s Foster Mother, Regina Metzger the questions. I wanted to see what the differences of what I found online and what she said the beliefs were. So this is a mixture of what I got from my online sources and what she said. Jehovah’s Witnesses differ from other religious groups because they ...
Nigeria’seconomy and currency has also changed quite a lot over time. Currently It is one of the largest producers of oil and petroleum. This is their main source of economy and 90% of its exports come from oil and petroleum. {text:bibliography-mark} They also produce; coal, gold, iron, marble, tin, zinc and limestone. Major agricultural products include cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rice, millet, corn, cassava, yams, rubber, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, timber, and fish. {text:bibliography-mark} They export to the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Spain, and India.
Before oil was discovered in the late 1950s, Nigeria had been self sufficient, growing just enough food to feed the population. {text:bibliography-mark} Cocoa, peanuts, and palm products were the Country’s main agriculture earner. They have no big industries. With the discovery of oil all changed. Nigeria started importing raw materials from other countries, and as a result, manufacturing became established. Industry in Nigeria grew to include a full range of industries, including but not limited to food-processing, vehicles, textiles, pharmaceuticals, paper and cement. Part of the effects of the oil boom was that there was a significant rural-to-urban migration caused in part by the lure of high wages and consumer-oriented lifestyles of the city. This took a lot of the labor force away from the more rural farms, leaving the very young, the old, and the sick to cultivate the land. {text:bibliography-mark} They had to start importing their food. The Currency in Nigeria is called the Naira and the coins are Kobo which are pretty much not used at all. In the past a new currency would come out and before people could use them they would change.
Nigeria has three main environment regions; Savannah Tropical forest and The Coastal Wetlands. Depending on what area a person lives in is what affects their culture? If you live in the Savanna, which is very dry and arid, you can herd cattle and grow cereal. Living in the tropical forest you would grow fruits and vegetables because it is very wet and warm. If you are on the coast where there is hardly any dry land you would fish and trade salt. {text:bibliography-mark}
The Essay on Oil in Nigeria
Nigeria, a country in West Africa is the most populous nation in Africa in terms of both the population and the number of states which total to nineteen. This West African nation is also highly endowed with natural resources and minerals with oil which is found in the Niger Delta being the main natural resource. This makes Nigeria to be the biggest oil producing country in Africa with a capacity ...
Housingin Nigeria varies depending on what area you live in. They arebuilt to accommodate the environment. If you live in the Wetlands your house is built in stilts over creeks and swamps with almost all travel done by boat, canoe or raft. They are made of bamboo and very open and airy to let the heat from the sun or smoke from the cooking fires to escape. If you live in the Tropical Forest homes are built to blend into the surrounding forest and can easily be overlooked or even hidden if you don’t know where to look. Men and woman live in separate houses.
There are many customs and traditions in Nigeria. There are things you should so and things you should not do. You do not hand things over to people, especially adults and elders older than you, with your left hand. It’s considered an insult. You don’t cross or jump over someone’s legs if they are sitting with the legs extended out. It’s considered bad luck. Avoid shaking hands with elders and older people in the villages. It’s disrespectful to do that. Can you bow down a little? {text:bibliography-mark} When you enter a Muslim house you need to give the owner (the husband) time to allow the women to cover themselves or to leave the room until you are done with the visit.
Marriage and Family traditions are also very different than here in America. Polygamy is legal for the male in Nigeria, but not in the Christian religion. In traditional beliefs, a man is allowed to have unlimited number of wives. In the Muslim religion, it is legal for a man to have up to 4 wives at any one time. The first wife is supposed to have the greatest status, but the most recent wife is usually considered the ‘favorite. {text:bibliography-mark} Family is really important to Nigerians it is mostly a Nuclear family, the father, wife or wives, and children. In most families, there is a strong family bondand the phrase “blood is thicker than water” has a deep meaning. Though this is also changing, most men are raised with the expectation that someday they will have a wife (or wives) to take care of them, and most women are raised with the expectation that someday they will have a husband and children to take care of. So, the standards for raising them can differ in some households. {text:bibliography-mark}
There are two different types of areas the Urban and Rural. The Urban areas have been affected by Westerners, many urban areas are overcrowded. They sprang up from much older towns, with very little urban planning, they are filled with traffic jams, restaurants, Dept. stores, movie theaters and supermarkets. {text:bibliography-mark} With such little planning the streets are confusing. They just wind around like a maze. There are many power outages and loss of telephone services, due to such overcrowding, they happenall of time. In the rural areas life pretty much goes on like it did hundreds of years ago.
