Africa!

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Early Africa

1000 different languages +

1000 different tribes

What are some possible issues with having so many languages and so many tribes?

African Society - Basics Towns and villages become larger Served as centers of trade and

government Few cultures had written

language Very strong oral tradition –

history through storytellingIslamic or European traders

recorded their history

Kings and Society

Kings had a much closer relationship with the people

Still held a high position among the people

More personal interest in the everyday people

Community and Education

Boys and girls raised by their mothers until age 6

Boys and girls were educated in the areas in which they would be involved.

Girls learn to be wives and mothers

Boys learn how to hunt and farm

African Masks

Part of a ceremonial costume Used to represent the spirits of

ancestors Control the good and evil forces

in the community. They come to life possessed by

their spirit in the performance of the dance with music

Instructional Video

Scarification

Right of passageBeginning of early

childhood Child to Adult

Instructional Video

Ritual painting, Monrovia, Liberia

The peoples of the Omo have developed different art forms that allow them great artistic expression. Such practices, including body painting, are among the most ornate and extravagant in the world.

Clay lip plates are the most well-known

feature of the Mursi women

African Cultural Rituals

Mbube! Mbube! Lion! Lion! Mbube Mbube uses one of the Zulu words for lion.

Pronounced "Mboo-bay Mboo-bay,"

In this game, individuals help a lion, or mbube, locate and capture an impala (a deer-like animal with antlers).

Players begin the game standing in a circle

Two blindfolded players start the game. One player is the lion and the other one is the impala.

First, both players are spun around. Next, players in the circle begin calling out to the lion, "mbube, mbube!" As the impala gets closer to the lion, the circle players’ chants get quicker and louder. Conversely, if the lion is far away, the circle’s chants decrease and get softer.

If the lion fails to catch the impala in a minute, a new lion is chosen, and if the lion catches the impala, a new impala is chosen.

Ampe The leader and another player jump up at the same time, clap, and

thrust one foot forward when they jump up. If the leader and the other player have the same foot forward the

leader wins a point. If they are different then the other player becomes "it" and plays

against the remaining players. If the players are in a circle, the leader moves along the inside of

the circle, playing against others in turn. If they are in a line, the leader moves on down the line. If only two players are playing, they keep score until a certain

number of points determines a winner Instructional Video