Thomas Fox.

LIVELINESS

No doubt a village should have its own liveliness and the way of life its people live.., Badagry isn't exempted from this. Badagry is well known through out the Yoruba empire for its wide range of occupations and also the way of life the have people live. Well chapter two of this book discussed little of the occupations of the people of Badagry village. Well this chapter discuses more of it.
Virtually all or just one male child ventures into hunting in every family. Hunting wasn't an easy task. No wonder those who ventured into it were looked upon as brave men. Father was also a hunter, but his main occupation was fishing. Our village was amongst the villages with the best hunters. You could see the hunters with their bow and arrows, spears and also long hunting swords and sometimes sticks. "Its fun hunting" some would always say, while others it was the opposite. There's a forest along the northern border of Badagry , its a dreaded forest. "Who dares go in is a mad man seeking death". the hunters would say. Even chief' Adebisi dared going in. It was the forbidden forest. Myth had it that it belonged to those seeking cover from the hands of danger or death..,only those who were in grave danger ventured in..,but never have I heard of anyone going in.
In the Yoruba empire and other empires. A young man dares look into the eyes of an elderly Person when he's been corrected, except he's told to. Respect for elders was very paramount in Badagry.., any child who "time with without number" had disgusted or has pointed a finger'..so to speak, to an elder was given a curse. This curses were feared by all never to be placed on him or her. There were also good curses as well..,they're also called good curses or blessings. It happens during marriages and also when a child is born.., also when a child obeys his parents and shows this obedience to others outside his family he was blessed also..,doing chores for the elderly came with blessings also.
Our village was also very lively, from festivities to marriages. These brought out joys and laughter to the villager's faces.
Badagry and the Yoruba empire in general had similar traditional dishes. "Gbegiri" known as beans soup was eaten with wheat transformed into pudding I loved it so much that I always requested for a second round. And also the beans pudding "moi'moi" which brought out a pleasing aroma. And many delicacies.
Fashioned with the wearing of beads of different colours and shapes. The Yoruba empire were also well known for the wearing of beads, my village wasn't left out. The colours and shapes of this beads also depicted who a man or woman was in the village. The rulers also wore special beads that only they could wear and no ordinary could put on. There were beads for occasions and also beads for the royal families as well.
Body tattooing were done too on the bodies of females for beauty and well..some claim they were for protection from evil spirits.