MAY THE DAY BREAK- CULTURAL VALUES AND WRITING

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

When I was in senior secondary school, I remember how I learned about some of the cultural practices of the Ibo. My friends and I picked up a few phrases that we used often. For instance, 'may the day break', became more popular than 'good night'. No, we had not traveled to West Africa, neither had we any friends from there. Writing has an important role in the promotion of traditions and cultural values and the likes of Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiogo and many others  today have strongly contributed to ensuring that their world became known to others. Their writings had painted a wonderful picture of a people whose world had been disturbed by the arrival of another culture. 

 Creative writing is a sure way of preserving key practices and ensuring continuity for generations to come. Zambia has a rich history, but most of it, if not all has been told by non-Zambians. Every writer has got their own priority when they are putting work together. They also have a perspective that they wish a reader to have on a particular topic. For example, when the missionaries arrived in Northern Rhodesia, their aim was to evangelise. They wrote about the religious practices that they found and called them barbaric and the people pagans. However, would an indigenous Zambian hold the same views? What made Africa a 'Dark Continent' and yet it was and still is exploding at its seams with wealth. Writing has strong influence on people's thoughts, and when it is negative,  it can lead them to resign to hopelessness. When you travel to developed countries, it is amazing that much of their cultural values have been upheld and infact they are churning revenue through tourism.
In Zambia, the main sources for its history are academic books and these are preserved for those that pursue studies in that line. Most of the systems that were used to pass on history and other important cultural values have died with modernization and rapid urbanization. The television has replaced story telling. The internet has forcefully taken the place of being the main source for entertainment and knowledge. With modernization most of the cultural values have been watered down and if left unattended, will be lost forever. If we must head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, creative writing must take center stage of incorporating critical cultural values and symbols in all the literary forms. This means casting key elements of Zambia’s cultures in the various forms of writing. May the day break 'TOWARD A ZAMBIAN GENRE'.

Photo Credit: Kafula Mwila