AN PISSIGNnmT

Presented in Partial Fulfilment of *he

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Digitally signed by Ifeanyi Jonas

Ifeanyi Jonas Ezema
DN: CN = Ifeanyi Jonas Ezema, C
= NG, O = University of Nigeria,
Ezema OU = University Library
Reason: I have reviewed this
document
Date: 2008.12.16 16:10:56 -12'00'
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CIKIW~JFLE: 3XFLICIT AND IiMF!LICT
Culture has been diefined b y vUiotm authors .
-4ccordiag to Broom and Selznut (1963) cultws isa
man's entim social h e r i k g e - all kno~sledgeb e l i e f ,
zustoms and shilla acquired aa a member of soc3ety,
FOP Lancaia (1977) cultu~eis the complex set of
learned and shared b e l i e f s , customs, okills, habits,
traditions and knowledge common t o the members sf a
society. Sir Edward Bmnekt Tylor a l s o defined culture
as athat complex whole %nolubesknowledge, uelisf,
at,norala, law, cu&om and any o t h e s capa~ilizhs
and habi$s acgui?_redby win as a mombor of society,
Cultwe can bc explicit: 'men you t a l k of
explicit; r=u2-:m e , 3bc.sl) m e typical behavisur p a t t e r m d
of a socisty which include, how pyeogle o . p~ o u p dances,
how they a&, hhc t y p e of food they cat, mods of
&essing, narriage patt;ersa ctc, 31390 a m prac.bbal
aspect of cuihture.
1uglici-t c u h t m e i s t h e urr3eslined mgul.at o r y
b o l i z f a , values, .norms and premises of a people,
Xmplicit 'is not seen bat perceived, 1";s the
crux o? t h e regulmitdes in a people's explicit
ctlltwe0
 2
Catsgorias of fdt3ml patterns 0i cultme - Every
society aevelops a series o f ideal cuX3srral patterns
which represent what most members of the society
.t;o ~e correct bbshavisur i n a particular a i t u a t i o a ,
8Uch i d e a l p a t t e m s m e often called norrs, Yoxms a m there-
fore 9 w l s s n which upecifj appropriate and inappropriate
bshav-iaurs in any society, It is mually share& by
ovesy member of the aociety even 'clmagh it: may not
alwdys a p e e with actual bshaviour.
EL) a These a r e d3ep seated oe.nt&ent that
are shared by members of a aocioty and that dictates
tho actiona or behaviours of its mombos values cire
also beliefs above what i s desirable or good and what
is undesirable or bad. Yalues r e f l e c t t h o orilture
of a society and a r e widely shareB by manbcrs of
bhc g o u p that poases the same culture, 3 an
individual accepts a value for aimself, i t
m a y become a goal for h i m . In our ETigercian
society for i n s t a i n ~ dwe valw f&ly life, 0x3
people, children, honesty, hard working e%c.
 2
Categories of fdaarl patterns of cultme - Every
society 3evelops a s e ~ i e sof ideal c u l t a r a l patterns
which represent what most members of t h e society
t o oe corssc% bbobviorur i n a particular si.t;uatioa,
Such i d e a l pattems a r e often called nomi:%, Tomts a m there-
foxe nrulesn which s p e c i f j appropriate and inappropriate
bshav-Lours i n any society, 3t is usually sham& by
eve?rry member of the society even t h a g h i t rnay not
alwdys agree with actual bahaviour,
a) Valux: These a r e d9sy m a t e d sentmeat that
are shared by mernbers of a society and that d i c t a t e s
tho actions o r hohaviours of i Q a mombor values a r e
also beliefs above w h a t i s deairaole or good and what
is undesirable oi? bad. Yaluss r e f l e c t t!?se c u l t u r e
of a society and are widely ahwed by monbers of
the b.n;roup%hat poases the same cultureo It an
individual accepts a value f o r himself, it
may bscomo a goal for h i m . I n our Higeacian
society f o r instained we value family l i f e , 013
people, childmm, homsty, hsra working etc.
 More These are the i d e a l pattern of cu'l-?xz?e or
b)
-4
noms that ars most important t o a society and a r e
tended to b e obeyed without qusstisa and have harsh
sanctions if they are violated. If a eompulaory
--- -
culture. Moves theref ore any ei@f icant iap1ic:ntion
.--I

or though social sanction& ?he laws of a country

are mores and those who break %hem are faced with the
t b a a t of legal punishment, fhamplos include taking
som@body8s l i f e , eatins human f l e a , rape, etc,
Xores are often traditional no.ms tha* are a part of
$he c'ilstoms of a society. Mores m e most o f t e n
translated i n t o -it ben l a w .

