One day, when I was a freshman in
high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name
was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself,
"Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be
a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with
my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I
was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him,
knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the
dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet
from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over
to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in
his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. "
They really should get lives. " He looked at me and said, "Hey
thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles
that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where
he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never
seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have
never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home,
and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked
him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends He said yes. We hung
out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my
friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came! , and there was Kyle with
the huge stackofbooks again I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna
really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! " He
just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I
became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle
decided on Georgetown , and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be
friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor,
and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian
of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a
speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that
really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good
in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy,
sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was
nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey,
big guy, you'll be great!"He looked at me with one of those looks (the really
grateful one) and smiled " Thanks," he said. As he started his
speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank
those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your
teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to
tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give
them. I am going to tell you a story."I just looked at my friend with
disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill
himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his
Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked
hard at me and gave me a little smile."Thankfully, I was saved. My friend
saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the
crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw
his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until
that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power of your
actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in
each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.
GRACE FOR GRACE
Have you
ever wondered what you’ve done to deserve #HisGRACE; #Blessing, #GiftofLife,…?
Just Nothing but His Grace…HIS GRACE for GRACE!
Despite
all what Job was passing through, all what was going on in his mind, situations
around him, sayings from his friends, wife and other people, disappointment
here and there. He still has the HOPE. The trials never crushed all of his Hope
– I know my Redeemer lives... Job 19 vs
25
MAT WEAVING IN NIGERIA - OGOTUN EKITI
1.0.
INTRODUCTION
Mat weaving is a traditional craft that has come of ages in Nigeria;
it is practiced by the large variety of indigenous people of Nigeria.
Mat
weaving craft is very economical to produce. It is produced by the simply
intertwining of the mat leaves. The leaves are grown and harvested in due time,
dried and processed for production process. Mats are highly esteemed amongst
the Yoruba people especially by the traditional rulers because of the diverse
purposes it serve. It can be used for such ceremonies as marriage blessing,
coronation and as foot-mat in the palace.
Mats are important household articles which are used for variety of purposes such as bedding, covering floors, scatting, and fencing, screening and making ceilings. They vary a great deal in colour, size and texture depending on the type of raw material used and the purpose for which they are intended.
In this case we studied the people of Ogotun village in Ekiti-State,
Southwest of Nigeria in respect of the Mat Weaving Craft. Mats are made from a
popular grass called “Eniron” in the local dialect of the people.
Madam
Rachael Ogundiran was born around 1940 in Ogotun-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
The then young Rachael was introduced to the traditional crafts practiced by
most people in the area as she assisted her mother in activities such as
Mat-Weaving. At a very tender age, she has started weaving Mats that serve many
purposes in the day-to-day activities. She started selling her mats to
different people that include dignitaries like Kings, Chiefs among many others
which enabled her to support herself and her family.
In
spite of her, using just hands and feet, her end products are all perfectly
balanced and well proportioned with pattern always looking pleasant and
attractive. According to her, “there has not been any modern equipment
manufactured to replace the use of hands and feet”. She does not use any modern
equipment to produce her perfectly formed pieces, their aesthetic quality on
the simplicity of design, seemingly transforming ordinary plant (weed) into
works of art.
Madam
Ogundiran collects her materials from a plant called Mat Plant “ENIRON” in
Ekiti State where weed grows especially during the period of rice and maize
harvest. The plant leaves are also useful for the wrapping of rice.
Passing
on her skills has become an important aspect of Madam Rachael’s work, often
hosting workshops in her family extended housing, passing on skills that have
been taught for generations and which have now become part of culture.
3.0. MATERIALS
AND TOOLS USED FOR MAT WEAVING
3.1. MATERIALS
4.0. PROCESSING
AND TECHNIQUES OF MAT WEAVING
4.1. PROCEDURES AND PROCESSSING
According
to the Craft Person, “no formal training is needed for mat making. A young girl
can learn by sitting down by her mother and watch her work. Soon, the girl is
allowed to try her hand at weaving, and she soon perfects her skill.”
The
procedure for making mats can be broken down into four steps:
v On-farm
activities
v Smothering
and Drying
v Dyeing
v Weaving
The
on-farm activities involve:
·
Growing the mat stalk,
·
Weeding the farm
·
Harvesting the mat stalk. A mat stalk
takes an average of 3-5years to mature.
·
Final Harvesting of the matured mat
stalk is done by hand.
