A Little About Me

Well you can obviously tell that I am Nigerian by my blog. I was not born in Nigeria, but as a child I was raised in a Nigerian Culture. There are many tribes in Nigeria that consist of Hausa- Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Kanuri, Annang, Tiv, Ibibio, Etsako, and Efik. Among all of these tribes, I am Yoruba. When I was a child I ate Nigerian food at home and did things differently than other kids. In my home, we spoke Yoruba and English. My parents started talking the Yoruba dialect to me at a young age and now I am able to understand it today. I struggle sometimes talking back because I understand the dialect more than I can speak it. My parents were very strict on me as I was growing up and I did not have a lot of freedom. They always taught me to have manners and be respectful. They also taught me to not be like the hoodlums in my neighborhood. I was not a part of that group, I was always a respectful and kind young child especially in school. There is a little about me and I hope you enjoyed it.

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The Wonderful Meanings!!

Everything has a meaning in this world, but it is certain that all Nigerian names have meanings. In the Nigerian culture names are important because they believe that names might determine a child’s part in life. Meaning is attached to our names and a lot of them deal with prayer, family, wealth and God. Our parents give us names that mean something and they can even be depended on a situation like if something happened. For instance,if  maybe a baby was having difficulties at birth and survived, a parent may name the child " Temitope" which means mine is worthy for praise. My name is"Teniola" and it means bringing wealth to the family and I myself believe that I will bring wealth to my family later in life. Here is a website of a list of many Nigerian names and there meaning. http://www.top-100-baby-names-search.com/baby-names-nigeria.html

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Nigeria is in West Africa located in the southern hemisphere. It is also located a little above the equator. The weather in Nigeria is different depending on the seasons. The seasons are also determined by the rain. There are only two seasons in Nigeria and which consist of the rainy season and the dry season. The country is in the tropics and the climate is seasonally wet and humid. The wet season is from April to October with the wettest month in June and the dry season is from November to March. I have been reading and following Oyinbo Abeni's blog. His blog is also about Nigeria and we talk about some similar topics, but he talks about many more. I like that his blog talks about a variety of  interesting topics about Nigeria and the way it is just set up. I also likes how he talks about his experiences and thing that people may like. You can read almost anything about Nigeria in the blog post because i know for a fact i do not have everything.

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Education is major deal around most countries. In Nigeria, education is also a major deal. Nigeria does not have a very good education system, but they are improving. Nigeria's educations is supervised by the state. Just like education is mandatory in the United States, education in Nigeria is mandatory as well but only the first six years. There are six years of primary school which is also elementary school, three years of junior schooling which is middle school, three years of secondary school which is high school and four years of university education leading into a bachelor's level degree. Grades in Nigeria are different compared to the United States. There are a total of nine different grades that are assigned in a class. There are distinctions grade which include an A1, A2, A3 or A1, B2, B3, and B4. Then there are credit grades which insist of a C4, C5, C6, or B4, B5, and B6. There are also just passing grades which are a P7, P8 or D7, D8, and E. Lastly there is a failing grade which is an F9. The Federal Government in Nigeria thinks of education as an implement to influence the nation’s development. The education is getting better and better.

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Today in Nigeria, traditional houses and buildings have vanished and been replaced with modern style buildings. Before the modern days, houses were built to meet social, cultural and religious needs. The building materials consisted of mud, wood, stone, palm, grass and other vegetable materials.  During the European colonization of Africa, the country was knows as the “Dark Continent” which meant a place with no culture and civilization. When the Europeans traveled to Africa, they were surprise to see the architecture of Africa especially in cities like Benin and the Asante Capital of Kumasi. The cities were very clean and had great paved roads. They were also divided into palaces, houses and apartments that were very beautiful. The architecture in Nigeria changed drastically over years and now it is much better. Here are pictures of what the houses use to look like back then compared to now.

Modern

Traditional 

Nigerian dancing is just a smaller part of African dance culture. Nigerian dance is lively and full with lots of energy. Dancing and music are combined in the culture. There are many different type of dances which include a wide variety. For instance, there is war dance, acrobatic dance, the maiden dance, masquerades, and many more. The dances are well known for the movement in their torso and limbs which is controlled by the rhythm of music. Nigerian traditional dances usually expresses situations, emotions, sentiments, and beliefs and they have a connection to human activity. Dances also represent events that have happened like birth, harvest, thanksgiving, success and many more.  The type of dancing depends on a musical instrument like the African talking drum, flute, Shekele, which is round wooden ball with beads around it, and the Picolo which is like another type of flute. As I stated earlier in the paragraph, music and dancing are paired together. These musical instruments are used to play music and these are what they dance to. Dancing is a main part of entertainment in Nigeria and it remains that way today.