o) Zolwa~m These are nonn~lSealing with what we should

-es!iG
80 rather than what we must do, Fol3rwa;ls m e less
obligatory than lnores and sanction f o r violation
are milder i n degree, Oomformity to lol;rwcrys is not
considered v i t a l t o the welime of "h,a groupdAleo
means qf enfoming c o n f o m i t g ia not dearly
defined. JBcanrples of S o l h a p including wearing
su;i-t wi%h .tie and shoes, eating rice on sundap,

four alders e t c .
 4
RBUTIVI'PY
O U I ; T ~

!?!'hie is the position that *he values and standards

ob various culturas 4iffer and &ese.me respect.
(Xottak, 1991). 1% implies that we must study a l l
e u l t u ~ ewith undemhnding that $hey mo adequate t o mee%
t h e n o d s of tha people who live by their rules, In any
s o c i e t y peogls tend to see t h e i s system of behirv-iour as
good or msmal w h i l e t h a t of other people is seen as i n f a r i o r ,
-himid and unacceptaole, It is mrthg of no% that no
c a f i t u r e i.s more import;ant than another cult'me, According
t o Boas (1966) d l c.alture a r e good. 1% a c-di-urewere
t n l y "inadequaton it woxld not enable 5.5s people t o
sumrive, and i->would disappear. It therefom means t h a t
dl cultures are useful t o the peopls who practices then
f o r they emanate both as the pooplo*s problem and also a
key t o the people s advancement,

CULTURE SHOCK
T h i s refem to the psychcdogical effects on an
individual, 02 contack with a d i f f e r a n t culture, The
onstarding featmess of ahock include an h a b i l i t y t o
make sancd of the behaviour sf others o r t o predict
what w i l l say o r do, It is obvious t o point out that the
f i r s t European to have oncountered the sluying sf t d r m
among tsadieional African m u s t have suffered enormous
 5
c u l t u r a l shock. As noted by Oke (1984:s) when
the Europeans first arrived in Nigeria, individual
Nigerians who had contact w i t h then: sxperiomott
various degrees of c u l t u r e shock. In tho modem
world, individual8 and group have also experience
culture shock =d p o u p have a l s o excsrionoe culture
shock when they have corns in coni;act -with agotner
culture diff ereat from their own, c ~ l t m eshock
is not restricted t o inter-cultural co-?.tacfi.
Sometimes it happen within tho same society when
1

peq&ns of diverse i n t m x ; t s , subgroups or d i f f e ~ ~ t l ' k

s o c i a l class are in contact b y ckange, Ro:oever, j.b

i s gassir~.leto outgrow culture shock aithin a

short time.

rnHNOCENTRISPd
T h i s describes a type of' preju3ioe that says
simply, m y c;x2t..xets way are r i g h t a d othes cultures'
ways i f they a r e not; lib mine am wrongo 'Iherofore
a person who juages other cult?mes solekg in term
o f h i s o r her wan cul-;ure is ethnocentric. For
instance, an etLhaoccntric p e m o n in N i g e r i a will
mqad the Eskimo's aexual hospitaliQ c u l t l ~ eas
totallg lacking in laoral f i b c ~o r % . ~
people
t who
 6
e a t millipede and babarians,
Ethocsntrism preverts urs from appriating the richos
of bthsr people's cultures because every other culture
is seen as i n f e r i o r to oms. It i s prevents someone
from having a creat-ive insight into h i s own c u l t m e
bscause it is t o E n aheady.6

3IJLTT?RaL DIJFFUSIOH
T h i s i s simply moans coming i n content with other
culture~s. Contack with other cultural groups can aleo
influence t h o c u l t u r e of: a group* It 9s ou3tmal
Siffursion the process by which cultma1 e1e~nent;s%re
borrowed from another society and hcorcoyrated into
the calture of: the recipient group. I n Nigeria, for
instance, our contact with European c u l t m e have affected
OUT nods of a e s s i n g , mesas of transportation, the food
1

we e a t , nods of greating, our religion eta. Nsukka

people f o r instance eat a l o t of p a i n s prabably because
of t h e i r being i n clove with t h e Mor%herfiera. & society
m y deaide t o adopt the cult-=a1 elemeats from the
dominant society $ncother t o a u m i v s i n t h e i s change
wof ad whish is called accultlu-ration.
 These are t h e vmious ethnic group with t h e i r
c u l t u r a l cliff erencou gliding w i t h one p a r t i c u l a r
3 ~ 1 ue.
6
Por example i n Yigeria football is the most
m a j o r r,illt;u.re t n a t integrate t l . ~
e n t i m nation to=qether.
.Then Nigeria a r c playzhg f o o t b a l l with another
country, a l l the e t h n i c tj'roup tha* made of N i g e r i a will
Join hand togc2her pray let Nigeria win and f,;P eventually
the win everybody will be happy wb olinding the
e t h i z s ~ u opr cult'iwal gronp yam areo
,Another eultura in-bcpation is English Language wide
i s a compulsory language in X i p r 5 a ,
Currency: N a i r a is Nigeria curreacg which is anoths~
culture t h x t i a t s p a t s ? I i peria together, In t i m of
t j u f i n ~arrd o e l L L a g ;.k m l naira
~ t h a t i s the aedium of
exchange with ethnic, Srouy and wothcr,