Contact of Cultures: The Effects

Culture is the way of life of a group of people, which is acquired in a social environment. And the sectors of the culture include religion, marriage, kinship, family, laws, system of government and so on. As we had stated earlier, there are different cultures in the world, but there is no superior culture, cultures are seen as the same.

However, different cultures have often encountered one another, and some have been able to influence the other cultures really well. When different cultures meet one another there is usually culture shock on the players involved; the relationship between these cultures could be positive, or really negative.

Let us take Nigeria as a case study. Nigeria was colonized by Britain, and so, in Nigeria today, English is the official language and the way of life has been Europeanized. Nigeria’s ancestors wore shabby clothes and some even walked unclad before the coming of the Europeans, but now everyone covers all parts of the body.  The way of life of Nigerians have changed, from the mode of dressing to the method of cooking and eating to the system of government, and then to the laws, the old system have been eroded, in place of it is the new borrowed, or rather, forced culture.

A group of people acquire new culture through so many ways: colonialism, inter-culture marriage, war, migration, economic and political influence. In the past century, most cultures were influenced by the culture of the colonizers, and this is evident in African and Asian countries. In that century also, there was an economic and political influence of less powerful countries by the powerful ones. During the cold war area, the capitalism and socialism ideology championed by the two world powers, USA and USSR almost tore the world apart. The less powerful countries had to adopt these ideologies to curry favor from them.

Culture-contact through migration or inter-culture marriage can cause culture shock and psychological trauma. This can happen when the two cultures involved are totally different. The modern day American will find it hard to survive in a dictatorial and murderous society. A core Muslim or Christian will find it hard to live in secular or anti-religious countries. Different cultures can cause metal disorder; there is conflict of cultures in the mind of the individual, and the individual will find it hard to adapt.

When two cultures meet and one of the cultures doesn’t compromise, there is a likely conflict which might be violent. Sometimes, because people do not respect other cultures, there is conflict that leads to loss of lives and properties. And in a situation when one culture think it is better than another and tends to coerce the people of the other culture to adopt theirs, there tends to conflict. The world is a global village, and because of this, there is increased culture-contact leading to the death of different cultural values. In the situation where religion is concerned, brain washed individuals abandon and destroy their cultures leading to loss of cultures totally even when the culture has people who can maintain that culture.

Chinwe O'Brien is a writer and a blogger. He is currently doing a degree program in English and Literature. He blogs at http://www.bettertim.blogspot.com  He wishes to make the world a better place for all.