You don’t always have to ask someone if they are from Benin. Sometimes, you just need to listen. Benin people have a way of carrying home with them. Even when they leave the city, certain habits, expressions and cultural instincts follow.
Here are five things that might give them away.
1. Their Vocabulary Is a Language of Its Own
A Benin person can say a word in a way that immediately gives them away. Take “apple,” for example. Somehow, it becomes “ample.” And it doesn’t stop there. Fufu becomes “Santana,” fish can become “Scubia,” “Meluza,” or “Herring,” depending on what is being served. The person saying it sees absolutely nothing unusual about any of this. It is simply part of the vocabulary.
Spend enough time around Benin people and eventually, you will start recognising the vocabulary.
2. They Always Have an Opinion About Government
Ask a Benin person about Edo politics and there is a good chance they already have an opinion.
They know what is happening in the state. They know which roads are being worked on, which projects have been announced and, perhaps more importantly, what they think is not working.
If the government is doing well, they will say so. If they believe it is failing, they will say that too. There is rarely much interest in pretending otherwise.
3. They Don’t Run From Confrontations
Every city has people who avoid confrontation. Benin has them too but there is a particular confidence that appears when a Benin person believes they have been wronged (even if they are the ones at fault)..
Suddenly, the person who was quietly minding their business has become a lawyer, prosecutor, eyewitness and investigative journalist.
It can be seen as a a love for trouble but they simply know how to stand their ground.
4. They Know Every Benin Song
You could play an Edo song recorded years ago, one that hasn’t appeared on anyone’s playlist in ages, and somebody from Benin will know it, not just the chorus. The entire song.They know the lyrics, the artist and are probably related to someone who is related to the artist.
Playing the right song is all it takes for a gathering to become an unofficial concert with everyone singing at the top of their lungs and dancing.
5. They Can Be Modern and Deeply Traditional
Benin people cling to tradition in as much as they live inn a modern world.. They can exist comfortably in both worlds. A young person can work remotely, run a modern business, spend hours online and still be deeply connected to Edo customs.
Tradition remains visible in family structures, ceremonies, clothing, food, names, language and the expectations placed on men and women. Being modern does not necessarily mean abandoning where they come from. The old and the new simply coexist.
Perhaps that is what makes being from Benin so recognisable.
People from here may change cities, accents, jobs and even countries, but certain parts remain, you don’t have to ask someone if they are from Benin, you just know.
The post 5 Things That Instantly Tell You Someone Is From Benin City appeared first on Agbonstyle.com.