The Essay on ”Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
In ”Things Fall Apart” Chinua Achebe takes us to a Nigerian village at the time of the British colonization of Africa where substantial changes are affecting the inhabitants. Okonkwo is a proud African man who strives to succeed in the Igbo society. In his early days he created a name for himself by being a successful wrestler. He then put enormous effort into making his farm prosperous by working ...
There is a Western influence on the food Nigerians eat. In the Urban areas they combine traditional with a little western style foods and conveniences. There are foreign restaurants and supermarkets with canned, frozen and prepackage foods. But only the wealthy can afford to live this way. All others and especially those in the rural areas mostly eat traditional foods. Food in Nigeria is traditionally eaten by hand. However, forks and spoons are becoming more common, even in remote villages. Whether people eat with their hand or a utensil, it is considered dirty and rude to eat using the left hand. {text:bibliography-mark}
Most Nigerian cuisine tends to be based around a few staple foods accompanied by a stew. In the south, crops such as corn, yams, and sweet potatoes form the base of the diet. These vegetables are often pounded into a thick, sticky dough or paste. This is often served with a palm oilbased stew made with chicken, beef, goat, tomatoes, okra, onions, bitter leaves, or whatever meats and vegetables might be on hand. Fruits such as papaya, pineapples, coconuts, oranges, mangoes, and bananas also are very common in the tropical south. {text:bibliography-mark}
In the north, grains such as millet, sorghum, and corn are boiled into a porridge-like dish that forms the basis of the diet. This is served with an oilbased soup usually flavored with onions, okra, and tomatoes {text:bibliography-mark} . Meat is only served on special occasions. Most of the cattle are used to provide milk and yogurt. The milking is done daily because there is no refrigeration.
Nigeria has a long and incredibly rich literary history. Nigerians are traditionally storytellers. Much of pre-colonial history in Nigeria is the result of stories handed down from generation to generation. With colonization and the introduction of reading, writing, and the English language, Nigerian storytellers soon began sharing their talents with a worldwide audience. {text:bibliography-mark} . Famous Nigerian authors include Chinua Achebe; whose Things Fall Apart is very popular in the U.S.A. Buch I Emecheta, S.C. Njoku, Christopher Okigbo, Dike Okoro, and A.D. Helser. I will examine some of their work next.
The Review on The X Files X Marks The Spot Book Report
The X-Files, X Marks the Spot: Book Report liked The X-files, X Marks the Spot. There was a lot of suspense. It was easy to understand. The events were spread out well. Overall it wasn't another long boring science fiction book. There was a lot of suspense.There was suspense as soon as I got into the second chapter. I didn't want to put the book down. I sometimes have trouble trying to find a book ...
Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist and poet, whose works explore the impact of European culture on African society. Achebe’s unsentimental, often ironic books vividly convey the traditions and speech of the Ibo people. {text:bibliography-mark} He wrote Things Fall Apart it is about Nigerian tribal life before and after the coming of colonialism. Achebe writes about a man Okonkwo, who is the main character, who lives with violence, war, and suffering. He is a prosperous farmer, husband to three wives and father to several children. {text:bibliography-mark} Okonkwo looses everything and has been driven into exile. And with his faith he believes that all will work out. The arrival of missionaries followed by representatives of the colonial government, completely disrupts Ibo culture, and in the chasm between old ways and new, Okonkwo is lost forever. {text:bibliography-mark}
Chinua Achebe is one of the best-known African writers in the West and his novels are often assigned in university courses. He is a Nigerian novelist and poet, whose books explore the impact of European culture on African society. Achebe was born in Ogidi, Nigeria, on November 13, 1930. His family belonged to the Igbo tribe, and he was the fifth of six children. Achebe attended the University College of Ibadan in 1954.
