Culture of Africa

The culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of countries with various peoples depicting their unique characteristic and trait from the continent of Africa. It is a product of the diverse populations that inhabit the continent of Africa and the African diaspora. Generally, Culture can be defined as a collective mass of distinctive qualities belonging to a certain group of people. These qualities include laws, morals, beliefs, knowledge, art, customs, and any other attributes belonging to a member of that society. Culture is the way of life of a group of people.

Africa has numerous ethnic nationalities all with varying qualities such as language, dishes, greetings, dressing, dances and music. However, each of the regions of Africa share a series of dominant cultural traits which distinguish various African regional cultures from each other and the rest of the world. For example, social values, religion, morals, political values, economics, and aesthetic values all contribute to various African cultures. Expressions of culture are abundant within Africa, with large amounts of cultural diversity being found not only across different countries but also within single countries.

Africa has influenced and been influenced by other continents. This can be portrayed in the willingness to adapt to the ever-changing modern world rather than staying rooted in their static culture. The Westernized few, persuaded by American 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.

90% to 95% of Africa's cultural heritage is held outside of Africa by large museums. In a BBC report on defining factors of identity, many agreed that ethnicity plays a key role, but it is important to remember the diversity within the community. African cultures, which originated on the continent of Africa, have several distinct differences than that of Black culture, which is originated by African Americans in the United States after they were stripped of most of their own African cultures during enslavement.

Historical overview

Africa has many different ethnic groups, each with its own unique traditions and ways of life. After many African countries gained their independence, there was a strong effort to use the continent's rich cultural heritage to help build stronger nations and improve education.

During times when European countries ruled parts of Africa, they often believed they were better than the local cultures. For example, the French thought someone could only be accepted as French if they gave up their African traditions and adopted French customs. Similarly, speaking Portuguese and following Portuguese culture was seen as a sign of being "civilized" by some.

Today, many people believe that Africa's future depends on embracing and improving its current cultural practices, even though influences from the past and from other parts of the world continue to shape the continent. As Maulana Karenga says, culture helps a people understand who they are and how they present themselves to the world through their thoughts and actions.

African arts and crafts

Main article: African art

See also: Traditional African masks, African pottery, African sculpture, Cinema of Africa, and Architecture of Africa

Africa has a rich tradition of arts and crafts. People in Africa create beautiful things using materials like wood, brass, and leather. They make sculptures, paintings, pottery, special clothes, and more.

Some African cultures place great importance on how people look, and jewelry is a popular way to show this. This jewelry is often made from cowry shells and other materials. Masks are also very important in many cultures. These masks have detailed designs and are used in ceremonies to represent ancestors, spirits, and important characters.

In African arts and crafts, certain themes appear often. These include couples, a mother with her children, a man with a weapon or animal, and strangers. Each theme has special meaning in the cultures that create these works.

Folklore and religion

Main article: Traditional African religions

Further information: Religion in Africa, Writing systems of Africa, African literature, and African philosophy

See also: African scarification, Circumcision in Africa, and African divination

African folklore and religion show many different parts of life in Africa. Stories and beliefs are very important and often mixed together. In places like Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam are big parts of daily life and special events. Some stories tell of big floods that changed the land.

Folktales are special stories that help keep a culture alive. They teach lessons, share history, and make people feel proud of who they are. These stories often have animals as characters, like a clever hare or a tricky hyena, and they teach good lessons. Stories also help explain everyday life and big events, like marriage or hard times. Villagers would meet to hear these stories, and special words would start and finish each tale. The stories often have music and repeated phrases to keep everyone interested.

Clothes

Main article: Clothing in Africa

See also: Folk costume § Africa

In Ethiopia, women often wear a traditional outfit called habesha kemis, made from a special cloth. This white outfit is widely worn there, though other groups have their own styles. For example, some wear leather clothes, and others wear bright cotton wraps. Men usually wear pants, a knee-length shirt, and sometimes a sweater. Both men and women may wear shawls called netela.

The Zulus have many traditional clothes for special events. Men often wear a simple apron made from animal hide to cover important parts of their body. The back part of the apron can show a person’s age or status. Married men might also wear a special headband. During ceremonies, they may also wear decorations like cow tails on their wrists and ankles.

In Muslim areas of Africa, clothes often follow Islamic traditions. Men usually cover their heads and the area from their waist to their knees. Women’s clothes cover their hair and body from the neck down to the ankles, though styles can vary.

Cuisine

Main article: African cuisine

Further information: List of African cuisines and List of African dishes

African cuisines use many local fruits, cereal grains, and vegetables, along with milk and meat. In some areas, traditional meals include a lot of milk, curd, and whey. However, in tropical Africa, cow's milk is not common because of diseases that affect livestock. The different peoples of Africa have many unique ways of eating and preparing food, depending on what they can afford and find.