Harvesting
and transporting a bundle of mat stalks to the homestead takes a full day. The
smothering and drying stage commences the second day, with slicing of mat
stalks. A sickle-like knife is used to slice the content (pulp) out of the mat
stalk. After sun-drying for 2-3days, the sliced stalks are dyed or left plain.
However
after harvesting, the Plant is been scraped and then dipped inside chemicals
like “Jelu (Purple)”, “Buke (Red)” and “Mokere (Orange). This is done in other
to add aesthetic to the design of the mat.
4.2. TECHNIQUES
There
are three important techniques involve in the weaving of Mat at Ogotun Ekiti;
they are
Ø WEAVING
Ø PLAITING
Ø TWINNING
Plaiting
method is also another technique were the fibres are plaited together in a long
strip. The finished strips are then sewn together side by side or in a spiral
form to form a complete mat
Twinning
method is a process involving the warp fibres which are laid down on the ground
and the weft threads are twisted around them.
5.0. MARKETING
Ogotun-Ekiti
is an area where mat weaving is their craftsmanship. It became easier for the
people of the town to learn how mat is weaved. Whenever there is large
production of mats, a local market for selling was organized or taken to nearby
villages like Ilesa, Ipetu-Ijesa. Buyers like dignitaries come from far and
near big cities like Ilorin, Osogbo, Benin, Ibadan and even from the Northern
part of the country to buy the mats.
5.1. MATS AND MATS PRODUCTS
Beautiful
mats and mat-based products such as table mats, conference bags, purses, hand
fans, cup covers are made in Ogotun-Ekiti, and its environs.
6.0. LIMITATIONS
The
mat makers were predominantly aged (about 60-90 years old). Mat making
processes was reportedly very tedious, it causes fatigue; on the average, the
fastest mat maker may be unable to make more than three big coloured mats in 2 weeks.
Although
Mat weaving craft boosted the economy of Ogotun-Ekiti, which made the town one
of the well-known towns in Ekiti State and his environs but it is sad to get to
know that the craft production has declined massively because the aged mat
weavers are not readily replaced by the younger ones due to so-called
civilization. More so, it continues to go into extinct because the making
process causes fatigue and there hasn’t been any introduction of modern
implements or method of mat weaving.
The going into extinction of mat weaving in
the town is also brought about by the introduction of western education which
discourages the activities of weaving mat among the indigenous people of Ogotun-Ekiti
which includes teenagers.
7.0. RECOMMENDATIONS
§ Private Sponsorships should be encouraged to
help revive Mat Weaving craft.
§ Governments should try and encourage the use
of Mat products.
§ Encouraging the training and teaching of the
Mat weaving craft in various institutions (starting from Primary school level
to various higher institutions) in the country.
§ Mat weavers should be encouraged and invited
to participate and exhibit their products in National and International Trade
fairs which will earn Nigeria a substantial amount of foreign exchange.
§ Adequate and proper attention should be given
to the development of mat weaving locale
in Ogotun-Ekiti
8.0. CONCLUSION
This
term paper was indeed an eye opener, from our experience we now know that mat
weaving have come of ages in Nigeria particularly Ogotun-Ekiti where our
research work was based.
We
discovered that though the lack of publicity of local craft in Nigeria, still
mat weaving is one of the craft that have refused to go into extinction in
Ogotun-Ekiti because of the passion the local people have for it and the place
have been designated and recognized as mat weaving centre which made the art of
mat weaving relevant among the people.
However,
our limitation and recommendation have been properly outlined in other to
sustain the future of mat weaving and to ensure its relevance and upliftment.
Lastly,
with the zeal the people are exhibiting towards the craft, the future of mat
weaving is bright with adequate and appropriate attention.
CREDIT TO MY GROUP MEMBERS
GOD WHY AM I DOING THIS?
Like most people, I’ve had my triumphs and my
tribulations in my 51 years. But from a very early age, I examined the circumstances of my life. On the one hand, I was born a white, Protestant male in the most privileged and powerful yet moral civilization ever on Earth. I was born at the dawn of the technological age (I’ve been waiting all my life for the internet), where information was at my beck and call. These advantages make me a member of a group with potential unique in human history. On the other hand, my father died when I was six, after having his first stroke at age 39 when I was four. His inability to work and increasing mental deficiency, in a neighborhood where I was the youngest out and about, opened me to a lot of ridicule from other kids. My mother proceeded to remarry and be re-widowed two more times over the next 13 years, enhancing her trend into mental illness and alcoholism, which everyone in my family has (except me and my kids, thank God). My brother was discovered to be a sexual predator. I broke my back when I was twenty.
