By Maxwell Zulu –
On many fora it has been said that a nation without its heritage is a lost nation. If that is true, then is it necessary that heritage issues should be taught or incorporated in a school curriculum so that we do not lose our heritage and have a lost generation?
For sure this subject is topical but it must be addressed. By definition, heritage is anything that is considered important enough to be passed on to the future generations. It is central in understanding the story of Zambia, for example, its history, identity and its people. We can largely categorise this heritage into two main divisions, namely, cultural heritage and natural heritage.
Cultural heritage refers to an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including heritage sites, folklore, customs, traditional activities, language, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and values, etc that are considered vital to be preserved. On the other hand, natural heritage is that which includes all components of our surroundings which have not been created by man and which are of cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, biotic or ecological value and which could also be of a directly usable resource value such as the Lusaka National Park which is a wildlife sanctuary, etc.
One significant thing is that heritage gives people a connection to certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It permits them to identify with others of similar mindsets and backgrounds. Above all it provides an automatic sense of unity and belonging within our group and allows us to better understand previous generations and the history of where we come from.
Suffice to say, heritage incorporates both the tangible and intangible. Intangible heritage connotes to those aspects of a country that cannot be touched or seen. For example, traditional music, folklore, language etc, whereas tangible heritage refers to those significant places that advocate the country’s history and culture. For instance, monuments, tombs, shrines, monasteries, important remains and representative buildings in the history of Zambia like the Niamkolo Church in Mpulungu, Mbala District. Heritage is present in many forms such as landmarks, places, buildings and contents, spaces, views and the stories associated with them. Hence as a community, we share the responsibility to identify and respect what is important, and pass on these places to future generations so they will understand what came before them.
As National Heritage Conservation Commission we feel that to achieve the foregoing, educators should incorporate heritage education into their existing curriculum so as to realise not only the importance of teaching students about their past but also the ways in which local and community history helps students to better understand State and national history, mathematical and scientific concepts, art, music and the humanities.
This is against the insight that from a very tender age children are attracted in their immediate surroundings. By channeling such natural curiosity and interest in tangible surroundings, educators can help students understand theories and ideas of a more general or far-reaching nature and at the same time teach them to appreciate and understand the past.
Heritage education needs to be developed in schools and through informal education. By heritage education we mean an approach to teaching and learning about history and culture that uses information available from the material culture and the human and built environments as primary instructional resources. That being the case, we propose that the best way to preserve our cultural heritage, whatever it may be, is to share it with others. It is our responsibility to keep world history intact for the coming generation so that they may have the same opportunities to learn about the past and their own roots as we have.
As members of society you may ask ‘what contribution can we do for the prevention and conservation of our heritage?’ Here is the answer though not exhaustive:- (i) we can teach our own children to practice the traditions and beliefs of our ancestors and tell them to continue to pass it on to future generations. Teach them to be proud of their roots especially if they know very few other children of the same cultural heritage. (ii) we can also donate to or participate in associations that fund workshops and museums that help to educate others about our cultural heritage. We are certain these organizations will be around for many years to come and are probably one of the best ways to educate others about the history of our ancestors. In short, encourage children to visit heritage sites or museums to have hands on experience.
We are on all fours that teachers and students employ local historic sites, primary resource documents, artefacts, photographs, and oral histories to learn about the past, the present and the future. Therefore heritage education provides people with a sense of history and place, and its importance as a tangible link to our history. We maintain that heritage education is a valuable resource for teachers who want to integrate local history into their curriculum, as well as classroom and field trip activities that meet the Zambian Education Standards for Geography, English, and Mathematics. All this entails that heritage education plays an important role in a community’s cultural heritage and pride.
In conclusion, we can say heritage plays a very important role in our life. It is what keeps us attached to our religion, traditions, and beliefs. In today’s context we refer to cultural identity which means (feeling of) identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as he or she is influenced by his belonging to a group or culture. It is essential to improve awareness of heritage and the ethics of its care in study curriculum and to identify tools that can be developed to help communities to better understand and conserve their heritage. Thus, as NHCC we reiterate that heritage education needs to be developed in schools and through informal education.