Minty Discovery

Curiosity they say kills the cat. I am not a cat and I didn’t get killed, but I discovered something.

All my life I have always seen people chew sticks in the name of cleaning their mouth and I wonder what is wrong with them, after all, there are brushes with different options of toothpastes. I concluded they are just some village people who won’t change with the trend of things.

Then I saw a young lady who is also in the practice, and she said she chews ‘orin ata’ (pepper stick).

"What’s pepperish about it." I asked. And she said, "it is pepperish." 

So after a while of seeing the stick, I picked it up and chewed a little part of it without the bark.

Nothing happened - then I picked a little more then with the bark, so, something happened. 

It was as if my mouth was in pepper.

I have not come across any toothpaste with that strong mint.

This is it, we cannot develop using others people technology. I still wonder why we depend so much on what we don’t produce and then leave what we have to rot away. I read that not until the Portugese arrived Africa they were brushing their teeth with Urine. Our culture can birth the Technology we crave for if we will study to elevate it.

Who says there is no discovery in tradition? So many things our ancestors discovered in their ‘crude’ ways, but the beauty of these things get lost in civilization.

Civilization is definitely good. But what about our lost cultures and values, what about our history. Imagine not knowing who you are, who your family members are.

Nowadays, there is no more name to protect. "Remember the son of whom you are." 

My point, if you can strive in your little way to keep culture in, how lovely would it be because generations after you will know that which you kept.

Olabisi Adepoju