Maggi’s Multicultural Center
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots. – Marcus Garvey
About Maggi
My parents call me Maggi Ayuk. I am 3 years old, the last born of the Ayuk’s family, and I am not in school yet. However, I can recite my ABC’s and count from 1 to 100. I am by my mom all day long and all I can see and hear is what mom does or says. Mom calls it values; at times she says it is culture or tradition. She does not stop telling me that these are the little things she got from her own parents, which now define her lifestyle. My goal is to be a student of this culture thing.
About the Multicultural Center
PLI Multicultural center is a forum that promotes cultural diversity and understanding. Our goal is to showcase the diversity of cultures around the world as seen by the aborigines. This forum exposes these cultures and traditions through dances, folklore, music, poems, rituals, value, dressing, and historical facts. Our paramount goal is the maintenance of cultural diversity, in which people of various ethnic and religious groups are addressed by the world citizenry in their own terms. Our objectives are: To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity, and inclusion; To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures; To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.
The Cultural Performance of the WeekEkpe, also known as Egbo (Ibibio: Leopard), is a secret society flourishing chiefly among Keyang people of Cameroon, the Efiks of the Cross River State, the Oron, of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, Igbos in Abia State, as well as Southeastern Nigerians Igbo/Efik/Oron in the diaspora, such as in Cuba. |
An Aborigine Talks About the CultureSesekou Joseph Mbu is an exceptional IT manager and a servant-leader of his people in the United States of America. PLI is very humbled and privilege to have this pioneering discourse with him at his residence, in Germantown, Maryland. |
The Story of the Week
“Why the Cats Kill Rats” by Elphinstone Dayrell
ANSA was King of Calabar for fifty years. He had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper, and a rat as his houseboy. The king was a persistent and stubborn man. He was very fond of his cat that has lived with him for many years.
It came to happen that the rat fell in love with one of the king’s girl servants, but was unable to offer her any gifts, as he had no money. The rat knew that this love affair will not last if he was not offering presents to the lady. The rat started looking for ways to get hold of something to offer her.
At last, he thought of the king’s store which was full of groceries. So one night, being quite small, the rat had little difficulty getting into the store through a little hole he hollowed out in the roof. He then stole corn and native pears, and presented them to his sweetheart as gifts.
At the end of the month, when the cat had to account for the things in the store to the king, it was found that a lot of corn and native pears were missing. The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for an explanation. But the cat could not account for the missing groceries. So, the cat started an investigation. In the course of this inquiry, one of her friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to one of the girl servants.
When the cat told the king about the findings of her investigation, the king called the girl before him and had her flogged. He also handed the rat over to the cat for disciplinary action, and dismissed them both from his sight. The cat killed and ate the rat, and ever since that time, whenever a cat sees a rat, she kills and eats her.
