African Culture

Anna Grech – Rebecca Attard,

Marta Curmi – Tanisha Vella

Introduction

• Africa is very big and is the second largest continent and makes up little over a fifth of the world's land, and is surrounded by large areas of water. It is made up of 61 countries, and 14% of the world's population live there. It is thought to be the continent where the first humans lived.

• It is separated:• from Europe, to the north, by the Mediterranean Sea; • from Asia, to the east, by the Suez Canal and Red Sea; • from Australia, to the east, by the Indian Ocean; and • from the Americas, to the west, by the Atlantic Ocean.

Music and Dance• Common African music is samba, blues, jazz,

reggae, rap, and rock and roll. Later the introduction of Afrobeat and Highlife music was introduced. Recently African hip hop has become popular.

• A variety of musical instruments are used, including drums (most widely used), bells, musical bow, lute, flute, and trumpet.

• African dances are important mode of communication and dancers use gestures, masks, costumes, body painting and a number of visual devices. With urbanisation and modernisation, modern African dance and music exhibit influences assimilated from several other cultures.

Legends of Africa

• Shaka was a Zulu leader.• He is widely known for transforming the

Zulu tribe from a small clan into the beginnings of a nation that held sway over the large portion of Southern Africa. One Encyclopædia Britannica article confirms that he was something of a military genius for his reforms and innovations. Other writers take a more limited view of his achievements.

Religion

• Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs.The World Book Encyclopedia claims that there are 150 million African Muslims and 130 million African Christians, while Encyclopedia Britannica estimates that approximately 46.5% of all Africans are Christians and another 40.5% are Muslims. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Baha'i, or have beliefs from the Judaic tradition. Examples of African Jews are the Beta Israel, Lemba peoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern Uganda.

Art

• 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 include sculpture, paintings, pottery, ceremonial and religious headgear and dress.

• African culture has always placed importance on personal appearance and jewellery. Masks are made with elaborate designs and are important part of African culture. Masks are used in various ceremonies.

Languages

• By most estimates, Africa contains well over a thousand languages ,most of African origin and a few of European origin. Africa is the most continent in the world where different languages are spoken.

• There are four major language families native to Africa.

• The Afro-Asiatic language• The Nilo-Saharan language • The Niger-Congo language • The Khoisan languages.

Cuisine• Africa is a huge continent and the food and drink of

Africa reflect local influences, including use of food products like peppers, peanuts and maize. The African cuisine is a combination of traditional fruits and vegetables, milk and meat products. The African village diet is often milk, curds and whey.

• Traditional African cuisine is characterized by use of starch accompanied by stew containing meat or vegetables. Cassava and yams are the main root vegetables. Africans also use steamed greens with hot spices. Dishes of steamed or boiled green vegetables, peas, beans and cereals, starchy cassava, yams and sweet potatoes are widely eaten. Watermelon, banana and plantain are some of the more familiar fruits.

African People