Left-handedness and Stigmatization in Africa: Implications for Parents and Teachers (2024)

Short Communication

Left-handedness and Stigmatization in Africa: Implications for Parents and Teachers

Ayanniyi B Alhassan*

Department of Education, Sule Lamido University, Nigeria

Submission: November 13, 2018; Published: November 29, 2018

*Corresponding author: Ayanniyi B Alhassan, Department of Education, Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Jigawa State, Nigeria.

How to cite this article: Ayanniyi B A. Left-handedness and Stigmatization in Africa: Implications for Parents and Teachers. Glob J Arch & Anthropol.2018; 7(3): 555713. DOI: 10.19080/GJAA.2018.07.555713

Abstract

Left-handedness dominance is usually in the sense of being a minority condition affecting about 10% of the world’s population. There are also a variety of even rarer conditions on the handedness spectrum, including mixed-handedness, and ambidextrousness. The ‘right’ and ‘left’ in cultural confines that are generally sustainable in an anthropological sense are on offer. Cultural understanding and cultural awareness are a vital part of international communication. Knowing using the left hand is considered rude in African cultures is just the beginning of positive non-verbal communication. In many African cultures and in many cultures of the world, there has been a history of discrimination and many stigmas associated with left-handedness; while it has been celebrated in other cultures where they are esteemed. In the light of the foregoing, implications for parents and teachers are on offer.

Keywords: Left-handedness; Stigmatization; Parents; Teachers

Introduction

Left-handed men and women have existed for more than 30,000 years [1]. For centuries, individuals have been in search for the answers to why people prefer left- hand over the right- hand and why the left- hand is such a minority. It is a curious quirk of human nature that most of us (90%) prefer using our right hand, while a minority of around 10% prefer using their left - a ratio that has remained remarkably stable across cultures and ethnicities for several thousand years [1]. It is still a mystery on several levels: Why do left-handers exist in the first place? And what is so special about the right side of the world? [2]. Although left-hand humans are in the minority, the fact that they exist suggest there are certain advantages to variations in handedness across a population. The evidence for the determination of left-handedness has been attributed to intrauterine factors, physiological, genetic and environmental, and data of various sorts have been used in attempts to establish one fact or another [3].

In medieval times lefties were thought to be in league with the devil and considered less intelligent than right-handers. In the Middle Ages, the left-hander lived in danger of being accused of practicing witchcraft. The Devil himself was considered a southpaw, and he and other evil spirits were always conjured up by left-handed gestures [4]. Then modern research discovered cross wiring of our brains controls which hand we favor and that left-handers may be more artistic, are better tennis players and grow up quicker than right-handers [5]. Handedness is ability in using one hand more skillfully than, and in preference to, the other [6]. Handedness is a better (faster or more precise) performanceor individual preference for use of a hand, known as dominant hand [7].

Handedness is not a discrete variable (left or right), but a continuous one that can be expressed at levels between strong left and strong right [8]. Being left-handed implies preferring using the left hand for a variety of tasks, reaching, throwing, pointing, and catching. Handedness is observed quite early in human development. Tests of fetuses (using-ultra sound) show 92% sucking their right thumbs, a figure that mirror prevalence in the adult population [9]. There are four types of Handedness: Left –handedness, Right-handedness; Mixed-handedness, and Ambidexterity [10]. Left-handedness is somewhat more common among men than among women [11].

Right and Left in African Culture

The ‘right and left’ in cultural confines that are generally sustainable in an anthropological sense was offered much earlier [12]:

a.Right side associated with men, left with women.

b.Right equivalent to ‘good’, left to ‘bad (inferior).

c.Right connected with good luck, left with misfortune, or correspondingly, happenings on the right side being good omens, those on the left bad omens.

d.Left representing fortune; right misfortune.

e.Right side preferred, left considered inferior.

f.Color associations with right and left.

g.Right and left denoting orientation. Cultural understanding and cultural awareness are a vital part of international communication. Knowing using the left-hand is considered rude in African cultures is just the beginning ofpositive nonverbal communication.

