AFRICA

 the second largest continent (after Asia), covering about one-fifth of the total land surface
of Earth.
 The continent is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Mediterranean
Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the mingling waters of
the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
 The continent is cut almost equally in two by the Equator, so that most of Africa lies within the
tropical region, bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of
Capricorn.

ZAMBIA

Zambia, landlocked country in south-central Africa. It is situated on a high plateau and takes its name

from the Zambezi River, which drains all but a small northern part of the country.
CAPITAL: Lusaka
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Multiparty (republic with one legislative house)
PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA
Most Zambians speak Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo language family and are descended from
farming and metal-using peoples who settled in the region over the past 2,000 years.
CULTURAL FEATURE
Since the 1950s the Zambian cultural scene has been transformed by large-scale urbanization and
exposure to exotic influences from Europe, the Americas, and other parts of Africa. The popularity of
soukous dance hall music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, has overwhelmed
interest in indigenous music. Foreign aid in the form of second-hand Western clothing (called salaula)
has had a negative effect on the domestic clothing industry.

With the object of preserving cultural diversity, government initiatives have led to the revival of many
traditional ceremonies. Some, such as the kuomboka of the Lozi—a now-ceremonial trip to higher ground
(the “flood capital”) from the Zambezi floodplain during the river’s annual flood—survived essentially
unchanged; others have taken up new forms.
FAST FACTS
Zambia’s dowry is called “lobola”
-a premarital practice where the groom is asked to pay an appreciation fee to the family of his future bride
for raising her well
Zambia has various major exports
-Zambia’s natural resources include uranium, silver, cobalt, copper, coal, lead, zinc, emeralds and gold.
It is a home to very large fauna
-Zambia is home to a great diversity of habitats which are happily home to an abundance of creatures
large and small
Drumming and dancing troupes are popular
-music is usually organized as a social event, it belongs to the community as a whole
-Integral part of daily personal religious, social and economic life.

ATTRACTION
VICTORIA FALLS
-Locals calls it “Musi Oyatunya” – the smoke that rumbles and is a waterfall in southern Africa on the
Zambezi River on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
-Majestic to say the least and a towering column of spray when the river is high the thunder of the falling
water, the terrifying abyss and the tranquil lagoons upstream.
SOUTH LUANGWA NATIONAL PARK
-most famous park often considered one of Africa’s last great wildernesses.

AGRICULTURE
-Zambia has a vast land and natural resource base, although only about one-sixth of the country’s arable
land is under cultivation.
-Farms range in size from household farms to large commercial farms.
-Smallholder farmers use hand hoes and few external inputs, and they mainly produce food crops such as
corn (maize), sorghum, millet, cassava (manioc), and groundnuts (peanuts).
-Much of Zambia’s cotton, which is used for the local textile industry as well as for export, is also grown
by smallholders. Medium and large commercial farms benefit from improved seed, fertilizer, and animal
draft power.
-Corn is a staple food crop and accounts for the largest proportion of planted area on Zambian farms.
*Forestry
-Some 26,000 square miles (67,300 square km) of Zambia are classified as forest reserves, although the
greater part of the country is wooded but not protected in this way.
-there have been plantings of exotic softwoods to supply the needs of the mining industry, and in the
southwest, where there are extensive areas of Zambezi teak. 

*Fishing
-Zambia has relatively rich fisheries based on its many lakes, swamps, and seasonally inundated
floodplains. 
-Lake Tanganyika is famous for Nile perch and kapenta, a deep-feeding freshwater sardine caught at
night using special lamps to direct its movements

RESOURCE AND POWER

-Hydropower represents Zambia’s richest energy source. Large rivers descending from the plateau into
the rifted troughs of the Zambezi provide scope for hydropower development, and a major gorge on the
middle Zambezi enabled it to be dammed to form Lake Kariba.

THE ARTS

Traditional Zambian art consists chiefly of wood carving (most often practiced by men), pottery making
(usually practiced by women), and basket weaving (practiced by both genders).

*Musical Instruments

-drums are the most widely used, but there also are stringed bows, flutes, horns and pipes, xylophones,
bells, rattles, and the kalimba, or African piano, made of strips of steel attached to a small board and
vibrated by the fingers.

