Lontrax1

jumping the broom in Nigeria

I saw your recent edit, similar to one from an IP address shortly before, and the revertings of both edits, all at the jumping the broom article (you can see the history of article edits here) and your user page with a similar theme.

If you'd like to add the content back, the most important thing to include is sourcing. A reliable and verifiable source must be cited for each fact. It may be that a single source will be enough for everything you're writing, in which case at least provide the citation once in each paragraph, or combine the paragraphs into one and add the citation.

The English will need correcting for grammar. If you can't do that, other editors can try, but, since you will have read the source and the content you write will have to accurately represent what the source said, it's better if you write exactly what you want to have appear in the article.

Thank you for contributing to Wikipedia. You've chosen an important subject.

Nick Levinson (talk) 17:23, 22 June 2013 (UTC) (Corrected a link: 17:27, 22 June 2013 (UTC))

Lontrax, is there perhaps a newspaper report or magazine article you could cite in support of your edit? Without such support it stands a chance of being deleted again. From what you write it sounds as if the broomstick practice is not considered entirely respectable by Nigerians, that it's seen perhaps more in the nature of a love-charm - has this led to any news articles you can quote? RLamb (talk) 12:16, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes you can say its a Love-charm, Unfortunately the igbo people are not the best at talking or even promoting their own practices and culture.Once they make it to the middle class, they embrace the west and even forbid their kids learning anything igbo. like I said its a secret practice so like many traditions and practices of Igbo people e.g,"NOT writing a living persons name in red ink", rarely would you find it written any where so I am not surprised that I have not found any article or book about it yet. I can only speak because I am from there as rural as you can get. Even one of my brother-in-lows back in 1990 was accused of jumping the broom with my sister jump the broom to ensure that my sister did not back out of the marriage.It as a big deal. Anyways like I said, a trip to rural Igboland is all you need to confirm these.

Wikipedia editors usually can't afford field trips! :(

Is there no Nigerian newspaper or magazine you can recall that reported on this practice, even to condemn it? I've tried searching Nigerian newspapers online myself, but so far no luck. I appreciate how difficult it is to find written confirmation, but that's what wikipedia editing demands. We have to be able to cite a source beyond our personal knowledge.RLamb (talk) 08:21, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia accepts a source that is in a language other than English, as long as the translation can be verified. Google has a translation service; try it and, if the result is true wthin your knowledge, edit the article and cite the source and other editors can check. Also, try to do research into advanced academic journals, since an anthropologist may already have reported the custom for the society you're writing about. Sometimes, academic studies report secrets.

This surprises many editors, but Wikipedia does not report what is true. Instead, it reports what is known in published sources. Wikipedia relies on those sources to say what is true. The content you offered is good, but only if a source (or multiple sources) supports all of it. The same would be needed about the custom of not writing a living person's name in red ink.

Nick Levinson (talk) 17:12, 27 June 2013 (UTC)