SLC-S31/W3-“Creative Interpretation| “Silence Speaks”

You can't marry my daughter because you're Yoruba. This statement can send a man into depression, especially if he loves the lady very much, but tribalism seems to be a barrier, as the girl's parents have refused to accept the marriage. This leaves me in silence. Nobody knows what I'm thinking or what I'm going through.

They only know that I'm not talking; I'm speechless or silent, so to speak. But my outfit speaks for me because I'm from a different tribe. That's what people see in me, and my face is covered. I'll interpret. Don't worry.

Photography_

You probably can't see someone in this situation and assume he's okay. He's silent, but he's speaking. His mood speaks for him. The photograph shows a young man who's actually in his 20s, dressed in a Yoruba outfit like a herdsman or how some people address Yorubas as unknown gunmen. Ever wondered why people choose that path and dress like that?

I'll tell you one of the reasons. I'm the one in this picture, and my mouth is covered with a cloth. You can barely see my eyes to know if I'm crying or not, but trust me, I'm in pain. This is the era where parents reject their children's spouse because of tribe, not knowing the aftereffect this would cause, and the spouse just keeps silent without a voice. I'm not going to marry the love of my life because of belonging to a certain tribe.

That's what's keeping me silent. But my silence is actually speaking for me; if the parent of my bride-to-be saw this, they'd definitely know what situation they have put me into. If this were posted online, it would spark attention to people seeing it that there's something wrong with this Yoruba man, and in his state, he may go into depression because he's definitely not getting something or that thing is denied.

The message that is communicated is that no men today are denied marrying the love of their lives because of tribe. This makes most of them go into depression, become bandits or even commit suicide because tribalism is at the forefront. A tribe shouldn't be a barrier to marriage no matter what, except if there's something wrong in that family.

As parents, we shouldn't deny our children's happiness because they don't want to marry within their tribe. See how useless the man in the picture looks. His dressing speaks of where he's from, and his silence says he's denied something. He can't marry the person he wants to marry because he's generalised as all the Yorubas. Should we always hate a person because of what we hear about their tribe?

In my interpretation, most men aspiring to marry from different tribes or cultures are being denied by the parents of the girl because they don't want their in-laws to be from a different tribe or because they have heard bad perceptions about these people and just conclude that others are the same. This is happening everywhere, and most men are silent about it.

They feel there's nothing to be done, so they move on. They can't speak up because the parents won't bless that marriage. They keep mute and just allow their hearts to be broken, making it difficult to love again.

If that silence is broken and men can speak and be heard instead of being silent, a lot of men aspiring to marry from different tribes will definitely do so without a barrier. They won't be in the state as such and won't have to be forced into marrying people they don't love because they both belong to the same tribe.

If there's a by-law that men can challenge such a rule as long as they are good people, I bet you that most men won't be scared of marriage and our women won't be single.

I invite @lhorgic @ukpono and @memanum