In Central Africa, common ingredients are plantains and cassava. Fufu—starchy foods made from fermented cassava roots—is often served with grilled meat and sauces. Other dishes might include spinach stew with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and peanut butter, or cassava leaves cooked as greens. Chicken and okra stews are also popular, along with dishes like Bambara, a porridge made from rice, peanut butter, and sugar.

The cuisine of the African Great Lakes region changes from place to place. In areas where people keep cattle, meat is not usually eaten because cattle are considered valuable and used as currency. Instead, some groups drink the milk and blood of cattle. In other areas, people grow grains and vegetables. Maize (corn) is used to make ugali, a stiff starch dish eaten with meats or stews. In Uganda, steamed green bananas called matoke are a common part of meals.

In the Horn of Africa, traditional dishes in Ethiopian cuisine and Eritrean cuisine often include tsebhis (stews) served with injera (a flatbread made from teff, wheat, or sorghum). Somali cuisine includes many different influences, with bariis (rice dishes) being very popular. Special sweets like Xalwo (halwo) or halva are served at celebrations.

The roots of North African cuisine go back to ancient times, especially in Egypt. Over the years, many different cultures have influenced the food of this area. Countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria share some similar dishes but also have their own special ways of cooking.

Southern Africa’s cooking is a mix of many traditions, including those of the Khoisan, Bantu, European, and Asian peoples. Ingredients often include seafood, meat, poultry, grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Popular fruits are apples, grapes, mangoes, bananas, and papayas. Desserts can be simple fruit or inspired by Portuguese cuisine.

In West Africa, meals often include starchy foods like fufu, banku, and kenkey, served with soups and stews. These starchy foods are made from root vegetables like yams or cassava, or from grains like millet or plantains. Rice dishes are also common, especially in drier areas.

Music

Main article: Music of Africa

See also: African popular music and African dance

Traditional music from Sub-Saharan Africa is very diverse, matching the many different groups of people there. Many think of this music as mainly rhythmic and drum-centered, and this is true for a lot of it, especially among speakers of certain languages. This music often includes many rhythms at once and involves dancing with many body parts moving.

Other African music traditions use strings and horns and have fewer rhythms. Music from the east and along the Nile River used strings and horns in the past. Dancing here often includes swaying and footwork. Among the Khoisan people, string instruments are common, with a focus on footwork.

Today, Sub-Saharan African music is influenced by music from the Americas, like jazz and salsa. Popular styles include Mbalax in Senegal and Gambia, Highlife in Ghana, Zoblazo in Côte d'Ivoire, Makossa in Cameroon, Soukous in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kizomba in Angola, and Xhosa music in South Africa. Styles from the Americas like salsa, rap, reggae, and zouk are also very popular.

North African music is closely related to music from the Middle East and uses similar melodies. It ranges from ancient Egyptian music to the music of Berber and Tuareg desert nomads. The popular modern style Raï comes from Algeria. Somali music often uses five notes per octave, while Ethiopian music uses a special system with four main modes. Some songs are named after these modes.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Africa

Africa is home to a huge variety of languages—about one-third of all the languages in the world! There are between 1,000 and 2,000 languages spoken there. The biggest group of languages is called Niger-Congo, which includes around 1,350 to 1,650 different languages. This family includes well-known languages such as Swahili, spoken by about 100 million people, and Yoruba, spoken by around 20 million.

Other language families in Africa include Afro-Asiatic, found mainly in North Africa, Nilo-Saharan, spoken in parts of the Sahara and East Africa, and Khoisan, spoken by small groups in Southern Africa. Many Africans also speak European languages such as English, French, and Portuguese, which serve as official languages in many countries.

Sport

See also: List of traditional games in Africa

Sport is an important part of the culture in Africa. Many people love playing and watching games, which bring communities together and show the skills and spirit of the players. Traditional games, which have been played for generations, are still enjoyed by children and adults across the continent.

African diaspora

Main article: Africanisms

Further information: African diaspora religions, African-American culture, and Africana philosophy

African cultures have greatly influenced the world through traditions from West Africa that traveled to the Americas and the Caribbean during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and through later immigration from Africa.

These African traditions are different from the culture created by African Americans in the United States. While African cultures include special clothes for certain events, hand carvings, masks, and dances, African American culture includes things like hip hop, jazz, a dance style called hamboning, and special foods. Although some African traditions stayed alive, much of African American culture grew new and unique in the United States. Similar new traditions also formed in the Caribbean and places like Bahia, Brazil, creating their own special ways of life after many years apart from Africa.