For days now, I have been wondering what my starting point should be about this blog. I thought of several issues and topics on which I may possibly start a discussion, but I found it hard to reach a consensus within myself. I name this blog "Hausa Intercultural" because I was looking for some way to say something about the Hausa people - my people. I want the world to learn a little more from me about how I see myself and my culture. May be this is the starting point I have been desperate for, after all how much have we told the world about ourselves? Do we even talk about ourselves? Is it part of our culture to keep mute and wait for others to say what they can about us? I then felt may be the best way is to first of talk about our culture - Hausa culture. But what is culture?
Several experts and scholars in cultural research and studies have defined culture in different ways. Hofsted, (1994:5), defines culture as "the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another." By this definition, Hofstede does not mean that human and computers can be programmed in the same way, but what is referred to as "mental programming" here is our our ability to think, feel and act based on certain patterns shaped by our life's experiences. What is being emphasized here is that:
A person's behaviour is only partially predetermined by his or her mental programs: he or she has a basic ability to deviate from them and to react in ways that are new,creative, destructive, or unexpected.
What we may have to understand is that these mental programmes are acquired by the individual from the experiences in his social environment which comprises of the home, the school, the peer group, the workplace and the community. Hofstede et al, (2010, pg. 5)
Another definition of culture is that of Spencer-Oatey. She defines culture as:
a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and bahavioural conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member's behaviour and his/her interpretations of the 'meaning' of other people's behaviour. (2000, pg.3).
Some of the conclusions we can derive from this definition is that culture is not an individual's affair. Culture belongs to a group of people and this group can be in the form of a society, gender group, professionals,etc but it is a social group. We can also conclude that culture is deeply rooted in the life of the social group. Culture touches on the very foundation of their existence, the values they share, their orientations to life, their religious beliefs, their good and their general conventions in life.
We can see from these definitions that Culture is the spectacles through which people see the world and it is the mirror through which the people are portrayed to the world. Culture is the shared values which a particular group of people hold very dear. Culture may not be completely revealed to all. Part of culture which we are all aware of and which we can see is only a small percentage of the entire culture of a social group. We may easily know the literature of a people, their, manners, their language and their folklore; but it may be very difficult to understand other deep rooted cultural values that are expressed in their communication system, especially the non-verbal aspects, and other not so easily revealed systems of culture.
So now back to Hausa people, what is their culture? The "Hausas", if I may use that expression, are a social group. Like any other group of people, they have a culture, because they have value system, they have social orientations, they have beliefs, they have policies, procedures and behavioural conventions. In fact these great people called Hausa are among the greatest peoples of the world. Like any other people, they have their own problems and the ways of solving those problems. I think the way to go about our discussion is to take every aspect of the Hausa culture as a feature on this blog. Let me also make an appeal here that I stand to be corrected on anything I write here, after all I am a student and a willing one for that matter. Thank for reading this.
