God does not understand Annang? In a sweltering church building that held a lot of the history of my people I sat and watched the pastor read a passage from the Bible. He was a young man perhaps not older than forty years. His white pastoral robe flowed to his ankle as he stood there reading from the book of Ecclesiastes. As he put down the Bible he told the congregation Eyak Nnyin Ibong Akam As the group of men and women closed their eyes and bowed their heads I noticed that the Pastors supplications were rendered also in the Efik tongue. The pastor appeared educated and sophisticated on account of the use of this language which made me wondered if the God he was praying to understood the Annang language. These were rural folks who spoke mainly Annang but in that place and in that worship atmosphere they had to be spoken to in Efik by a man who also struggled to use the Efik dialect. What is wrong with the Annang language I wondered as I too bowed my head in that church. I wanted to speak to the pastor so i waited for the conclusion of that solemn service. When I finally had a chance to speak to the man, I asked him why he spoke mostly in Efik whereas the people in his congregation were Annang men and women. He looked puzzled and then he quickly realized that I was a visitor to his church. He seemed to be tolerating my ignorance and then in a calm voice explained that the Annang language was not a written language and that no text or hymn exists in the language. He told me that the Annang language was not worthy of being used in a solemn occasion and in polite company. he then issued a challenge to me, write in Annang and convince us that it is a language that has prestige and we will use it in church. As I left that church service in that hot December day I felt the need to tell my fellow Annang that God understands our language and that I am proud of my tongue. We can produce an Annang hymnal. Join us at Annang Heritage and let us show the world that ours is not a language to be ashamed of. Yes indeed if an Efik person can speak his tongue in polite company, what makes my Annang dialect something to be ashamed of? Come join with us so we can give the respect that our mother tongue deserves. Happy Easter Celebrations to you and yours! Irung mma!
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 17:52:21 +0000
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