Culture of Africa

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An Ethiopian woman preparing Ethiopian coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes
and brews the coffee on the spot.

The culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of

tribes that each have their own unique characteristics. It is a product of the
diverse populations that today inhabit the continent of Africa and the African
Diaspora. African culture is expressed in its arts and crafts, folklore and
religion, clothing, cuisine, music and languages.[1] Africa is so full of culture,
with it not only changing from one country to another, but within a single
country, many cultures can be discovered. Even though African cultures are
widely diverse, it is also, when closely studied, seen to have many
similarities. For example, the morals they uphold, their love and respect for
their culture as well as the strong respect they hold for the aged and the
important i.e Kings and Chiefs.
Africa has influenced and been influenced by other countries. This can be
portrayed in the willingness to adapt to the ever changing modern world
rather than staying rooted to their static culture. The Westernized few,
persuaded by European culture and Christianity, first denied African
traditional culture, but with the increase of African nationalism, a cultural
recovery occurred. The governments of most African nations encourage
national dance and music groups, museums, and to a lower degree, artists
and writers.

Contents
Historical overviewEdit

Sample of the Egyptian Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, c.1300 BC.

Africa is divided into a great number of ethnic cultures.[2][3][4] The continent's

cultural regeneration has also been an integral aspect of post-independence
nation-building on the continent, with a recognition of the need to harness
the cultural resources of Africa to enrich the process of education, requiring
the creation of an enabling environment in a number of ways. In recent
times, the call for a much greater emphasis on the cultural dimension in all
aspects of development has become increasingly vocal. [5] During the Roman
colonization of North Africa,(parts of Algeria, Libya, Egypt and the whole of
Tunisia) provinces such as Tripolitania became major producers of food for
the republic and the empire, this generated much wealth in these places for
their 400 years of occupation.[6] During colonialism in Africa, Europeans
possessed attitudes of superiority and a sense of mission. The French were
able to accept an African as French if that person gave up their African
culture and adopted French ways. Knowledge of the Portuguese language
and culture and abandonment of traditional African ways defined one as
civilized.[7] Kenyan social commentator Mwiti Mugambi argues that the future
of Africa can only be forged from accepting and mending the sociocultural
present. For Mugambi, colonial cultural hangovers, pervasive Western
cultural inundation, and aid-giving arm-twisting donors are, he argues, here
to stay and no amount of looking into Africa's past will make them go away.
However, Maulana Karenga states:

Our culture provides us with an ethos we must honor in both thought

and practice. By ethos, we mean a people's self-understanding as well
as its self-presentation in the world through its thought and practice in
the other six areas of culture. It is above all a cultural challenge. For
culture is here defined as the totality of thought and practice by which
a people creates itself, celebrates, sustains and develops itself and
introduces itself to history and humanity

Maulana Karenga, African Culture and the Ongoing Quest for

Excellence[8]
African arts and craftsEdit
Main article: African art

SUDAN basket -tray, tabar of weaved natural plant fibre, coloured in different colours

A Yombe sculpture (Louvre, Paris).

Africa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. African arts and crafts find
expression in a variety of woodcarvings, brass and leather art works. African
arts and crafts also
includesculpture, paintings, pottery, ceremonial and religious headgear and d
ress. Maulana Karenga states that in African art, the object was not as
important as the soul force behind the creation of the object. He also states
that All art must be revolutionary and in being revolutionary it must be
collective, committing, and functional.[citation needed]

BaKongo voodoo masks from theKongo Central region

Certain African cultures has always placed emphasis on personal appearance

and jewelry has remained an important personal accessory. Many pieces of
such jewelry are made ofcowry shells and similar materials.
Similarly, masks are made with elaborate designs and are an important part
of some cultures in Africa. Masks are used in various ceremonies depicting
ancestors and spirits, mythological characters and deities.
In many traditional arts and craft traditions in Africa, certain themes
significant to those particular cultures recur, including a couple, a woman
with a child, a male with a weapon or animal, and an outsider or a stranger.
Couples may represent ancestors, community founder, married couple or
twins. The couple theme rarely exhibit intimacy of men and women. The
mother with the child or children reveals intense desire of the women to
have children. The theme is also representative of mother mars and the
people as her children. The man with the weapon or animal theme
symbolizes honor and power. A stranger may be from some other tribe or
someone from a different country, and more distorted portrayal of the
stranger indicates proportionately greater gap from the stranger.

