3 MOST IMPORTANT IDEOLOGIES AFRICAN HOTELS TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES
INTRODUCTION
I love hotels; beyond the fond memories and cheer they bring to our soul, they offer us access into the invisible doors of the ideological planes that exist wherein they are located. Hotels are built for varying interests, while some are built for commercial interests, others are built for sundry purposes. However, irrespective of the purpose, they speak saliently to their guests; they speak about the so many varying things that only the inquisitive ear can hear and prying eyes can see. This story is about what they tell us concerning the cities wherein they are sited. No city is without an ideology; whether, social, cultural, or religious, you get a feeling of the city’s ideology, the moment you step into any of its hotels. Below is how three of a city’s most important ideological crusts can be discovered.
- The Culture of the People: The culture of a people is their social identity. This socio-cultural identity is expressed through many ways. These include:
a. Achitectural Model of the Hotel: Every hotel tell a story about the peopels culture. This can be first spotted from the achitectural model of the hotel. Usually hotels are modeled after the achitectural pride of the city. This achitectural pride is often traced to decades of generations and often tell you something about the city’s ancient history.
b. Food served in the hotel: Foods generally define the identity of a people, linking the people to their ancestors and also preserving the nutritional heritage of the community. They are an important source of information about the community and reveals the peoples eating habbits. Usually when I visit any hotel, apart from the inter-continental meals, I also like to have a taste of the local dishes. Most hotels adopt a policy of ‘only local dishes as a way of exporting or globalising their culture.’ For instance, if you visit any riverine hotel in Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria, you are guranteed a meal called ‘Onunu’ (pounded yam). This meal is a combination of yam and ripe plantain. The ripe plantain and yam are cooked and pounded together. This meal which is one of the flagship meals in the area, is eaten with fresh fish (cat fish preferrebly) pepper soup. Another local meal you can get is ‘native soup and akpu.’ The native soup is made up of sea food, while the akpu which is also known as ‘fufu,’ is made from sowered cassava. These meals which are very special, also speak to the culture and tradition of the people
c. Dress Codes: Dress codes doesn’t just define a peoples dress sense, they depict the cultural background of those who wear them. Every culture have specific dress code which conforms with the traditions of the people. In Northern Nigeria, 80% of the Staff of the top hotels, dress in line with the northern culture. Apart from the staff, the interior, ambience and outlook of the hotel, must show or indicate the peoples way of life which primarily talks about their culture and tradition. d. Behaviour/Patterns: Some cultures abhors a man and a woman sleep together in the same hotel room and this is often reflected in the hotel rules. In northern Nigeria for instance, it is a taboo for a married woman to sleep in an hotel even when invited for a social function. Such a woman stand the risk of been regarded as culturally loosed.
- Religious Beliefs: Religion leaves a strong foothold upon anything it touches and hotels are not spared. One of the first ways to know the dominant religious affliation in a city, is to order for alchohol drink in your hotel. If the city is governed by a sharia law or strict christian regulation, the hotel will definitely not sell it. In many Nigerian hotels, a carful survey around your room, will reveal certain things like:
i. The presence of a Bible or a Koran
ii. A praying Mat, rossary, kettle in the toilet or other religious matrial that depicts a particular religion.
iii. Scroll through the TV channels, you may either have a more Islamic channels or Christian channels
iv. Look at your room pop ceiling, its design will also give you a useful information about the belief system
- Social-Political Affliations: Politicians are gradually taking over the hospitality industry in Africa. Politics is a lifeline in Africa. It has its mix in everything we do, in the church, mosque, shrine, football team, hotels, even in the office, politics permeates every where. How you can discover the dominant political ideology of a city through your hotel, you will see the insignia of the political ideology bold prints in and around the hotel. These ideologies are promoted through the kind of channels the hotel deliberately programmes for you to watch. These channels promotes the ideologies of such parties and the management of the hotel ensures that your channels achoices are limited so as to condition you watch the propaganda programmes of the party.
Conclusion Generally, hotels are a confluence where community ideologies melt. Any one with a contact of such melting point, will definitely have something to take away in terms of rich socio-culturl and socio-political knowledge. This is the most interesting thing that excites me whenever there is a prospect to check into any hotel.