The Igbo Values And Traditions

The Igbo was sedentary agricultural communities

The Igbo dwelled in small independent villages linked to one another by trade but not politics. Living in sedentary agricultural communities, they relied from year to year on the success of their harvest. Yam was main staple crop of the Igbo diet.

 

The Igbo believed in a hierarchy of gods ranging

            From    Chukwu,         the all-powerful
            to         the chi an individual’s personal god
when a man says yes, Chi says yes also. In other words, a man’s wish and chi work together.

The Igbo believed in the importance of their ancestors.

Their Political organization was based on their ancestry within the independent villages.

The smallest unit, the nuclear family was under the rule of the husband.

Igbo lifestyle is highly stylized, from its ritual speech to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of these formalized interactions occur in an attempt to show respect to some external being – another man, an ancestral spirit, or a god. Respect and knowledge of one’s role in society is very important in determining such customs. Another institution that rituals address and honor is the family unit. Stylized language, in particular, seeks to hold the family together by means of promises.

Reputation is extremely important.

Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives.

Is Immigration "Out Of Control"?

This question is important for me to answer because I am an immigrant from another country. If I examined it from immigrant side, and being in their shoes and see the case in the other side being American my answer might not be the same. It is true that the number of immigrants entering to United States is getting very high. As the author of “Our Rainbow Underclass” indicated, allowing immigrants to enter to the country might have side effects on the country and it might consequent some problems. Most people claim that the rising of Alien number increased unemployment rate of the country. The reasoning behind that resentment is that foreigners will take jobs that could go to Americans. However, it is possible to observe this situation from two different angles. First, an immigrant may have skills and capabilities that are unique and helpful to United States. Talented immigrants may create innovation that builds new industries and create more job opportunities to peoples. For instance, the co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin is Russian. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar, who is from French. These two people are immigrants from two different countries. However, what they have done contributed a lot for the development of IT technology and opened a huge job opportunity for many. Secondly, most people migrated to united state to escape disasters war that is going on to find peace and a better job to raise their kids. I do not think it is fair for such peoples to close the door on them and letting them to suffer in a situation that they are responsible for. In my point of view, closing the door is not the right thing to do. In addition, it will not be a solution to such problems if countries like America, considered powerful and solution finders to immigrants. 

My Immigration experience

            It is obvious that every human being  living in every corner of our planet desire to live in comfortable way. Many people around the world migrate from one place to another to fulfill their desire of living in peaceful and comfortable environmental. The initial reason and the ways people move may vary but the main intention why people migrate place to place is to have a success full life. I started wishing to live in united state since my child hood. However, my dream coming to united state came true when I was enrolling in high school. I got the opportunity to live in united state through the program called DV (Diversity visa). I came to united state with a great hope to be educated and of being a better man. I do believe that my immigration experience has changed me in various ways of my life and shaped the way I look at to this world.

            The first few months I spent in united state was not easy at all. Since it is my first time when I leave home, it is obvious that facing some challenges. When I arrived in the Minneapolis International airport on January 24, 2009, I was very curies to see and discover the new country that I wished for long time. The first surprising experience I had was with cold weather. I tried to look out through the windows to look what the outside is looks like, and all what I see is a white snow on the ground and trees out of leaves. I could not expect the weather will be that much cold. Moreover, I never experienced such a cold weather in my life. I thought the weather is like this throughout the year, but I find out after a while it is just for a while. Another experience I had and challenged was fitting to the social and cultural understanding of the society. Most things were new for me. Learning a new language was one of the toughest experiences I had in the first year. Looking for a job to sustain myself and facing haring managers for interview with broken English was another devastating experience. In addition to that, missing families and Friends has been driving me crazy for long time. On that season, everything seems hopeless. However, Thanks to God, after a while I start learning English and adapting myself to situations. All those situations I went through make me think differently and make me a better person. I am glad that I came to America.