The countries of Africa have been divided among European Powers in the later part of the 19th century. Among the countries that at the British Empire had colonized was Uganda. Here, the British established schools, churches, but also exploited the country’s resources. As foreign ideals were inculcated into the minds of the people through education and government, representations of the African culture were brought into the Western nations in the form of “cultural items and Black slaves” (Artist, 15). It was the colonial powers who decided what culture was back then.
Post-colonial theory examines the issues of power, politics, religion, culture, and economics and looks at how these different issues work together to further colonization. Otop P’Bitek is a Ugandan writer who looks into the experience of culture from a post-colonial theory perspective. His essay What is culture defines “culture” using the events of colonization. His work tackles the influence of colonizers in the definition of culture. This essay, therefore, presents the views of Otop P’ Bitek about how culture was redefined by years of colonization by the Western powers. The following sections describe Otop P’Bitek, the context of his writings, the definition of culture, and this writer’s personal reaction to his ideas.
Otop P’Bitek is an African poet known for his poems Song of Lawino (1966), Song of Ocol (1970) and Two Songs (1971). He was born in 1931 at the time when Uganda and much of Africa was still under the British empire. P’Bitek grew up practicing the songs and traditions of the Acholi or Luo people. He was an exceptional student, and athlete and also an artist. He obtained degrees in Education, Law, as well as Anthropology from Universities in the United Kingdom(www.memoireonline.com).
P’Bitek was a “socially-aware writer” (Ernst 1). His works were manifestations of this. Just two years after his return to Uganda to teach Sociology, his criticisms of then Ugandan dictator Amin led to his exile to the neighboring Kenya. It was only after the Amin dictatorship was overthrown that P’Bitek went back to his country and taught Literature department at Makarere University. He also was a visiting professor at various universities in Nigeria and the US during his lifetime.
The context of his writings
Uganda, P’Bitek’s homeland, was under the British rule form 1880s until 1962 when it gained its independence. Although there were no bloody battles to gain independence, the post-colonization leaders Obote and then Amin wreaked havoc in the country and persecuted many of its citizens. The essay “What is Culture” explains the process by which the perception of “culture” has evolved.
The definition of culture
According to P’Bitek “culture is philosophy as lived and celebrated in society” (Artist 17). It is a way of life. Culture cannot be taken away from the people and stored in museums. Culture is not a commodity. However, the experience in Africa has brought to the fore the commercialization of culture. P’Bitek emphasizes that “the mistaken and foreign view of culture as commodity, distinct and separable from the way of life of a people has been inherited intact by African governments after the collapse of their colonized regime (Artist 16).”
The essay explained that colonization has resulted in three phenomenon: (a) slavery; (b) imposition of foreign ideologies through religion and education; and (c) looting of African cultural objects. Slavery according to the essay was not only at home. The people from African countries were brought by colonizers to Europe and America and sold as slaves to work in the lands in these continents. In Africa, the colonizers built structures and imposed Christianity on the people. Schools became the venues for the teaching of new skills but it was also the instrument to instill the foreigners’ values and perspectives. The colonizers “celebrated” the “culture” they came in contact with in these new lands. P’Bitek describes the practice of acquiring cultural items as “looting” (Artist 15). Items that were considered as representatives of the lives of the people in Africa (e.g., masks, totem poles, drums) were brought out of the countries and displayed in museums all over the Western world. These items became symbols oc conquest. Ironically, the culture of the conquered became equated only with these cultural items.
The idea that “culture” equals “commodity” is perpetuated by the presence of tourists. Foreigners come to African nations to get a glimpse of the culture of Africa and they see it as all these cultural items, or the dances presented. Culture at this time became defined by tourists because they are attracted by the image of Africa as the home of people who live in trees and practice witchcraft. Items that represent these beliefs were marketable cultural items.
Sadly, this idea of culture became passed on to post-colonial governments. Being freed from colonizers did not result in the valuing of the real culture by the governments. The emphasis of culture being a way of life was not given emphasis. Instead, independent governments perpetuate the idea of culture as a commodity.
A personal reaction
The phrase “to hell with culture” is a loaded phrase. Initially, this phrase gives the impression of being indifferent, not caring about culture, regarding culture as unimportant. However, it is also a phrase that attracts the reader to stop and say “why the attitude.” After reading the essay I have to say that I agree with P’Bitek when he said “to hell with culture” if culture has ceased to be regarded as a way of life. I support his statement of “to hell with culture” if culture has become just a commodity that can be transported out of the people’s lives and placed in museums wherever in the world. Although originally to hell with culture was used to refer to the two sources of a visual form—response to a physical environment and cultural form (Read Introduction), this phrase is an appropriate conclusion to P’Bitek’s essay.
Works Cited
Ernst,StephanieA. “Okot P’Bitek. “ Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works (2007):1. MagiOnLiteraturePlus. Web.28 Feb.2013.
Brizee, Allen, and J.Case Tompkins. “Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present).” The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 21 April 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
Memoire Online. “Chapter 1: Okot P’Bitek’s Life and Work.” Memoireonline.com. Web. 28 Feb.2013.
P’Bitek, Okot. “What is Culture” Artist 15. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
Read, Herbert. To Hell with Culture. London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