*Music, Dancing and Song

-used in tribal rituals and celebrations and are connected with good health, prosperity and security, or
with the cycle of birth, marriage, and death.

*Theatre
-In the last years of colonial rule, dance drama was developed for nationalist ends:
*The Chikwakwa Theatre
-based at the University of Zambia
-pioneered politically radical popular drama in the early years of independence.
-In the 1980s, aid agencies and other bodies promoted “theatre for development,” often unscripted and
in vernacular languages, and government departments have used drama to communicate agricultural and
health messages.

FESTIVALS
In Zambia, there are over 20 annual traditional ceremonies that represent the country's traditions, social
life, rituals, oral history, material culture, and spirituality. They offer insightful information about a
traditional culture that has been handed down from one generation to the next.
Kulamba
This festival celebrates the Chewa thanksgiving and is famous for its colorful Nyau secret society
dancers. It is held each year on the last Saturday in August in the village of Undi and brings together the
Chewa people in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Young women perform to show they are ready to
enter womanhood while masked male Nyau dancers move through the crowds.
Kazanga
Zambia’s oldest ceremony dates back to the Nkoyo people that inhabited the region over 500 years ago. It
celebrates traditions through dance, music and other ancient practices annually in June, July or August in
Kaoma in the Zambezi basin area.
Likumbi Lya Mize
The day of Mize is a popular festival that is held each year in Zambia in August. It takes place at the
Mize, which is the official palace of Senior Chief Ndungu of the Luvale tribe. It is a Makishi masquerade
that is a tradition in which moral and life lessons are given to boys between the ages of eight and 12. The
four-day celebration starts on the last Wednesday of the month and takes place on both sides of the
Zambezi River. Market stalls selling baskets, fabrics, metalwork, and carvings are lined up, and masked
Makishi dancers and performers recreate mythological events. There is non-stop entertainment and
visitors are invited to take part in many activities, concluding with a royal Makishi parade for the chief.
Livingstone Cultural & Arts Festival
This annual September festival celebrates the artists in Zambia, from dance to painters. Theatrical
troupes, performance pieces, music groups, jugglers, and clowns fill the streets. Tourists can buy art like
paintings, sculptures and pottery.

Shimunenga
This Bai-ila tribe festival is held to show respect to their ancestors by thanking them for providing food
over the past year. It takes place once a year on a full moon between September and November, and
signifies the closing of one year and the beginning of the next. It is held in Maala on the Kafue Flats for
three days.
SENEGAL

Senegal
- country in western Africa. Located at the westernmost point of the continent and served by multiple air
and maritime travel routes.
-Senegal is known as the “Gateway to Africa.”
CAPITAL: Dakar
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Multiparty (republic with one legislative house)
FAST FACTS
-The country has an entire village, Joal- Fadiouth, made of seas shells
-Senegal is building a great green wall to hold back the encroaching Sahara Desert and entice wildlife
back to the country.
-The country has endless summer making it one of the places to go surf board-riding in Africa.
PEOPLE OF SENEGAL
Ethnic groups
The Wolof comprise about two-fifths of the total population, and their language is the most widely used
in the republic.
*Under the traditional Wolof social structure, similar to those of other groups in the region, people were
divided into the categories of freeborn (including nobles, clerics, and peasants), caste (including
artisans, griots, and blacksmiths), and slaves.

Languages of Senegal
Some 39 languages are spoken in Senegal, including French (the official language) and Arabic.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Goree Island
- The history of this weeping island tells the story of the slaves and the dark period of the human
civilization. History lovers can feel the spiritual connections by stepping on the soil that bears the
bloodshed of the slaves back in the 15th century.

Pink Lake
The Retba Lake is situated 30 miles away from the capital on the north-east side known originally as the
Pink Lake in Senegal. The maximum 40% salt attracts the Dunaliella salina bacteria to absorb sunlight
they produce the red-purple pigment.

Lompoul Desert
-Has marvelous vistas and camel riding. You will be amazed by the beauty and opulent style of the sand
dune buggies in the middle of the desert.

ECONOMY
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
-Agriculture occupies about two-thirds of the economically active population and provides the basis for
industry as well. The most important crop has been the peanut, but, beginning in the 1980s, agriculture
has been diversified.

