The year 2018 was marvellous. Not only was it booming for the black American and the African American actors and actresses, but it was also the year that Marvel Studios released the black panther, a movie revealing the traditions of the Wakanda community and also highlighting the rise of an African superhero, "the black panther".
I must say, the year 2018 put Africans in a new light. The movie portrayed a different glint of how Africans are seen. The Wakandans were visualised as advanced technology people with their African traditions still in their hearts. The movie not only destroyed the premise that Africans were uncivilised and primitive but also brought to light how beautiful African traditions can be and tho Wakanda is a fictional place, there are some truths in fiction.
The black panther movie paved way for change in some ways. Tho a movie that had not originally been made till 2018, Wakanda existed in the fictional worlds of marvel studios in 1966, its first appearance in the fantastic four movies.
The traditions of the Wakandans were borrowed from different African nations and had been treaded down to fit the Wakanda community. African traditions are common and can be often the same in several places with slight differences. In the Wakanda kingdom, some of the Gods include Bast the Panther Goddess, Thoth, god of the moon and wisdom, and Ptah, the Shaper are Heliopolitan deities who fled ancient Egypt at the time of the pharaohs, Kokou is a warrior orisha from Benin, and Mujaji is a rain goddess of the Lobedu people of South Africa. All of them originate from religions and traditions around Africa.
In Africa, traditions are like unspoken laws done in the name of the Gods the community serve. Traditions are treated with respect and pass on from generation to generation. If you noticed the traditions were passed down from father to son when T'challa became king. It is believed that when traditions are honoured, so are the gods of the land that they govern but not all traditions are from gods, most of them were made my men to keep the peace.
In all honesty, African traditions, tho beautiful can leave long-lasting trauma and damage, because traditions are easily respected some leaders abuse power and inflict new traditions on their people, hiding in the name of their Gods. With direct access to the gods of a community comes power given by the people and no one dares question the will of the gods even when given by a power-hungry man.
If you ask me, I believe most traditions we practise today as Africans are a bit healthy while some are detrimental to our health. In the new day and age, some traditions have been neglected and shunned because of how evolved we have become, while others bid their time, quiet but still being practised. Truly, I also believe that there are some truths to out traditions, there is no new thing done under the sun and tradition has a beauty to the way it chides us.
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