Yoruba Girl Dancing
Dominique Johnson
Professor John Oriji
History 430
Yoruba Girl Dancing Part II
Colonization Leads to Interlacing of Cultures Reading the second half of Yoruba Girl Dancing one thing I enjoyed most was the description of the many different cultures that Remi was forced to live amongst. These cultures included the European culture of the upper class Nigerian in Lagos, the culture of being at the private school, the working class British culture, the lifestyle of Germans who wanted well and the culture of the well off Nigerians in London. Remi was able to successfully journey her way through each of these different worlds and it was awfully impressive how she did. Although Remi made it through I was surprised at how some of the adults treated the children during this time as if they had no empathy for the comfort of the children. This was only one of the many things that helped Remi transform into the girl she becomes towards the end of the story and I was surprised to learn how the Europeans and Africans both mixed their cultures as a result of the colonization. The second half of the book began with Bigmama looking for somewhere for Remi to stay during holidays in Europe. She decides that Betty would be a good fit for Remi and she goes to her explaining why Remi is in Europe in the first place at so young of an age with no one from her family joining her on the trip. Many of the families in Nigeria felt that it was “imperative for their children to receive an English education, so that when the time comes and their country is given independence they are ready and prepared.” (Bedford, 67) This shows just how much the Africans valued education in their culture. They knew that when the country was released and given their independence, they would want someone who is educated to know what they are doing while running the country. This is an example of how the cultures are intertwined with one another because the values taught in London are European values but
Professor John Oriji
History 430
Yoruba Girl Dancing Part II
Colonization Leads to Interlacing of Cultures Reading the second half of Yoruba Girl Dancing one thing I enjoyed most was the description of the many different cultures that Remi was forced to live amongst. These cultures included the European culture of the upper class Nigerian in Lagos, the culture of being at the private school, the working class British culture, the lifestyle of Germans who wanted well and the culture of the well off Nigerians in London. Remi was able to successfully journey her way through each of these different worlds and it was awfully impressive how she did. Although Remi made it through I was surprised at how some of the adults treated the children during this time as if they had no empathy for the comfort of the children. This was only one of the many things that helped Remi transform into the girl she becomes towards the end of the story and I was surprised to learn how the Europeans and Africans both mixed their cultures as a result of the colonization. The second half of the book began with Bigmama looking for somewhere for Remi to stay during holidays in Europe. She decides that Betty would be a good fit for Remi and she goes to her explaining why Remi is in Europe in the first place at so young of an age with no one from her family joining her on the trip. Many of the families in Nigeria felt that it was “imperative for their children to receive an English education, so that when the time comes and their country is given independence they are ready and prepared.” (Bedford, 67) This shows just how much the Africans valued education in their culture. They knew that when the country was released and given their independence, they would want someone who is educated to know what they are doing while running the country. This is an example of how the cultures are intertwined with one another because the values taught in London are European values but