Things That Fascinate me about My Culture

I have to start this article with a disclaimer, lest I be condemned for being un-African. I am an African and very proud of that fact but in my life, I have taken those bits of my African heritage that suited me and adopted them as part of my lifestyle, and decided to let those that I could not stomach lie. I have been very blessed in my life to be able to weave in and out of various cultural experiences, and in my day-to-day life engage with friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues and other people that continue to teach me their cultures and ways of life. Since I have been back to the land of my birth, Kenya, I have engaged, once again with the culture that I was raised in and this article summarizes some of the things I find strange as well as wonderful about my culture:

Disillusionment in the Land of my Birth

This last Sunday, I boarded a plane on a journey back to the country of my birth, Kenya. As you all know, I have rumbled quite a lot about the state of governance in Kenya. On the plane, I had the privilege of sharing a seat with a gentleman that was also Kenyan but that worked for one of the reputable banks in Africa, had lived out of Kenya for a long time in other African countries, and just like me, was concerned by the state of the Kenyan nation. There are a two things he mentioned that were absolutely interesting and I thought to share:

I am an African

When the former President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki, delivered the ‘I am an African’ speech in 1996, I was barely in my teens and did not know that over 10 years later, I would be so interested in the affairs of this continent. I also did not know that there would come a time when I would define myself as an African rather than being affiliated to a particular country in the continent. Very often I have been asked by numerous numbers of people where I come from and I always say to them that I am an African after which they look at me dumbfounded. It was not until I decided to understand and confront my identity demons that I realized I was a child of many formations and could not necessarily be affiliated with one country. I am deeply passionate about the African continent, I find myself asking a lot of why questions about Africa’s past, and have so much optimism about the continent’s potential.