Stigmatization of Left-Handedness

The human hand has long carried cultural baggage, and yetwe still struggle to unclutched from it the myths and the realities.In many African cultures and in many cultures of the world, therehas been a history of discrimination and many stigmas associatedwith left-handedness. The stigma of ‘dirty’ lefties has persisteddue to societal mores in Africa. Throughout much of Africa, andin the Middle East and so on you get this thing - you eat yourfood with your right hand, and you cleanse your body and do theunclean parts with your left hand. Whatever you do, do not touchAfrican food with your left hand. That is not an uncommon set ofbeliefs and social processes throughout Africa [12].

Left- Handedness is extensively disapproved in most cultures:African tribes and ancient pre-Christian superstition also equateleft with bad! At the very least, being left-handed was consideredunnatural and peculiar in antiquity. There may well be a deeplysocial or biological instinctive reason why left-handedness hastraditionally disturbed some. Perhaps it is merely a form ofxenophobia, a kind of fear based on subconsciously off-puttingphysical movement of those that are left-handed. The deficitscome not from being left-handed, but from being treated as ifthere is a deficit. For Southpaws themselves- the affectionate termfor lefties- this biological peculiarity has been everything from asource of stigma to a point of pride

Left- Handedness is an interesting, and sometimes troublingphenomenon. It is if you are a student trying to sit in a righthandeddesk; or trying to use a right-handed potato peeler orright-handed scissors, or a right-handed mouse- or any of theright-handed devices. It is if you get bad marks from your teacherbecause of handwriting. For example, in Vietnam, schools officiallyrequire pupils to write with their right hand and some teachers ofGrade 1 where writing is taught) would implement that rule bydeducting points from tests written by the left hand. The word leftin English comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lyft, which meansweak or broken.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Left-handed as meaningcropped, defective, awkward, clumsy, inept, characterized byunderhanded dealings, ambiguous, doubtful, questionable, illomened,inauspicious, and illegitimate [13]. Phrases in Englishsuggest a negative view of Left-handedness. For instance, a lefthandedcompliment is an insult. A ‘Left-handed marriage’ is nota marriage but an adulterous sexual liaison, as in a Left-handedhoneymoon with someone else’s husband. A ‘Left-handed wife’ isactually a mistress [14]. It is if you analyze terminology such as:Left-handed compliment, left-wing, out in left field, or in French,gauche; German, linkish; Russia, Levja; Latin, Sinistra- none ofwhich are especially complimentary.

Left-Handedness in Africa

In Africa, being left-handed is considered weird, and leftieshave a lot to deal with. Africans look at left-handers with disdain,and quite often reject left-handed handshakes, receiving moneyfrom a left hand and collecting things from an outstretched lefthand. In African culture, using the left hand has no place at all.Study in Africa, using broadly comparable methods, found that7.9% of people in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and 5.1% of the people inKhartoum, Sudan were left-handed [15]. In some African tribes, acandidate to be chief can be turned down entirely on the groundsof left-handedness. Catholic school teachers used to tell studentsthat left-handedness was “the mark of the Beast”. Among the Left-Hand Drive countries in Africa are Burundi, Cameroon, CentralAfrican Republic and Chad. In such countries, the traffic is on theright side, but the driver sits on the left.

Left-handedness has been celebrated in other cultures, wherethe lists of enduring empire leaders such as Alexander the Great,Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Leonardo Da Vinci-one of thefinest minds in human history-, Albert Einstein-celebrated as thequintessential modern genius, juggernaut corporation leaders-Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Henry Ford, John Rockefeller, andmovie stars are esteemed. Even six out of seven past presidentsof the United States have been left-handed. Uhuru Kenyatta whowas elected President of Kenya in March 2013 and reelected in2018, is a left-handed writer. So are Bernard Bembe-Tanzania’sForeign Minister, Namadi Sambo, Kashim Shettima, BabatundeFashola, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Adams Oshiomhole-NigerianLeaders; Professors Zaynab Alkali and Ayanniyi Alhassan. ShaykhMuhammad Rajab was a left-hander and a courageous Sudanesehorseman. The Vice-President of Liberia, Moses Blah is lefthanded.

