By Yekeen Olawale Wakeel
CULTURAL heritage is an important part of people’s identity as it helps understand who one is and where one is coming from.
It is a collection of memory from the past, from the lives of a people’s ancestors and It is the people’s duty to protect the heritage and pass it on to future generations.
Cultural heritage is concerned with matters of identity, locality, religion and economic values. It is an instrument in the discovery, creation and subsequent nurturing of national identity.
In some situations, cultural heritage is memories of love and preserved as an instrument for promoting peace.
Preservation of structures which are memories of the painful events of the past, that is, Kiriji war site at Imesi Ile, Opa Oranmiyan site at Ile Ife all in Osun State, serve as bulwarks and lesson to create more amicable and tranquil future.
Also, Kiriji war, which was the longest in the history of Yoruba people, is an example of the fortune brought upon by wars and conflicts.
Cultural heritage sites need to be preserved to prevent loss of cultural knowledge and collective memories of the past.
Cultural heritage has become part of life and livelihoods of people, as elements of cultural homogeneity lie with people’s lives and livelihoods.
Creating peace in the society through promoting culture and heritage has now become an important issue in the society, especially in Nigeria where the issues of insurgencies are becoming alarming everyday.
The museum must, therefore, try as much as possible to build peace in the society by bringing together people of different cultures, faith and ethnicity and establishing an environment of mutual understanding, respect and love.
Many cultural heritage elements which are based on emotion, sentiment, belief, ideology, fraternity, history and identity are not visible but can be divinely felt and understood. Attack on any of these cultural heritage sites is sometimes very difficult to replace, but also graver is the fact that they are more difficult to heal.
It is also important for museum professionals to identify and define elements of intangible cultural heritage that can be used in the service of society and the achievement of peace.
. Museum should also help in promoting performing arts such as dances, music and folks; drama can be used to serve society in this regard especially in multicultural country like Nigeria.
- Yekeen Olawale Wakeel, is the Chief Museum Education Officer, National Museum, Ile-Ife.
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