Modernization Vs. Westernization
I remember as a child, my
interest in literature was insatiable in so many ways.. I read all the books I
could lay my hands on without any care if it was rated or not, anything in
print was so pleasant and from the day I discovered how to check the meaning of
words from a dictionary, I became unstoppable. Somehow I found my way into my
dad's small library, and I took pleasure in stealing a book at a time without
permission (I never really needed any). I was in primary school when I stumbled
on a book on "How To Get Rich In The 80s", the rules are still the
same now, only the years have changed. I'm not working with the rules yet and
that's really not important for now though… There was this particular book that
I'd found much earlier, it was suppose to be a children book but it was hidden
away in the book rack, and because we were more busy listening to
"Alo" the African folktales that were filled with tortoise, Santa
wasn't really important to us until December. I read the book anyways, it was
titled "The Year Santa Went Modern" written by Richard Armour in 1964
and the pictures were drawn by Paul Galdone.
I read it in the early 90s though, not 1964… "I never old reach
that level".
The book was all about how Santa
discovered the magic of shaving, and how it transformed his identity and
lifestyle from a permanent North Polar to a man that could come out in summer
without being noticed, and the beauty of his embrace of this modern
transformation didn't make him loose his identity, he remained Santa, and he
still lives in the North Pole with his white beard hanging on a reindeer horn,
waiting to be strapped on in Winter. The story was a perfect definition of
modernization.
According to my dictionary, modernization
is the act of modernizing; the state of being modernized. It refers to a model
of a progressive transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern'
society. In sociology, it is the transformation from a traditional, rural,
agrarian society to a secular, urban, industrial society, it is a change in
societal tendencies, an embrace of growth, new ideas and technology, it is an
appreciation of modern development and culture and not a total loss or change
of identity. Westernization on the other hand is "to convert to the
customs of Western civilization." I hope you noticed the difference
"embrace", "transition", "convert".
Modernization can be likened to a
rich Ijebu King who own plenty horses
and chariots and on one of his business travels, comes in contact with an
automobile. He sits down to understand the ability of an automobile, the
advantages and disadvantages over riding chariots and learns how to drive it.
He buys one and uses it to make long distance travels, knowing that it could
break down and he learned how to keep it going. He keeps his horses and uses
them for short distances and for his pleasure rides around his community. His
horses become classic and his automobile gives him a new status and identity.
Just like on the back of his horses, he uses his "pako" (chewing
stick) behind the steering wheels and wears his Agbada and Baba Riga behind the
wheels as well. Sometimes he tries those fitting shirts he got has gifts from
the dealer on the back of his horses and they do just fine. After all he's now
an Ijebu man that drives a car, the fact remains that he's an Ijebu man so owning
a car should not stop him from chewing a pako, and no matter how sophisticated
he gets, his princes will never be entitled to the throne of England so he
drives his car and pours libation to the gods of his father in stainless steel
bowls and drinks his palm wine in calabashes. When the car breaks down and it
can't be fixed immediately or needs a part in town, he rides into town with his
horses and chariot, gets the needed part and gets his automobile back to work.
Westernization on the other hand
can be likened unto an Ekiti King who owned many horses and on a journey, he
comes in contact with an automobile. Out of excitement, he exchanges his horses
for the automobile without thinking that his horses were valuable enough to
earn him the new discovery. He learns how to drive only after trading his
horses in and quickly drives back to his kingdom, killed what remains of his
stable, turned it to a garage and uses the skin of the horses to design his new
car park. Because he now drives an automobile, he throws out his pako and drives around in his ride with
toothbrush in mouth and saliva dripping from the corner of his lips. He bans
the use of horses throughout his kingdom and throws out all of his local garbs,
wearing only the white silk shirt he was given by the automobile dealer until
he was ragged and yet he never relented. He thought to himself, "the
wisdom of making an automobile is worth worshipping" and he did until it
broke down, and there was no way to get to town to get the parts for fixing it.
He must fix is new god so he
embarks on a journey back to town in his dead automobile. He puts his sons and
men in front with ropes, using them as horses pulling and tugging while he sits
in the dead cart as they pull along. Surprisingly on arrival in town, he was
greeted by the son of his auto dealer on the back of one of the horses he
traded for his automobile. His sons looked tattered with blisters on their foot
from pulling a dead automobile with ropes, he looked more miserable in his
white silk turned brown as saliva drips down the corner of his mouth and he
cleans it with the collar of his silk shirt. The son of the dealer welcomes him
and announces that his sister was getting married, he took them in, gave them a
change of clothing and invited them to the wedding not as princes but as
guests. They arrived at the venue, only to find the bride in heavily pleated "Aso Oke" with beads on her neck,
and the groom in a black suit, a perfect blend of what they had and what the
dealer had thrown away. That is westernization, it is the assimilation of
Western culture; the social process of becoming familiar with or converting to
the customs and practices of Western civilization without caution, throwing
away our own traditional and cultural heritage without a total understanding of
the new culture we are converting to.
Western culture in itself is the amalgamation
of diverse languages, culture and tradition for centuries without destroying
the background from which it evolves. Asian countries are far ahead on the
development curve compared to African countries, their growth and development
is divinely etched into their culture and tradition, and their technology is
totally developed around their identity with their language and belief written
all over every stride they make. China is modernized and not westernized, that
is why America is on the list of her debtors, Nigeria is westernized and not
modernized, that is why we are on the debt list of any western nation you can
think of. The Middle East is modernized
not westernized, that is why her culture is preserved on the path of jaw
dropping growth and unimagination development. Westernization is slavery.
Modernization is freedom! Modernization is the real reason why the queen still
wears a crown!
It is share stupidity for any
society to throw out its own culture and tradition in the name of
westernization, there is room enough for evolving and modernizing, for embracing
new ideas, and preserving the old. Don't westernize my friends, modernize like
Santa did, cut your beard, shed your cloak and keep them fresh so that you can
enjoy summer without a wedge. Winter is coming and when it comes, you will need
your old cloak and white beard again or else, the old magic of the sledge will
be gone and there will be no Christmas.
I'm Abidemi Babaolowo Oderinlo
I Write What I Like
