Culture is generally defined as the way people live in their various communities. These way of life include:
1. Arrangement and methods of obtaining food from the environment and adapting to it.
2. Rules and regulations that govern people’s behaviour in a particular society.
3. Beliefs, religion, moral behaviour and
4. Whatever the people concerned themselves and have produced using their available materials and knowledge.
Culture belongs to a group of people. That is every society has its own culture, and produced its own civilization, which is shared and passed on from one generation to another. Culture is learnt example, mode of dressing, writing, speaking, eating habit etc.
Aspects Of Nigerian Culture
Nigerian culture can be divided into two main aspects namely: material and non material.
1. Material Aspect
This consist mainly of the product of man’s art and crafts or industry example, hoes, knives, guns etc used for farming, hunting or doing any other work. They also include implements such as combs, mats or kitchen utensils, pots, plates, spoons and baskets which aid man in his day-to-day household activities. These implements do undergo changes from time to time due to the influence of modern technology and the need of man to satisfy certain needs in a fast changing society.
2. Non-Material Aspect
The non-material aspect of culture is learnt as part of the way we live, example; language, morals, religion and values and the whole body of knowledge including technology learnt and passed on from generation to generation, Other aspects of non-material culture are people’s music, folklore, literature, manner of dancing, art, manner of thinking and way of dressing.
With non-material aspect of culture we can recognize that the Ibos behave in a way quite distinct from those of Hausas and Yorubas.
Similarities Of Culture In Nigeria
In spite of the differences in the culture of various ethnic groups in Nigeria, there are common areas of our cultures e.g. Respect for elders and constituted authority, respect for human dignity, respect for positive moral and religious values i.e. a tradition of humanism and discipline moral society.
Differences In Culture
Differences of various aspects of Nigerian culture is seen in language, music, manner of dancing, folklore, art, manner of thinking, the way we live in houses, the way of eating and way of dressing etc. Marriages, child naming, festivals, initiation and burial ceremonies all show differences in the culture of the people in Nigeria.