Achebe wrote his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), because he was unhappy with books written about Africa. All the books that were being written about African people were inaccurate and insulting.
Achebe’s wrote No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) are all set in Africa and describe the struggles of the African people to free themselves from European political influences. During the 1960’s-1970’s Achebe became politically active. Most of his literary works of this time address Nigeria’s internal conflict. These books include the volumes of poetry Beware, Soul Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973), the short-story collection Girls at War (1972), and the children’s book How the Leopard Got His Claws (1972).
The Essay on Annotated Bibliography of Mark Twain
Budd’s classic text, first published in 1962, explores Twain’s political, social, and philosophical views. It studies them in the context of his writings, letters, and books and probes the author’s personal evolution over time. Budd looks at Twain’s views on American politics, capitalism, women, slavery, the Civil War, and imperialism. His thesis is that Twain’s views were complex and changed over ...
(Crowther)
In 1971 Achebe helped to found the influential literary magazine Okike. His other writings include the essay collections Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975), which he later expanded under the title Hopes and Impediments (1988); and The Trouble with Nigeria (1983).
(Achebe) In 1990 Achebe went back to Nigeria to celebrate his sixtieth birthday and was in a very bad car accident that left him paralyzed. After the accident he returned to the United States and accepted a teaching position at Bard College, New York.
Children’s Author S.C. Njokuwrites books for small children and young adults. Her Book “_Akula the Black Bird” _is about Akula a little very confused blackbird. Akula is a foolish and ugly ladybird. She is so vain and self- deceiving that she decides to change her color to white, thinking she will be the most beautiful bird in the animal kingdom. But she learns in the end that black feathers are lovely, and she never tries to change them again. {text:bibliography-mark} Njoku’s books teach children lessons while entertaining them with stories.
Dike Okoro is a poet, critic and short story writer. He teaches world literature/African Diaspora Studies at Olive Harvey College, Chicago. He is the author of the poetry collection “Dance of the Heart”. These collections of twenty-six poems are bonded by passion and knowledge, and imaginations invoked which represent the vastness of the human society: pictures of history, tributes to courageous writers, the beauty of the African landscape, the indebtedness to folklore and oral traditions. {text:bibliography-mark} One of his poems is “Joy”.
Joy
What I feel in my heart
When I watch a butterfly flutter
To measure the wind. {text:bibliography-mark}
A.D. Helser is the author of “Education of Primitive People” stories based on African Folktales. Dr. Helser was the founder of a missionary school in 1934. He combined Bura folk wisdom into stories. Heneeded to add some text to the school that the children would relate to and that was not out of date. Each folk tale begins with the lesson objectives that Helser identified and deemed important for Bura children to know. {text:bibliography-mark} One Folktale is “The Frog and The Mouse” it is about two friends that live in two different places one on land and the other in the water. On one visit the frog being mean tied their feet together. “The mouse could not live in water, and it died. After a while the mouse bloated and came to the top of the water. A hawk saw him and, with a swoop, took both the dead mouse and the live frog up into the air. The hawk alighted in a tree and ate both of them. They both met death. “ {text:bibliography-mark}
The Essay on Underlying Meanings within Children Stories
Underlying Meanings within Children Stories People enjoy a good story. More importantly, children enjoy their fairytales. However, many of these stories have more morbid underlying meanings. Everyone should know, or at least be vaguely familiar with, the cute story of Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Woods. What people may not know, or may not have figured out, is that this ...
Nigeria is a country that has gone and is still going thru so much political and cultural changes. Its varied languages, ethnic groups and traditions make it one of the most diverse countries. Many talented authors are from Nigeria and all of their books, stories or poems allow us Westerners to get a true view of how life in the past and present really is in Africa. They write from their own life experiences and show us the real Nigeria.