With the two hands of my life such a dichotomy, I wondered throughout childhood what God had in mind for me. Then it occurred to me that God was forging me with adversity to make me tough, then equipping me to be at this pivot in history to do something extremely critical and important. When young I thought it was to be a soldier, a valorous, but noble, American soldier. The quagmire of Viet Nam made it clear that was not my venue.
Life happens while you’re making plans, and I married and fathered children, pursued a career, and became a Scout leader. I was about 8 years in as a Scoutmaster, when one day I was sitting alone at a picnic table at summer camp, watching my Troop do it’s thing, and do it well. I seem to have a real aptitude for Scoutmastering, probably because I love it so much. The old thought came to me, what was I supposed to do with my life? Suddenly it was revealed to me: This was what I was supposed to do with my life! My calling was to be a Scout leader.
Now, I’m a little skeptical of anyone who tells me God speaks to them personally (especially when they want money because of it), but one day, sitting in the Scoutmaster’s lounge at camp, about ten of us were having honesty time. One SM said: “If it hadn’t been for me becoming a Scoutmaster, I’d be nothing but a drunk!” A few more similar comments came forth from the group, and I decided to reveal my calling by God to be a Scouter. To my complete surprise, everyone in the room nodded their heads in understanding. They had all had the same experience!
Some days I wish God had called me to be a taste tester at Ben & Jerry’s, but whatta ya gonna do?
Mort Skipper, Scoutmaster,
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UI, Asian Varsity exchange students
The University of Ibadan’s Centre for Sustainable Development (CESDEV) has partnered with some Asian universities on a student exchange programme.
The Director of UI’s CESDEV, Prof Labode Popoola, made this known at a briefing in Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He said Nigeria, and indeed Africa’s thirst for real development, was hinged on a programme that breaks disciplinary and continental boundaries the same manner the centre was doing with the global field exercise, which started in Japan.
The programme, he said, was aimed at creating “complete” leaders that can apply diverse methods to developmental and governmental issues.
Popoola said: “Asia may be a continent of developed countries or a few emerging economies but, in truth, there are some things that we lost in the course of all that development. Coming to Nigeria, I saw those things and I wished we had it.
“It’s important for students to employ multi-disciplinary approach to development studies. If we do that, we’ll begin to see sustainable development. That is the beauty of the programmes we have in CESDEV.
“These students, in the past 11 days, have been exploring multi-disciplinary subjects that affect development. They’ve been dealing with environmental protection, agriculture, food security issues and many more.”
Popoola said prior to the students of the University of Tokyo visit to Nigeria, UI students had, between November and December, last year, spent more than two weeks in Japan, learning and sharing ideas with their counterparts.
“Our students were in the University of Tokyo between November and December, last year, learning and sharing with students in Tokyo. Now, students from that university are here too to learn and share. That is the global nature and concept of development studies,” he said.
Popoola described lack of electricity, poor awareness of the programme’s relevance, as well as disinterest from states in sponsoring students, as part of challenges confronting the programme.
CESDEV is a postgraduate programme of UI, which according to the director, offers postgraduate diplomas, professional and academic masters as well as PhDs’.
Prof. Masafumi Nagao, who led the University of Tokyo students to Nigeria, said the need to learn and share experience worldwide necessitated the deal.
Nagao said: “Africa and Asia have a lot in common, yet each continent knows very little about each other. The idea is for students from both continents to collaborate to learn from one another’s point of view and build areas of social relevance.”
According to him, the programme is similar to programmes run at the University of Tokyo, but he wished there was more money available to execute more of such trips to Nigeria and Africa.
A 23-year-old undergraduate of the University of Tokyo, Tina Yamada said in the midst of Japan’s technological advancement, spectacular transport system and social organisation, the country still needs to borrow a leaf from the Third World.
Her Nigerian counterpart, Tolu Adegbite, said: “I was in Tokyo, Japan in December for the exchange programme. In terms of development, Japan has more advanced technology and better transport system unlike Nigeria. But here, their is flexibility unlike Japan where life is rigid and more individualistic. But one similarity is that the two countries have the same education culture where people believe that young people can only excel and lead the future if they acquire education.” by Tayo Johnson, Ibadan
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