 There are all kind of different sports around the world. Nigeria plays a traditional sport named Dambe Boxing. It is a form of martial arts that is only held on festivals. Back then the sport use to means practicing military skills, but now it means for one to achieve prestige, show masculinity, and bring honor to a family or village. Our most popular sport is soccer. Nigerians have made a name for their selves in global sports. They have a national team that plays around the world and compete for titles. They won the World Cup in 1985 in China and is ranked top ten team in the world. Nigerians also play in the Olympics and participate in sports such as soccer, judo, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, tennis, table-tennis and track and field events. There are many professional Nigerian athletes today in Europe and America. For instance, Hakeem Olajuwon is known for being a great basketball player form Lagos, Nigeria who played for the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors. He played in the NBA from 1984 to 2002. In Nigeria, they also they hold competitions every year that people get excited for. One of these competitions is called the Argungu Fishing Festival. The point of the competition is for someone to catch the biggest fish. There is also another one called the Abuja International Motor Fair that showcases cars and trucks. Just like any other country, Nigeria has its own sports and competitions that are a part of the culture.

Art is all around the world and sends all kind of messages. Nigerian art comes in various types that consist of sculptures, masks, textiles, pottery, carved ivory and many more. The art represents the Nigerian culture and also has a tradition that reverts to the past.

Sculptures
Sculpture in Nigeria are made out of ceramic, bronze, terra cotta and brass. They could be found to go back to 500 BC. Most sculpture are revealed to be statues and mask.

Mask
Nigerian masks are made out of wood and foreshadows Christianity. The masks are usually painted and worn at funerals and festivals to serve spirits.

Textiles
Nigerian textiles use shrubs to make dyed cloth. Women usually do the dying while men do the crafting. These weavers create vivid cloth with many different patterns and designs.

Pottery
Pottery in Nigeria is practiced a lot. The pieces are mainly big vessels and cravings. Pottery is an art known for women and that can be passed down through families.

Carved Ivory
Lastly, carved ivory is used to make jewelry and decorative items.

Here is a link to view and buy some of Nigeria's fine art.

Nigerian clothing is very unique and different from the clothing we see in America. Similar to American clothing, there are different types of clothing for men and women. Nigerian clothing makes us stand out and reflect well on the culture. For men, the clothing includes buba, fila, sokoto, abeti-aja and agbada. In the picture above, the man is wearing a fila on his head which is a traditional cap. Abeti-aja is also another type of cap that has longer sides. The man is wearing a buba which is a loose shirt that goes down to half way of his thighs.It may not seem like the man is wearing pants, but he is in fact wearing pants known as sokoto. Lastly the agbada, is a long festive piece of clothing that is used on top of the pants and the shirt.On the women side, the clothing insist of buba, kaba, iro, gele and iborun or ipele. In the picture, the women is wearing a gele which is headgear for the women that is tied around their head. It it a rectangular piece of fabric that can be have different looks and styles.She is wearing an iro which is also a rectangular piece of fabric that is tied around the waist. She has on a buba which is a loose blouse that goes down to her waist and a kaba is a single piece dress.On the women's shoulder, she has a long scarf known as a iborun or a ipele that can be tied around the neck or put diagonally across the body. The women is holding a fan in her left hand which is called a abebe. It is not apart of the clothing,but it is used to fan yourself when someone is feeling hot.  You may have noticed that both men and women wear a buba. Men have their own buba and women have their own buba ,but it is sewed differently.

Hello my name is Teniola Oladeji. We all come from different backgrounds and ethnicities. I am a Nigerian and I am writing this blog for people who are interested in the Nigerian lifestyle. The Nigerian lifestyle has many traditions that I partake in. It is a wonderful place because of its different ethnics groups, languages, traditions, food and many more. To find out more stay tuned weekly for a new post! I hope you are excited to read more about the lifestyle.

GREEN! WHITE! GREEN!

 


I am very proud to be a Nigerian and I take pride in it. In the image above, it is a picture of the Nigerian Flag with the colors of green white green. Every flag has its own unique design and meaning towards it. The flag was designed in 1959 and raised on October1,1960. The green stripes represent the natural's wealth of the country and the white stripes represent peace.