-Senegal is well-forested, particularly in the south, and the country has conservation and reforestation
programs in place.
Resources and power

Electric energy is produced and distributed by the Senegalese Electric Company (Société Sénégalaise
d’Électricité [Senelec]). Before the 1980s all energy produced in Senegal was generated by thermal
plants. 

CULTURAL FEATURES

- Collectivism is central to traditional Senegalese culture

*Common dishes include thiéboudienne, rice served with a fish and vegetable sauce; yassa au
poulet or yassa au poisson, grilled chicken or fish in an onion and lemon sauce; and mafé, a peanut-based
stew. 
THE ARTS
Sculpture
-characterized by abstraction and by the ideogram, through which the artist de-emphasizes the material
aspect to give free rein to ideas and feelings
Music
-since Senegalese music is not written down, the imagination of the musician is critical
-  This is especially true for griots.
*Griots
-recite poems or tell stories, often of warrior deeds, that contain a core of ideas around which they may
improvise.
Dance
-owes also to improvisation
- professional troupes such as the Ballet National du Senegal, founded by Léopold Senghor in 1960, have
created highly choreographed presentations that draw on many ethnic traditions.

MARKET
Louga
-is a cattle market centre and has road and rail links with the port city of Saint-Louis to the northwest
and Dakar to the southwest. The area surrounding Louga is at the northern limits of Senegal’s peanut-
(groundnut-) growing area and is inhabited by the Fulani (Fulbe), who are generally pastoral nomads, and
the Wolof, who are sedentary farmers. Louga is the birthplace of Abdou Diouf, president of Senegal from
1981 to 2000. 

FESTIVALS
There are many Senegalese holidays and exciting festivals to take part in, most of which are breathtaking
displays of Senegalese music and art which attracts contemporary artists from all around Africa to
showcase their work.
St Louis Jazz Festival
This music festival is undoubtedly the best known in Senegal and one of the most popular in all of Africa.
Each year, in May or June the event hosts music acts from around the world for a week full of concerts,
talks, and workshops. While the festival originally started with only jazz artists, it has expanded to
include blues and soul as well.
Gorée Diaspora Festival
This artistic festival was established to promote links between Senegal and the descendants of the slaves
forced to leave Africa from Gorée Island. Conferences and meetings filled with debates and discussions
are held alongside lively dancing and musical performances. Many performers and visitors of African
descent have rediscovered their roots at this emotional festival held between November and December
each year.
Abéné Festival – This is one of the longest festivals in Senegal and includes 10 days of drumming in the
Casamance region. During the event, you can see djembe and percussion players playing rhythmic tunes
while people dance around. There are also traditional wrestling matches nightly. It starts at the end of
December and runs all the way through the New Year.
Le Fanal – For a Carnaval-like celebration in Africa, it doesn’t get much better than Le Fanal (the
lantern) in Saint Louis. This colorful festival goes all the way back to the 18th century and is based on a
ritual that some the rich families used to participate in. During the event, people get dressed up in
elaborate costumes and decorate gigantic lanterns that float down the colonial streets of the city.
Dak’Art Biennale – is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in
Dakar, Senegal. Dak’Art’s focus has been on Contemporary African Art since 1996. It runs for an entire
month and usually hosts around 200 exhibitions in a large industrial area of Dakar. Visitors can find
additional artwork on display in the surrounding art galleries and hotels. The next event will be hosted in
2022.

CHAD

Chad,
-landlocked country in north-central Africa. The terrain is that of a shallow basin that rises gradually from
the Lake Chad area in the west and is rimmed by mountains to the north, east, and south.
CAPITAL: N’Djamena
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Transitions Military Council