Folklore and religionEdit

See also: African traditional religions and Religion in Africa

Central mosque in Nouakchott,Mauritania.

Like all human cultures, African folklore and religion represents a variety of
social facets of the various cultures in Africa.[citation needed] Like almost all
civilizations and cultures, flood myths have been circulating in different parts
of Africa. Culture and religion share space and are deeply intertwined in
African cultures. In Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam form the core aspects of
Ethiopian culture and inform dietary customs as well as rituals and rites.
[9]According to a Pygmy myth, Chameleon, hearing a strange noise in a tree,
cut open its trunk and water came out in a great flood that spread all over
the land.

Kenyan boys and girls performing a traditional folklore dance.

Folktales also play an important role in many African cultures. Stories reflect
a group cultural identity and preserving the stories of Africa will help
preserve an entire culture. Storytelling affirms pride and identity in a culture.
In Africa, stories are created by and for the ethnic group telling them.
Different ethnic groups in Africa have different rituals or ceremonies for
storytelling, which creates a sense of belonging to a cultural group. To
outsiders hearing an ethnic group's stories, it provides an insight into the
community's beliefs, views, and customs. For people within the community,
it allows them to encompass their group's uniqueness. They show the human
desires and fears of a group, such as love, marriage, and death. Folktales are
also seen as a tool for education and entertainment. They provide a way for
children to understand the material and social environment. Every story has
a moral to teach people, such as good will prevail over evil. For
entertainment, stories are set in fantastic, non-human worlds. Often, the
main character of the story would be a talking animal or something
unnatural would happen to human character. Even though folktales are for
entertainment, they bring a sense of belonging and pride to communities in
Africa.[10]
There are different types of African stories: animal tales and day-to-day tales.
Animal tales more oriented towards entertainment, but still have morals and
lessons to them. Animal tales are normally divided into trickster tales and
ogre tales. In the animal tales, a certain animal would always have the same
character or role in each story so the audience does not have to worry about
characterization. The Hare was always the trickster, clever and cunning,
while the Hyena was always being tricked by the Hare. Ogres are always
cruel, greedy monsters. The messengers in all the stories were the Birds.
Day-to-Day tales are the most serious tales, never including humor, that
explained the everyday life and struggles of an African community. These
tales take on matters such as famine, escape from death, courtship, and
family matters, using a song form when the climax of the story was being
told.

African stories all have a certain structure to them. Villagers would gather
around a common meeting place at the end of the day to listen and tell their
stories. Storytellers had certain commands to start and end the stories, "Ugai
Itha" to get the audience's attention and begin the story, and "Rukirika" to
signal the end of a tale. Each scene of a story is depicted with two characters
at a time, so the audience does not get overwhelmed. In each story, victims
are able to overcome their predators and take justice out on the culprit.
Certain tools were used in African folktales. For example, idiophones, such as
drums, were used to make the sounds of different animals. Repetition and
call-back techniques in the form of prose or poem were also used to get the
audience involved in the stories.[11][12]

ClothingEdit
Main article: Clothing in Africa

Ashanti Kente clothpatterns.

A woman in Kenya wearing kanga

Women's traditional clothes in Ethiopia are made

from cloth calledshemma and are used to make habesha kemis. The latter
garment is basically cotton cloth, about 90 cm wide, woven in long strips
which are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into
the fabric for an elegant effect. Men wear pants and a knee-length shirt with
a white collar, and perhaps a sweater. Men often wear knee-high socks, while
women might not wear socks at all. Men as well as women wear shawls,
the netela.

Maasai wearing traditional clothes named Matavuvale while performingAdumu, a traditional

dance

Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally

celebratory occasions, and modern westernised clothing for everyday use.
Traditional male clothing is usually light, consisting of a two-part apron
(similar to a loincloth) used to cover the genitals and buttocks. The front
piece is called theumutsha (pronounced Zulu pronunciation: [umtifash]), and
is usually made of springbok or other animal hide twisted into different bands
which cover the genitals. The rear piece, called the ibheshu [ibeu], is made
of a single piece of springbok or cattle hide, and its length is usually used as
an indicator of age and social position; longer amabheshu (plural of ibheshu)
are worn by older men. Married men will usually also wear a headband,
called the umqhele [umle], which is usually also made of springbok hide,
or leopard hide by men of higher social status, such as chiefs. Zulu men will
also wear cow tails as bracelets and anklets
called imishokobezi [imioozi] during ceremonies and rituals, such as
weddings or dances.
In the Muslim parts of Africa, daily attire also often reflects Islamic tradition.
[

citation needed]

CuisineEdit
Main article: African cuisine

Fufu (right) is a staple meal in West Africa and Central Africa. It is served here with some peanut
soup.

