Blog 1 - Cultural Death

When attacking the large heavy topic of “Cultural Death” one can divide the topic into several questions and assumptions. 

The main questions that come to mind are:

1. How does a culture die? Why?
2. Who benefits from it?
3. Is a dying culture worth preserving anyway? What do we lose or gain with every cultural death?

Cultures die through a system of epistemic violence where the minority culture is subdued and silenced. Their rights are taken away, often by colonialists. In his play “Death and the King’s Horse-man” Wole Soyinka describes the experience of the Yoruba people being unable to complete their King’s burial ritual due to interference from the British. The British decreed that suicide was illegal, and thus the district officer felt he must intervene in the burial ritual of a deceased Yoruba king which involves the self-sacrifice of his surviving horse-man. Soyinka establishes the vibrant Yoruba culture opening the play with a conversation full of metaphors and song, emphasizing the importance of this ritual in their tradition and the richness and intricacies of their culture. Then in the next act he shifts to the Mr. and Mrs. Pilkings mocking that very culture by donning the dress of a “dead cult”, and demeaning, Amusa, their sergeant for refusing to speak to them while they wore it. Their belief that simply because the superstition or ritual does not align with their beliefs it does not deserve the dignity of respect or consideration. And that people who do give it weight are illogical and inferior beings. 

The death of a culture gives makes it easier for cultural hegemony to take place. As minority cultures are worn down through the persistent and aggressive efforts of European imperialists making it harder for them to exist, it unfortunately becomes in the minorities own interest to adapt and give in for the sake of their own survival. They will cease some cultural practices and fail to pass on their beliefs to the next generations. The King’s horseman’s own son, Olunde, had gone to England in search of an education and work, giving up his cultural duty as his father’s successor because he recognized the superior knowledge they possessed. However Olunde is also a testament to how a culture lives inside of us. Despite abandoning his land, he still came back to bury his father, and his culture was so deeply ingrained inside him that he instinctively shunned his father when he was unable to fulfill his ritual obligation. So while the imperialists benefit from the death of other cultures because it reduces resistance, it is difficult to break people’s spirit down so much that they give up what they feel is sacred to them. Although Olunde was clearly confused at one point, he still understood the gravity of not fulfilling the ritual and so replaced his life with his father’s. 

This brings us to the final question. Why is cultural death such a big deal?

A culture is one of the last things a colonizer can take. They may seize the lands and resources, but they cannot kill a culture right away. It is what people cling to because it is such a large part of how they identify themselves and understand their place in the world. It is hard to leave your culture behind and that resistance is also why the imperialists recognize that promoting cultural death will accelerate the acceptance of imperial rule. It is the final step before giving in completely. Even the Nigerians in the play who have left their religion and embraced Christianity still hold certain ideas sacred such as death cult attire. Therefore since a culture live in people's actions, thoughts, and beliefs, it can be very persistent as long as its members perpetuate it. However sometimes due to the harsh conditions people can be forced to let their culture die because they are given no other choice due to intense epistemic violence. Cultural death can be devastating for the ones experiencing it and reduces the diversity in knowledge and experiences in the world.