MN: “I have Nigerian ancestry. My parents both immigrated from Nigeria at a young age, so they are, you know, American largely, but they also have their roots in Nigeria. I have many family, both there, and here. So we kind of kept a somewhat watered down version of Nigerian culture in our family for a while now. Um, I was told a lot when I was a kid or younger that I should not ever take money with my left hand. You know? If someone could be able to give me change or if I’m taking money from an adult for- for a gift, I won’t ever use my left hand to take it.”
Interviewer: “Who specifically would tell you?”
MN: “Uh, a parent, an older person, an aunt, an uncle, a grandma, would all say the same thing, have the same note. Like: ‘hey, don’t do that. That’s not good.’ Right? I never got a deep dive into why, but it was always kind of a, like, it’s not respectful. It also has some element of bad luck to it. Like, you know, it doesn’t bode well for you to take money or take things with your left hand, which, in a sense, is kind of like a more ‘evil’ or, you know? Unlucky. I think there’s a worldwide kind of culture against left-handedness in general. We have the same thing over in Nigeria, I guess. There was also, what was it? There was the… Um… pockets. Yeah, hands in pockets. That was more directly related to laziness and being seen as lazy. Like if you’re at home and, you know, you should be doing chores maybe, having hands in your pocket shows shows that you are- that you have free time. Those kind of had the same “correction” when I did those things, either taking money with the wrong hand or having my hands in my pockets. It always felt like ‘this is not good for you to do.’ So, I don’t know if they’re related in any way beyond that. But I’ve always had the same kind of like, It always had like, it always felt like those 2 things were kind of related. In a way.”
Context: As stated in the interview, the informant is Nigerian American, and grew up in the United States. During the interview, he stated that some Nigerian customs that his parents were taught may have been “watered down” the longer they have stayed in the United states. He still feels as though these customs have heavily influenced how he grew up, and he still practices many of them to this day.
Analysis: There is a strong cultural association with the idea of left and right equating to good and evil. This isn’t specific to Nigerian culture, and can be found across many cultures around the world. It’s interesting how multiple different cultures can develop similar folklore, and how those ideas can also vary depending on the family, location, or personal experiences of the person sharing those ideals. I believe this is a mix of family folklore and a folk belief/ superstition that accepting money with your left hand is “bad luck”. This also reinforces social norms, like what is considered polite and rude specifically within the informant’s family and within his overall Nigerian folk group.