The various cuisines of Africa use a combination of locally

available fruits, cereal grains andvegetables, as well
as milk and meat products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional
diet features a preponderance of milk, curd and whey products. In much of
tropical Africa, however, cow's milk is rare and cannot be produced locally
(owing to various diseases that affect livestock). The continent's diverse
demographic makeup is reflected in the many different eating and drinking
habits, dishes, and preparation techniques of its manifold populations.[13]
In Central Africa, the basic ingredients are plantains and cassava. Fufu-like
starchy foods (usually made from fermented cassava roots) are served with
grilled meat and sauces. A variety of local ingredients are used while
preparing other dishes like spinach stew, cooked with tomato, peppers,
chillis, onions, and peanut butter. Cassava plants are also consumed as
cooked greens. Groundnut (peanut) stew is also prepared,
containing chicken, okra, ginger, and other spices. Another favorite is
Bambara, a porridge of rice, peanut butter and sugar. Beef and chicken are
favorite meat dishes, but game meat preparations
containing crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthogare also served
occasionally.

Fresh Moroccan couscous with vegetables and chickpeas.

The cuisine of the African Great Lakes region varies from area to area. In the
inland savannah, the traditional cuisine of cattle-keeping peoples is
distinctive in that meat products are generally
absent. Cattle, sheep and goats were regarded as a form ofcurrency and a
store of wealth, and are not generally consumed as food. In some areas,
traditional peoples consume the milk and blood of cattle, but rarely the
meat. Elsewhere, other peoples are farmers who grow a variety of grains and
vegetables. Maize (corn) is the basis of ugali, the East African version of West
Africa's fufu. Ugali is a starch dish eaten with meats or stews. In Uganda,
steamed, green bananas called matoke provide the starch filler of many
meals.
In the Horn of Africa, the main traditional dishes in Ethiopian
cuisine and Eritrean cuisine are tsebhis (stews) served
withinjera[14] (flatbread made from teff,[14] wheat, or sorghum),
and hilbet (paste made from legumes, mainly lentil, faba beans). Eritrean
and Ethiopian cuisine (especially in the northern half) are very similar, given
the shared history of the two countries. The related Somalian cuisine consists
of an exotic fusion of diverse culinary influences. Varieties of bariis (rice), the
most popular probably being basmati, usually serve as the main
dish. Xalwo (halwo) or halva is a popular confection served during special
occasions such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions.[15] After meals,
homes are traditionally perfumed usingfrankincense (lubaan)
or incense (cuunsi), which is prepared inside an incense burner referred to as
a dabqaad. All food is served halal.

Potjiekos is a traditionalAfrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals
in cast-iron pots.

The roots of North African cuisine can be traced back to the ancient empires
of North Africa, particularly in Egypt where many of the country's dishes and

culinary traditions date back to ancient Egypt. Over several centuries

traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the
cuisine of North Africa. Most of the North African countries today have
several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a different
name (the Moroccantangia and the Tunisian coucha are both essentially the
same dish: a meat stew prepared in anurn and cooked overnight in a public
oven), sometimes with a slight change in ingredients and cooking style. To
add to the confusion, two completely different dishes may also share the
same name (for example, a "tajine" dish is a slow-cooked stew in Morocco,
whereas the Tunisian "tajine" is a baked omelette/quiche-like dish). There are
noticeable differences between the cooking styles of different nations
there's the sophisticated, full-bodied flavours of Moroccan palace cookery,
the fiery dishes of Tunisian cuisine, and the humbler, simpler cuisines
of Egyptand Algeria.[16]
The cooking of Southern Africa is sometimes called 'rainbow cuisine', as the
food in this region is a blend of many culinary traditions, including those of
the Khoisan, Bantu, European and Asian populations. Basic ingredients
include seafood, meat products (including wild game), poultry, as well as
grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits
include apples, grapes, mangoes,bananas and papayas, avocado, oranges, p
eaches and apricots. Desserts may simply be fruit. However, there are some
more western style puddings, such as the Angolan Cocada amarela, which
was inspired by Portuguese cuisine. Meat products include lamb, as well as
game like venison, ostrich, and impala. The seafood includes a wide variety
such ascrayfish, prawns, tuna, mussels, oysters, calamari, mackerel,
and lobster. There are also several types of traditional and modern alcoholic
beverages including many European-style beers.
A typical West African meal is heavy with starchy items, meat, spices and
flavors. A wide array of staples are eaten across the region, including those
of Fufu, Banku and Kenkey (originating from Ghana), Foutou, Couscous, T,
and Garri, which are served alongside soups and stews. Fufu is often made
from starchy root vegetables such as yams, cocoyams, or cassava, but also
from cereal grains like millet, sorghum or plantains. The staple grain or
starch varies region to region and ethnic group to ethnic group, although
corn has gained significant ground as it is cheap, swells to greater volumes
and creates a beautiful white final product that is greatly desired. Banku and
Kenkey are maize dough staples, and Gari is made from dried grated
cassavas. Rice-dishes are also widely eaten in the region, especially in the
dry Sahel belt inland. Examples of these include Benachin from The
Gambia and Jollof rice, a pan-West African rice dish similar to Arab kabsah.

