By Ding Lam YUAL
Though it should be expected that this piece will not bring out the pros and cons related to the so called global village, the intention is not to duel entirely on the subject but to raise awareness of its subtle impacts and get my point across rather reasonably.
As it stands, the legend behind Saint Valentine is somewhat conflicting. There is some doubt as to the true identity of Saint Valentine, and in fact it is possible that there were as many as three Valentines. However, one of the famous narrations of the legend is as follows: Emperor Claudius of Rome attempted to abolish marriage because he felt married men did not make good soldiers. Valentine, a priest, then married lovers secretly.
The Emperor learned of this and had Valentine imprisoned, where he died on February 14, 271 A.D. This is one of the popular legends surrounding the birth of Valentine's Day.
Apart from Valentine Day, I have also noticed that people of Southern Sudan are observing what some would term universal holidays: Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and the obvious Christmas holiday; all recognized as public holidays in the country.
As much as we would like to or become parts of the so called Global Village and cultures, what does Valentine, Labor or Thanksgiving Days have to do with us? It is true that different communities have their own way of celebrating love, labor and thanksgiving, but is the way in which people celebrate Valentine--the use of predominantly red, black and blue colors--reflex a universal culture? In Sudan, especially in the rural South, I have seen people giving thanks to God for a good harvest.
They conduct such celebration indiscriminately--especially at a time when their crops yield. In Sudan alone, it is impossible to universalize thanksgiving because it occurs to different communities at a different time. This is the same with Valentine. If one is in touch with the Sudanese culture, you will realize the prizes that people pay to openly express or be in love. Numerous men and women lost their lives in the pursuit of love.
We could have been the ones celebrating or mourning the pain while at the same exporting it to the rest. People who might not have problem celebrating Valentine will argue or rather said that there is no point of criticizing Valentine since it is all about love and everyone else is celebrating it. The only problem with such reasoning is that these people are not taking into consideration originality, uniqueness and the creation of history.
Personally, I felt that the people of Southern Sudan are being overrun by foreign civilization. The legend of Valentine Day, though universal, is unique to a particular origin. It is disturbing that people of Southern Sudan are turning submissive day after day and have no guts to even question the relevancy of cultures that they find themselves celebrating.
If Valentine is about what the text said it is, what is its relevancy or universality to Southern Sudan or to the rest of the world? When do our love heroes get to be celebrated? And how will one explain Valentine to a common man and woman in the rural Southern?
It is important to remind our readers that history is created. If we just sit back and allow the bigger universe to drag our feet, we will lose our identity, creativity and be led to doom. The Global Village, if could ever be in favor Southern Sudan, would have to incorporate, acknowledge and celebrate--on a universal level--cultures and ideas that are also of none Western origins.
Until that is seen, I encourage people of Southern Sudan to remain vigilant and maintain certain level of reservation in the wake of observing and celebrating cultural holidays simply imposed on them. Look at the Ethiopian and Eritrean--they have thirteen months of sunshine and their own calendar. Wouldn't you pride in being unique like them?
Ding Lam YUAL is a staff writer of MatMedia Sudan. He can be reached at ding.yual@gmail.com