PEOPLE
-The population of Chad presents a tapestry composed of different languages, peoples, and religions that
is remarkable even amid the variety of Africa.
-The degree of variety encountered in Chad underscores the significance of the region as a crossroads of
linguistic, social, and cultural interchange.
Language:
More than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country, namely:
1.Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi group,
-representing languages spoken by about one million people in southern and central Chad
2.Mundang-Tuburi-Mbum languages
-which are spoken by several hundred thousand people in southwestern Chad
3. Chado-Hamitic group
-which is related to the Hausa spoken in Nigeria
4. Kanembu-Zaghawa languages
-spoken in the north, mostly by nomads,
5. Maba group
- spoken in the vicinity of Abéché and throughout the Ouaddaï region of eastern Chad
6. the Tama languages, spoken in the Abéché, Adré, Goz Béïda, and Am Dam regions
7. Daju
- spoken in the area of Goz Béïda and Am Dam
8. some languages of the Central African groups, particularly Sango (also the lingua franca of the Central
African Republic)
-which are spoken in the south,
9. Bua group
-spoken in southern and central Chad,
10. the Somrai group
-spoken in western and central Chad, and
11. Mimi 
-the latter also being referred to as Mime,both spoken in southeastern Chad
12. Fur
- both spoken in the extreme east.

Religion of Chad
-About three-fifths of the population are Sunni Muslim. The great majority of Muslims are found in the
north and east of Chad.

- Islam is well established in most major towns and wherever Arab populations are found.

Economy of Chad

Agriculture and fishing

-Cotton is one of Chad’s important agricultural products. Although it is basically an export crop, the
processing of raw cotton provides employment for a majority of those in industry and accounts for some
of Chad’s export earnings. Most of the cotton fibre ginned in Chad’s processing plants is exported to
Europe and the United States.

-Rice is produced in the Chari valley and in southwestern Chad, and wheat is grown along the shores of
Lake Chad; little of either crop is processed commercially.

-About half the fish caught is salted and dried for export.

Cultural life

With its rich variety of peoples and languages, Chad possesses a valuable cultural heritage. The country is
famed for the rock paintings of its ancient inhabitants, which can be found in abundance in the caves and
rock overhangs of the Tibesti Mountains. Especially well-preserved sites are located at Gonoa and Zouar.
Terra-cotta heads and figures found at Gaou, near Lake Chad, are believed to be relics of the early Sao
civilization.

ARTS

- has a cosmopolitan air, with lively sidewalk cafés, small bars, and discotheques.
-These venues are sometimes used for a modern homegrown custom called pari-match, in which a private
party is staged in a rented bar or public place, with the proceeds from alcohol sales going to the host to
help pay for school tuition, home repairs, and other household expenses.

-The city is also known for its bazaars, which sell locally produced traditional goods and crafts such as
textiles, camel-hair carpets and jackets, brass ornaments, and pottery.

Music

-Chad has a small but well-regarded music industry. Modern Chadian musicians combine Western-
influenced pop with traditional songs and instruments. Important indigenous instruments include a three-
stringed lute featuring a bowl-shaped sound box covered with camel skin.

Festival

The local people of Chad have long enjoyed traditional contests of strength and skill. There are 12 main
Chad holidays, most religious in nature. Political events such as Independence Day and the Proclamation
of the Republic are particularly festive, complete with parades and sports.

GEREWOL FESTIVAL

A beauty pageant with a twist, Chad’s Gerewol is a colourful, centuries old festival during which men put
on makeup, dress up and perform a series of enigmatic dances to attract a new wife – or at the very least,
score a night of passion.

SOMALIA

Somalia
-easternmost country of Africa, on the Horn of Africa. 
- it is a country of geographic extremes. The climate is mainly dry and hot, with landscapes of thornbush
savanna and semidesert, and the inhabitants of Somalia have developed equally demanding economic
survival strategies.

CAPITAL: Mogadishu
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Federal Republic (with two legislatives houses)
PEOPLE
SOMALI
- They are divided into numerous clans, which are groups that trace their common ancestry back to a
single father. These clans, which in turn are subdivided into numerous subclans, combine at a higher level
to form clan families.
Languages
- The Somali language belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
*Despite several regional dialects, it is understood throughout the country and is an official language.
- The second official language is Arabic, which is spoken chiefly in northern Somalia and in the coastal
towns. 