But the stigma of “sinister”, “dirty” lefties has persisted due tosocietal mores in Africa. In Ghana, there is a general taboo on lefthanduse: Giving, receiving, eating, and drinking with the left handare considered rude by virtually all members of the community.A significant proportion of the people also consider pointing bythe left hand to be rude. Pointing, here, includes both gesturesthat indicate a direction toward a location. Consequently, theyavoid hand pointing by the left-hand in face- to-face interaction,especially with superiors and strangers [16]. Malawians citedtheir views that “left hand is less skilled and less powerful thanthe right ones” as the main reasons for forcing left-handers toconvert. Among students, teachers and parents, 75% said theleft hand should not be used to perform habitual activities, and87.6% of these believed left-handers should be forced to switchdominant hands. Parents and close relatives are most responsiblefor impressing these beliefs upon their children [17].

There is Left-Hand Learning in South Africa- the onlycompany in that country dedicated to left-hand learners, theparents and educators! From cognate experience, the companyknows how challenging fine motor skills can be for some childrenand, for some left-handers, it can be even more so. Those criticalskills such as cutting, drawing, letter and number formation areso important in the development of South African children andindeed of all children. Often, children need to be taught from a lefthandperspective. Without understanding and knowledge a child may struggle unnecessarily learning the basic fine motor skills.There are at least 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria and 526 differentlanguages. In Nigeria, people are inclined to view left-handednessas worst and as a sign of evil or at best an expectantly curableadversity. The left hand is still demonized as unlucky, evil, clumsy,and so on. Not only that, it is seen as disrespectful to accept or givesomeone anything with the left- hand [18].

The left-hand is associated with disrespect and bad mannersin arguably many (if not all) Nigerian cultures. It is the handusually used to perform acts that are otherwise irritating to aperson. This could be the picking of a dirty object, washing orwiping the backside after defecation. The Yoruba people of South-West Nigeria and West Africa go to the extent they dubbed anychild who gives directions to his/her father’s house as “ omo ale “which means bastard “ only a bastard will give directions to his/her father’s house with the left hand” : This shows the extent atwhich the Yoruba people esteems ethics in their culture. Also,learning institutions (particularly primary schools) in Yorubacommunities take part in the quest to kick down the wrong use ofthe left hand, particularly in writing, among their pupils/students.

It is to be noted that the indigenous religions do not condemnthe left hand because it serves important purposes. For example,the religion of If consider the left hand sacred as it is mostly usedfor important purposes and rites such as looking into someone’sfuture by looking into his/her left palm; holding of sacredreligious items and so on. But today, the condemnation of the lefthand in Yoruba land has begun to fade, but at a very low rate, andconsequently, some Yorubas have preferred to call the left hand“owo alaafia” which literally means “hand of peace” instead of“owo osi”, the original Yoruba word for left hand. It is imperativeto note that other ethnic groups in Nigeria and the world at largealso share this belief attached to the left hand, but in distinctways. In most schools across Nigeria, teachers complain that lefthandedchildren are slow learners and give them special work todo. They tried as much as possible to see if such children could usetheir right hands by forcing/punishing them [19].

In Senegal, the left hand is considered dirty. No one uses theirleft hand as their dominant hand (for writing, eating, and so on)- any children who might otherwise choose to use their left handare quickly corrected. The left hand is dirty because, here, thereis no toilet paper. Left-handedness is very uncommon in Somalia.Fire-burning is a procedure where a stick from a special tree isheated till it glows and then applied to the skin in order to cure theillness (left-handedness).

Left-Handedness in Senegal

In Senegal, the left hand is considered dirty. No one usestheir left hand as their dominant hand (for writing, eating, andso on)- any children who might otherwise choose to use their lefthand are quickly corrected. The left hand is dirty because, here,there is no toilet paper. Rather, people use water and their lefthand to clean themselves after using the bathroom. Thus, it issocially unacceptable to use that same hand to do anything else.Handshakes are done right-handed. You use your right hand to eat(most people eat with their hands).