African musicEdit
See also: African popular music and Music of Africa

Yoruba drummers at celebration in Ojumo Oro, Kwara State, Nigeria.

Traditional Sub-Saharan African music is as diverse as the region's various

populations. The common perception of Sub-Saharan African music is that it
is rhythmic music centered on the drums, and indeed, a large part of SubSaharan music, mainly among speakers ofNigerCongo and Nilo-Saharan
languages, is rhythmic and centered on the drum. Sub-Saharan music is
polyrhythmic, usually consisting of multiple rhythms in one composition.
Dance involves moving multiple body parts. These aspects of Sub-Saharan
music were transferred to the new world by enslaved Sub-Saharan Africans
and can be seen in its influence on music forms as Samba, Jazz, Rhythm and
Blues, Rock & Roll, Salsa, and Rapmusic.[17]
Other African musical traditions also involve strings, horns, and very little
poly-rhythms. Music from the eastern Sahel and along the Nile, among
the Nilo-Saharan, made extensive use of strings and horns in ancient times.
Dancing involve swaying body movements and footwork.Among
the Khoisans extensive use of string instruments with emphasis on footwork.
[18]

Modern Sub-Saharan African music has been influenced by music from the
New World (Jazz, Salsa, Rhythm and Blues etc.). Popular styles
include Mbalax in Senegal and Gambia, Highlife in Ghana, Zoblazo in Cte
d'Ivoire, Makossa in Cameroon,Soukous in the Democratic Republic of

Congo, Kizomba in Angola, and Mbaqanga in South Africa. New World styles
like Salsa, R&B/Rap, Reggae, and Zouk also have widespread popularity.
Like the musical genres of the Nile Valley and the Horn of Africa,[19] North
African music has close ties with Middle Eastern music and utilizes similar
melodic modes (maqamat).[20] It has a considerable range, from the music of
ancient Egypt to theBerber and the Tuareg music of the desert nomads. The
region's art music has for centuries followed the outline
of Arabic andAndalusian classical music. Its popular contemporary genres
include the Algerian Ra. Somali music is typically pentatonic, using
five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as
the major scale.[19] In Ethiopia, the music of the highlands uses a
fundamental modal system called qenet, of which there are four main
modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel, and anchihoy.[21] Three additional modes are
variations on the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor.[22] Some
songs take the name of their qenet, such as tizita, a song of reminiscence.[21]

LanguagesEdit
Main article: Languages of Africa

The main ethno-linguistic divisions in Africa are Afro-Asiatic (North Africa,

Horn of Africa), NigerCongo (including speakers from the Bantu branch) in
most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Nilo-Saharan in parts of the Sahara and
the Sahel and parts ofEastern Africa, and Khoisan (indigenous minorities
of Southern Africa).[23] The continent of Africa speaks hundreds of languages,
and if dialects spoken by various ethnic groups are also included, the number
is much higher. These languages and dialects do not have the same
importance: some are spoken by only few hundred people, others are spoken
by millions. Among the most prominent languages spoken
are Arabic, Swahili and Hausa. Very few countries of Africa use any single
language and for this reason several official languages coexist, African and
European. Some Africans speak various European languages such as English,
Spanish, French, and Dutch.

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