Economy of Somalia
-About three-fifths of Somalia’s economy is based on agriculture
Scientific Socialism- characterized by the nationalization of banks, insurance firms, oil companies, and
large industrial firms; the establishment of state-owned enterprises, farms, and trading companies; and the
organizing of state-controlled cooperatives.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Agriculture in Somalia can be divided into three subsectors:
1. Pastoralism
-practiced outside cultivation areas
-focused of raising goats, sheep, camels and cattle
2. Traditional
-takes two forms:
*rain-fed farming in the south and northwest
-which raises sorghum, often with considerable head of livestock; and small irrigated farms along the
rivers, which produce corn (maize), sesame, cowpeas, andnear towns vegetables and fruits.
3. Consists of market-oriented farming on medium- and large-scale irrigated plantations along the lower
Jubba and Shabeelle rivers.
-There the major crops are bananas, sugarcane, rice, cotton, vegetables, grapefruit, mangoes, and papayas.

Resources and power

-Somalia has few mineral resources—only some deposits of tin, phosphate, gypsum, guano, coal, iron
ore, and uranium—and both quantity and quality are too low for mining to be worthwhile.

CULTURAL
Somali mythology dates to pre-Islamic times and includes belief in jinn, supernatural spirits,
and ghouls (ghūls), treacherous shape-changing spirits, who are said to inhabit significant features of the
landscape, including wells, crossroads, and burial grounds.

ARTS
There are many famous Somali artists, poets, musicians, actors, and dancers, some of whom live in exile.
*Nuruddin Farah- whose novels are written in English that has achieved international fame

FESTIVALS
After years of unsolved conflict, it is understandable that Somalia does not host many cultural festivals.
However, there are a number of holidays in Somalia that are associated with the predominant religion,
Islam, such as Day of Ashura, which is a day of sorrow for Muslims, and Eid al-Fitr, which marks the
completion of Ramadan. Travelers to the area should take note of these dates, particularly those going to
Somaliland, where the occasions have been declared official holidays.
Day of Ashura
Rounding off the religious calendar in November is the Day of Ashura, a day of mourning for the
grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who died at the Battle of Karbala. The day is commemorated by
both Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, and is a public holiday in Somalia, during which time Muslim
communities come out into the streets in their thousands to show their mourning. It is an interesting
religious festival to witness or partake in.

Neeroosh
Held annually in July, Neeroosh, or Dab-shid as it is alternatively known, celebrates the beginning of the
solar year in Somalia and Somaliland. While Somalis are Muslim and abide by the lunar calendar, they
also use the solar calendar to make decisions about religious days, harvest times, and so forth. The
festival is known as the Festival of Fire internationally as locals build huge bonfires, splash water on each
other, and dance to welcome the arrival of summer. This is one of the more jovial festivals on the
calendar and should not be missed.
Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
Every year in August, the Islamic population of Somaliland, Puntland, and greater Somalia celebrate Eid
al-Fitr. This religious holiday marks of the end of Ramadan – the holy month during which those of the
Islamic faith fast. This day really is a celebration of everyone’s efforts and sacrifices. The day is marked
with ceremonies in mosques around the region, the gathering of friends and families to enjoy great feasts,
and perhaps the most special activity for some – the purchasing of new outfits to wear on the day.
Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
October marks the arrival an important day on the Islamic calendar. Also known as Tabaski in other
North African countries, the holiday lasts for two or three days and is held to commemorate the
willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his first born son to the Lord. In accordance with the story, locals
slaughter a sheep, thus performing the same act as Ibrahim. The sheep is then cooked and used as a basis
for a feast among family and friends.
Independence Day
June 26 marks National Independence Day for Somalia and more than two decades without Italian rule. In
2012, violence ceased long enough for residents to finally celebrate their freedom from colonial rule.
Many have criticized this day, however, as true freedom from violence and oppression has not yet been
achieved.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Hargeisa
- self-proclaimed capital of Somaliland – a break-away state that’s been governing on its own, without the
sanction of Somalia’s federal government or the United Nations, since 1991. And while the political
machine that’s housed in the mansions of Hargeisa officially doesn’t exist – at least in the eyes of
outsiders – there’s plenty to be said for this onetime vassal of British East Africa.
Laas Geel
- Home to some of the earliest cave paintings ever discovered on the Horn of Africa, the various alcoves
and underground tunnels here display a raw and haunting vision of prehistory in these parts.
Zeila
- Carrying on the Somaliland (as opposed to Somalia) theme, the town of Zeila (also known as Seylac)
beckons adventurous travelers to the far-flung north-western corner of the nation, where the dry and arid
land of sand dunes and rocky hills crashes into the pearly blue of the Aden Gulf.