Left-Handedness in Uganda

In Uganda, historically it was considered evil and “Stan-like”to ably execute task with your left-hand. In traditional religiousact, the devil was said to sit on God’s left-hand, which has madethe left-hand dawned one. In addition, when one was left-handed,they will be called a witch, ultimately leading to their hand beenburned at the stake. Although the modern world seems to havemoved on from superstition, stereo types attached to using theleft-hand have persisted in some societies. That is why someteachers and parents still insist that a child must learn to use theright hand. All this must end because left-handedness is neithera disease nor a disability. It is a lifestyle, based on an individual’sbrain arrangement. A child who ended up left-hand should not beforced to do the right hand, says Bernard Bogere, the mastermindbehind Keep Left Uganda Foundation (KLUF). In association withthe Education Ministry, Thakerere & Kyanbogo Universities ismaking efforts to ensure that the left-hand is kept at least for thosewho have not yet been forced to lose it. KLUF is also advocating forenough sitting and writing space for left-hand writers in primarySchools, the level when a child start learning to write. Bogere inhis study discovered, among other findings that there are aboutOne Million Two hundred and fifty thousand (1,250,000) lefthandwriters and two hundred and fifteen thousand six hundred(215,600) stammering children in Primary School across Uganda,representing 16% and 2% respectively of the current PrimarySchool population.

Left-Handedness in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, in many cases, left-handed people are forced tochange to right hand at early stages of their lives. For those whomanage to escape family and social pressure to switch from leftto right, life in this right-handed world is not easy, but tiring andpainful. For example, something as simple as writing, is one ofthe challenges they have learnt to live with. Where right-handedpeople drag the pen behind from left to the right of the page, forleft handers, it is the opposite.

Most left-handed children face challenges when using theremote controls and joysticks for games as they too, are made forright-hand people. Left-handers clicks are opposite, a right-clickis a left-click and a left-click is a right-click. Some children learn toaccommodate that at an early stage. There are several other toolsthat just make their life miserable. Opening or closing a zip or tyingshoe laces are not as easy as right-handed people imagine. Usingsimple tools like scissors or sickle is a nightmare, as these toolsare designed for right-handed people. For example, a scissors aremade in such a way that blades push slightly and tightly togetherfor a sharper and straight cut of an object.

In Zimbabwe, in many cases, left-handed people are forced tochange to right hand at early stages of their lives. For those whomanage to escape family and social pressure to switch from leftto right, life in this right-handed world is not easy, but tiring and painful. For example, something as simple as writing, is one ofthe challenges they have learnt to live with. Where right-handedpeople drag the pen behind from left to the right of the page, forleft- handers, it is the opposite.

Left-Handedness in Ethiopia

Cultural etiquette in Ethiopia is different from elsewhere inthe world! It is best to avoid using your left hand while eatinginjera, hand shaking or shopping. Using your left-hand is oftenconsidered rude.

Implications for Parents

Parents should acknowledge a child’s Left-handedness bymaking it look like a blessing rather than a curse. For example,left-handed men and women have been known to have the abilityto think outside the box and this has made it easy for them to solveproblems both in school and in life situations. It is imperative forparents to build their boys/girls confidence with good company.Remind your boy/girl that some of the most powerful men andwomen to have ever lived and are living are left-handed such asRonald Regan, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton andBarack Obama. There are also many Left-handed innovators,musicians, guitarists, and athletes such as Jimi Hendrix, BabeRuth, Leornardo Da Vinci, Marie Curie, Judy Garland and OprahWinfrey, Professors who are left-handed- Zaynab Alkali, WeisDaniel, Ayanniyi Alhassan, Xu Chenyang, Raghuran Rajan, andBernard Maxum, amongst others.

As parents, you have a duty to help your boy/girl to adaptto his/her left-handedness by showing him/her how to do thesimple, everyday things using the left hand such as tying theirshores, learning his/her dance steps. Parents should be gentlewhen giving physical guidance so that your boy/girl will be ableto adjust well. It is important for parents to teach their boy/girlto write. Writing is the biggest hurdle for many left-handed boysand girls. In English writing and several other languages, writingis done from left to right. Though this is a common practice, itbenefits right-handed people whose hand does not run acrosswhat they write, because their hand moves in front of the text.A left-handed person may smudge what he writes. In Vietnam,schools officially require students to write with their right handsand some teachers of Grade 1 (where writing is taught) wouldimplement that rule by deducting points from test written by theleft hand. The way a left-handed person writes letters is differentfrom a right-handed person. Let your boy/girl know that it is okayto cross the J to T right-left instead of left-right. Parents also needto make effort to help their son/daughter appreciate that peoplehave their own views: when they try to correct him/her, s/heshould politely tell them that he is a natural lefty, that God hasmade her/him that way, and that her/his left hand is the right forall religious, moral and practical purposes. Parents can also assisttheir left-handed boys and girls by doing the following:

a. Placing their table settings according to theirhandedness.

