M. B. NWOKE
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to survive, the human infant must learn the skills, knowledge
and accepted ways of behaving of the society into which it is
born” (p. 3). Kluckhohn (1951 as in Haralambos & Healed,
1980) posited that culture is a design for living held by mem-
bers of a particular society. In order for a society to operate
effectively, this design must be shared by its members. So in all,
cultural value systems are transmitted to generations of off-
spring through child-rearing practices in the homes.
Analyzing the cultural value system in Africa, Dukor (2010)
observed that every ethnic group has a set of social value sys-
tem in her cultural environment, such values as poetry, archi-
tecture, food and work habit, farming and fetching water and
many others; such are transmitted to generations of humans
through child-rearing practices in the homes. Dukor (2010)
indicated that when cultural values are enacted and assimilated,
they become a form of law or guide to the group (like Thomas
Paine right of man, the American declaration of independence
and the United Nation Charter on human rights). Dukor (2010)
categorized cultural values into moral normative values and non
moral normative values. He indicated that the moral normative
values consist in what he called ethical or axiological values,
while aesthetic and artistic values make up the non moral nor-
mative values in African philosophy. Dukor (2010) observed
that the issue of prepositions and entailments of African cul-
tural ethical values arise because these values are embedded in
African folklore, proverbs and wise-sayings on one hand and on
the other hand there are prepositions within the kinship-ex-
tended family ties and communalistic system. Dukor (2010)
attested that an ethical or moral normative cultural value can be
extracted prepositionally from a set of proverbs or folklore or
from the African communication philosophy, for example, in
Nigeria, no police is set to enforce moral values in Igbo society,
since the spirit of moral responsibility and communalism or
kinship takes care of deviances. For instance (Dukor, 2010)
cited the Igbo proverb that “when a man dances badly in public
it is his brothers (brethren) that get the itching brow” meaning
that unruly behaviour is a disgrace not only to oneself, but to
his entire family and community. He put his “Theistic Human-
ism model” into two groups A & B. In group “A” is the com-
munity values. In the community values are the kinship, ex-
tended family, communitarianism, social values and ethical
issues. In group “B” is the aesthetical values. In the aesthetical
values are the food & work habit, agriculture & architectural
values, music, artistic and celebration of life values. All these
philosophical ways of life, wise-sayings, folklore, belief system,
prescriptions and postscriptions and other invaluable salient
values in the family level, community level or society at large,
as enunciated by Dukor, is inculcated to generations of human
beings through child-rearing practices in the homes.
Nigeria with her diversified cultural background, value sys-
tems and with numerous ethnic groups, each ethnic group has
her peculiar way of child-rearing practices through which the
group’s value and norms are transmitted to generations of off-
spring. The home is the custodian of cultural value system. For
instance, the home initiates the child into her value system and
the cultural norms such as dressing pattern, greeting pattern,
eating ethics, cooking methods, language, dance, like acrobatic
displays, masquerade, morals, habits and gender character wise.
The males are trained on how to be dominant, defensive, and
strong among other masculine qualities. The girl child is trained
in feminine qualities of submissiveness, gentleness, quiet, hum-
ble, caring, which calls for mothering. The girl child is taught
domestic chores and how to take care of the home. The values
people adhere to often affect their cognition, their learning,
understanding, thinking, imagining, reasoning, and creative
processes. Chukwuaguh, (1998) observed that “the hidden as-
pects of a culture which comprises beliefs, ideals, values, as-
sumptions and modes of thought which members of a group
adhere to, govern not only the behaviour of the group, but also
their cognitive world view in a profound manner” (p. 70). For
example among the Igbo of Nigeria, the presentation and
breaking of kola nut is a value system that almost every Igbo
speaking group held prominent. In Igbo land, kola nut is not
shown to females whatever their age and the language of the
immediate locality where the kola was presented is always used
in praying while breaking it. This value system is transmitted to
generations of Igbo people through child-rearing, (Nwoke,
2004; Uzoka, 2010).
In another view, Sechrest and Wallace (1967) observed that
value system and heritage are deeply imbedded, that the cultur-
ally determined way of doing things and the look on life seems
natural and right in comparison with other peoples. They saw
that there are various ways in which cultural value system and
home might have impact on the personality of the individual
human being and his/her modes of adjustment. Every culture
provides both prescriptions and postscriptions for behaviours,
systems of reward and sanctions are very often specified and
they are inculcated to the offspring through rearing practices.
Thus certain forms of behaviours are prescribed and even re-
warded while other forms may be forbidden and punished.
Nwoke (2004) observed that in some part of Igbo land, the
eating of new yam is highly celebrated. The contravention of
this value system by any member of this group attracts heavy
sanction because such a person has defiled the cultural value
system no matter the influence of modernity or Christianity;
while in some other parts, new yam is eaten like any other food.
Yala in Ogoja of Cross-River State has similar value for their
new yam in the sense that every Yala son or daughter goes
home for the celebration. Of course, different cultures accord
yam products with varieties of celebration.
Review of Related Literature
Evaluating the impact of cultural values and norms on the
lives of humanity, Argyle (1970), Sechrest and Wallace (1967)
observed that culture provides its members with a cognitive
structure from within which they will review and try to make
sense out of, through their experiences. Through the value sys-
tem, cognitive and linguistic structures suitable to the problems
that must be dealt with by persons living in that culture are
provided and such values are transmitted to the young ones
through child-rearing in the homes. One of the most intriguing
and influential hypotheses concerning value system was ad-
vanced by Whorf (1956 as in Sechrest and Wallace, 1967) who
postulated that the nature and structure of the language deter-
mines cognitions which are possible in any culture; and are
transmitted to offspring through child-rearing methods in the
homes. For example in Igbo culture, the word “akwa” has many
meanings àkwà = bed; àkwá = egg; àkwa = bridge; àkwā =
clothes; àkwa = cry. However, the meaning “àkwa” conveys
depends on the pronunciation of the last article à; (or the se-
mantic). Among the Effiks of Nigeria, the word obong could
mean mosquito or chieftaincy depending on the pronunciation
and it is transmitted to generations of children. It was also re-