Between Christianity And Cultural Heritage

It is disheartening to note that most of our cher
ished customs and traditions have been sold to foreign culture through  Christianity and ideas borrowed  from  nets via Facebook, Google, U-tube etc. This sad  state of affairs  has given  this nation a negative  image as we are all witnesses to its debilitating  effect on the society.
The most annoying of all is the destruction of our arts, scared trees, effigies, and some ancient land marks by some  churches with the belief that witchcraft, lack of progress of youths and the entire village, the cause of  death of one’s beloved etc, would be tackled.
This writer went home and  discovered  that some attractions left behind by our fore fathers such as ancient bitter  kola nut tree with fruits on it was destroyed. I gathered  that a man of God came for a crusade  and told them that the bitter kola nut tree and Arungu masquerade are the causes of lack of progress  and development in the community.
That ancient better kola  nut tree was a source of income  to the youths because each  day, either at night or day time you will surely pick its fruits enough that you can  sell in the market for a  reasonable amount of money which  can be used by the less privileged in the society to buy reading and writing materials that would help to develop them in the final analysis.
Also, most people realize, the important of bitter  kola nut  because of its medicinal  value especially in curing several ailments. Thus, the  hunt for this valuable tree is on the increase daily.
Bitter kola in upland  Rivers State, particularly in Etche-land serves as Ojie which must be given to any visitor in Etche land. Kola  nut represents  peace in Etche land. So can that which  represents peace become an evil omen as claimed by  some men of God?
The destruction of the  bitter kola nut tree and Arungu masquerade  in Umuarim Ulakwo I Playground in Etche  local government area on mere suspicion that they are clogs on the wheel of progress is bad. These cultural landmarks had lasted for years, surviving the Nigeria/Biafara civil war only to be destroyed by the new generation pastor.
It is even disheartening to note that while  the ministry  of environment is campaigning for tree planting,  we are  cutting down  the ones we have  on mere suspicion of evil.
It might interest the readers to know that the community that is lacking progress and development has produced, a commissioner, an army captain, lawyers, Rev. Father, police men and women, secretary to Etche  local government area, several graduates in different fields who ate the fruits of the  bitter kola nut tree at the village  playground, saw the Arungu masquerade  through the window of the one story building housing the masquerades.
An immediate question that came to my mind was that, if the ancient bitter kola nut  tree and Arungu  masquerade were the cause of lack of progress in the community as claimed  by the man of God, why did Arungu masquerade  allow the aforementioned professionals to attain enviable positions in the society?
In some parts of Rivers and Igbo land cutting down bitter kola nut tree is seen as  a sacrilege, an abomination that suggests that you have destroyed peace in the land. One should not forget in a hurry what oil exploration does to ecosystem particularly those economic tress that are still available of which we are cutting down.
Indeed, the monetary  values of those ancient land marks left behind by our forefathers  are unquantifiable. If  these masquerades  and ancient bitter kola trees are inimical to the progress of the community why not speak a word as Jesus did in Matt. 21 verse 19 – 20, or request the Rivers State or federal agencies in-charge  of museum  and archieves to come and collect them so that  generation of sons  and daughters of Umuarim Ulakwo I in Ulakwo Etche could come and see their cultural  heritage.
In the light of the foregoing, especially against the backdrop of the manner and the way these new generation churches go about destroying most of our cherished customs and tradition. This is bad as a society that has lost its customs and tradition is a slave to foreign domination. Nevertheless, this  writer, as a Christian knows that some customs and tradition are evil and should be  abolished where-ever it is still practiced  in the society.
Nweke resides in Port Harcourt.

 
Ebenezer Nweke