How your Ancestors programmed your DNA

Your geographical roots affect your thought pattern

After my post on Japan’s ‘Too many Virgins’ problem, a few friends contacted me via phone calls and other social media, expressing displeasure at my being critical of the “blackman” in my introductory paragraph of the article [http://blackboythinking.blogspot.com/2015/07/japans-too-many-virgins-problem.html]. They frowned about what they perceive as my constant deprave of Africa. I think everyone expresses his/or her freedom in thoughts, and a writer who is one who puts thoughts down in ink would be robbed of freedom if restriction and boundaries are placed. The earlier we as African in Africa comes to terms with the realities surrounding us, the quicker we can evolve from what we are and who we are, to what and who we want to be. If we hide our problems, we will be hidden by them. These are sad realities.

I want to take advantage of this opportunity to push out a series of thoughts on my Philosophy on how our ‘geographical roots affect our thought pattern’.  

I will like to state clearly, I’m neither a certified Philosopher, nor a sociologist, historian nor anything psycho-special. I'm just a #blackboythinking

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. 

If you need timber, you must invent something to fell the tree. if you need to join two planks, you need to invent a nail and then the hammer. We agree. Let me take you on a shallow tour of man’s journey through history, with respect to his geographical location and environment.

Let us look at some hypothetical scenarios that comprise my series. 

                                                                 Series One(Africa)

I will start with my roots, Igbo Land.

Scenario 1 (Africa-Nigeria-Southeast-Ndi Igbo):

Let us assume Mazi Obi fell from the skies and landed on Igbo soils. He studies the vegetation, the land scape, the weather and the seasons and tries to adapt himself to his new home. His major challenges are; cloths to cover his body, food to eat, and medical supplies, a roof to shield him from the elements, and tools.

Clothing: The weather isn’t too bad to a decent cover from animal hides, and simple weaves from special fiber and cotton will do. Clothed.

Next stop, where to live.

Housing: The soil is rich and bathed in greens, the sun shines daily and the rains are frequent but not too heavy. From mud and raffia from the palm rich vegetation he casts his cylindrical huts, and from straws he roofs his house.  When the storms come the tress are there to break the wind, and the circular hut streamlines the wind, so he has nothing more to worry about.

Tools: To complete his hut, hunt, defend himself, and to cultivate the lands, he needs tools, good tools. From wood to bones he started Iron fabrication (Iron was not brought to Africa by anyone Western or Asian it was discovered by Africans in Africa, ask UNESCO [http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3432&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html]. From iron he fashioned the suitable tools for his activities. Tools like blades to sharpen and cut through things, Machete, Cutlass, Hoes, Spears and other specialized tools to work the lands and defend his territory.

Yes fire wasn’t handed down to him by “GOD” but let’s skip that particular detail.

Food: The land is big and only he can’t work the earth. He marries many wives (birth of polygamy) who would bear him many sons. Now he has a troop to work the vast farm lands.

He builds barns for his tubers, and silos for his grains, and hanging gills for smoking his seafood and meat. A trial and error and his medical needs are all sorted out.

Unchallenged by nature, Mazi Obi and his household for would indulge, feast and take chieftaincy titles, practice religion and set up traditional ways of doing things, haven conquered all the major challenges fate threw at him. Living the trouble free life, he measures success by farm yield and family size. This lifestyle over the centuries embedded into the DNA of the Igbo man, thus the his/her affinity for growing affluence. He can travel the ends of the earth to afford himself the luxury he craves. An Ijebu man is in some way of the same mould.

Senerio 2 will cover the Middle-belt and Northern Nigeria, and gradually we drift into Europe and Asia in further series. Hang on…

#Iron #TheRoot #Origin #BlackAndProud #Acestory  #Invention #UbahIkechukwuAnthony #Necessity #MotherOfInvetions