Prior to advent of the telephone, before the post office box, the internet and social media applications, communities in the African region had means with which that they interacted together intra and inter-community wise. The different communities had been in a position to evolve conversation beyond the family device, beyond the kindred product, beyond the city as a whole. Persons had been capable of make get in touch with across extended distances and as a result information have been spread around kingdoms divided by big rivers, solid forests or perhaps great deserts.
Within a world enthusiastic about the social websites phenomenon, it appears as if connecting across great distances started out today. Yes it is the case that connection today is currently instantaneous, transactions are now done in real time throughout great miles and people will be learning about additional cultures and folks without leaving the comfort of their very own couch but this does not show that communication around borders is actually a new concept.
The conventional media would not just suggest word of mouth, conversation between two individuals, no . there were spots for conversation, tools of communication as well as times of this sort of communication. The world was a place of rules and every action or activity had their time and place. Nothing was done away of randomly need. Persons fixed a period of time where neighborhoods could line-up and exchange ideas and information.
CHANNEL OF CONVERSATION
Market Square:
Probably the most popular centers of information in the old African world was your market sq .. The market was obviously a place for buying and offering but it was also a place for gossip, rumor plus the exchange of information. Traders emerged not just with their goods but they also came with reports from other areas that they have been to. They came with reports about vogue, war, sickness, cures intended for sicknesses, deaths, etc . in this way, a community that had a big market could keep up with the affairs of the world outside their very own communities.
Many a war was fought above trade tracks because despite the wealth installed through individuals routes, who ever controlled those routes, managed the stream of information and in the historic world, info was gold as it is today. Unlike, todays proliferation of useless information as well as the overdose of information, details back then was priceless and carefully accumulated. As a result, neighborhoods had among the list of traders, spies who transported secrets from the other communities for their mother community. This information offered a community advantage over one more during negotiations or during war. This is not so much contrary to the embassies of foreign nations that sit on the soil of other countries. On paper, they are there to link two sovereign international locations together in reality they are really there to spy on their very own host country, thereby functioning as the first protection against hostility from a potential enemy land.
Town Sq .:
The town square was in most cases the center of the community and at a time, virtually any member of the city could be located there. Activities like dances, community meetings were held in such places. Before the coming of night clubs and bars, this town square was were lonely hearts met and wooed the other person. It was where beautiful maidens showcased tgkered beauty and young men flexed their muscle tissues in achievements if durability. It was a great place for folks to connect, not really too different from dating applications that are plentiful the place.
City Crier:
The town crier was one other popular channel of conversation. The town crier was a classic institution that served as the official government news monger of the community. He carried news from your government towards the masses. He was basically the office of information. This individual gave bulletins for conferences as well as educated the community as to decisions reached by the regulating body of the community. He was never harmed as his duty was considered a sacred a single. You could notice him band his gongo deep inside the night when he carried information from one area of the community towards the other.
Orator:
An additional medium of communication that was like the towncrier was your orator. Inside the Nigerian sense, the orator was not only a man whom knew learning to make great messages and adjust words, he was also a traditional institution in whose function gone beyond making people chuckle at functions. True, this individual functioned while the grasp of ceremonies at a large number of a party, if wedding, funeral or kid naming although he was more than this.
The orator transported the history of his persons within him. He realized the very basics of his people’s terminology, the subtle nuances of meaning plus the implication of proverbs. He knew the songs and the most importantly, he knew the genealogy of his persons. A proper orator could narrate the ancestors and family history of a friends and family from the beginning. not really unlike the troubadour of Europe and also the groits of eastern Africa, the orator was a man who started to be something even more when in the official ability. His advice and admonitions were taken seriously because he is aware of the history of his people and appreciate how the area worked. Through him, uninformed members in the community might get information about their historical past. He kept the history from the people with your life in the reports, proverbs and songs this individual performed during any function.
Chief Priests/Priestesses:
The chief priest or perhaps priestess of your god or goddess was also a channel of communication in historical Africa. Contrary to the various other mediums, who had been focused on swapping information across physical some space, unichip and women functioned as a hyperlink between the supernatural and the physical. They had the ears in the gods and functioned since the mouth item of the gods themselves. These people were feared and respected no matter how youthful they might be, no matter their particular gender or social status. Kings bowed to their desires and wonderful men and women listened when they spoke.
Additionally, they carried a brief history of their community within all of them and often performed as adjudicators in cases where not any foolproof solution can be discovered. They will knew every single family history because they have occasionally been known as at the delivery or the death of a person in any given relatives.
Because of the respect that they had, they are able to slowly move the community spiritually by posting information from your gods and from the huge knowledge of the land that they had, which was usually handed down by generation to generation among the list of priests and priestesses.
The drum/the fire signal:
are also means of interaction across great distances but they were generally used since an emergency assess, no so much unlike the fire alarm, law enforcement siren, the bomb fascinating women, etc . they were used in cases of battle, natural catastrophes, epidemics, etc . it served as a means of sending speedy signals calling for help or telling a community of approaching dangers.
These mediums might not stand high when compared with the present way of communication that abound the world today nonetheless they served a purpose and they never became an addiction to the city. Rather, they will maintained their function even today and their benefit can never become overemphasized on the times when classic values are fading and the new liberty is turning the world in zombies who have do not know that their neighbours have not acquired their paper for the week or perhaps opened the doorway for their dog.
IN CONCLUSION
There are different means of interaction that been with us before the associated with the present day systems and some are still available in some section of the world to this day. If you have a good idea of any old medium of communication, either a place, a tool or business office, do present to me on the comments section below.
