AFRICAN

CULTURES
AND
TRADITIONS
 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:
• 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.
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 46.57% of al Africans are Christians and another 40.57% are
Muslims. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Baha’ I, or have beliefs from
the Judaic tradition.
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 laguage in Africa.
The Afro-Asiatic language
The Nilo-Saharan language
The Niger-Congo language
The Khoisan languages.
ART

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.
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