b. Providing left-handed scissors.

c. Help them find the easiest ways to handle paper andpencil.

d. Assuring that teachers and parents/caregivers treattheir lefthanders appropriately.

e. Not dwelling on their children’s non-right handedness.Making it through childhood life suffering the taunts of allthe right-handed children because a left-handed child couldnot conform to the right-hand world can last a life-time. If thepsychological obstacles that they face were not bad enough, aleft-handed person must live in a world that was built from theground up by right-handed people for right-handed people.

Implications for Teachers

It is essential for every teacher to be trained to recognize thedifferent needs of left-handed boys and girls. Teacher Trainingand the National Curriculum should be overhauled so that lefthandersare given the space and correct implements to achievethe same results as right-handed pupils. A simple set of guidelinesshould be introduced as a Module into the Mandatory TeacherTraining that considers the slightly different needs of pupils whofavor their left hand. There are a few simple things teachers cando in the classroom to make a dramatic difference to lefthandersin their early years at school and avoid problems as they developthrough the education system. These are:

a. Sitting a left-handed child on the left side of writingareas so they do not bump elbows with the child next to them.

b. Demonstrating a correct writing grip and encouragingan effective writing position.

c. Having left-handed scissors available and know how touse them.

d. It is important that teachers understand that lefthanderswill form some letters in a different direction to righthanded.

Handwriting is the foundation of all writing and when it iswell handled, the primary school pupils are equipped for all thewriting skills they will require to function at all the levels of theeducation system [20-22].

References

1. McManus C (2002) Right Hand and Left-Hand. Harvard UniversityPress, USA.
2. Frayer DW, Lozano M, Bondioli L (2012) More Than 5,000 Years ofRight-Handedness in Europe. Laterality, 17: 51-69.
3. Franklin JL (2008) The Sound of One Hand Clapping: Meditations onSinistrality. Paper presented at the meeting of the Chicago LiteraryClub, USA.
4. TIME (1969)
5. McManus C (2002) Right Hand and Left-Hand. Harvard UniversityPress, USA.
6. Alhassan AB (2011) Concise Modern Dictionary of EducationalPsychology. Zaria, Tamaza Publishing Company, Nigeria.
7. Holder MK (2012) What does handedness have to do with brainlateralization (and who cares?).
8. Annet M (2002) Handedness and Brain Asymmetry. PsychologicalPress.
9. Lalumiere MI (2002) Sexual orientation and handedness in men andwomen: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 126: 575-579.
10. Holder MK (2012) What does Handedness have to do with BrainLateralisation (and who cares?).
11. Papadatou-Pastou M, Munafo T (2008) Sex differences in lefthandedness:A meta-analysis of 144 studies. Psychological Bulletin134(5): 677-5,699.
12. Wile IS (1934) Handedness, Right and Left.
13. Coren S (1992) The Left-hander syndrome: The causes of lefthandedness.Detroit, Michigan, USA.
14. McManus C (2002) Right Hand and Left-Hand. Harvard UniversityPress, USA.
15. Coren S (1992) The Left-hander syndrome: The causes of lefthandedness.Detroit, Michigan, USA.
16. Coren S (1992) The Left-hander syndrome: The causes of lefthandedness.Detroit, Michigan, USA.
17. McManus C (2002) Right Hand and Left-Hand. Harvard UniversityPress, USA.
18. Kita S, Essegbey J (2001) How a taboo on the use of left-hand influencesgestural practice. Gesture, 1(1): 73-95.
19. Kita S, Essegbey J (2001) How a taboo on the use of left-hand influencesgestural practice. Gesture, 1(1): 73-95.
20. Alhassan AB (2017) Left-Handedness, The Bible and The Qu’ran:Implications for Parents and Teachers. Research & Review; Journal ofEducational Studies, USA, 3(1): 19- 26.
21. Ogunmola-Omilani T (2017) Naturally Left-Hand Children Should BeManaged- Experts. Leadership.
22. Wilson, Sir Daniel (1891) The Right-hand: Left-handedness. Macmillan& Company, London, UK.