West African Culture

Religions
Although majority of West Africans identify as followers of the
Abrahamic religion, (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) many
others still stand by the beliefs of their ancestors.
With their religions, West African religions have infiltrated the
lives of their followers. Simple day-to-day activities like trading
or speaking had both good and bad spiritual significance and
consequences. Because of how integrated every action was,
many people converted to the newer religions, and were never
truly able to abolish the aspects of their beliefs and were
accused of idolism.
Music
In Western music, instrumental music, singing, and dancing
are considered separate. In West Africa, dancing is inseparable
from musical performance. West African music played a major
role in the Afro-Caribbean songs that later moved to the US and
transitioned into Jazz music.
Architecture
West African architecture was created with a purpose to not
only be practical but to compliment its surroundings; maybe
the buildings would have an orange or yellow colour pallet to
match the overall climate. Ornamentation is vital in arts and
activities opposing literary in African societies. This is what
links tribes to their earlier civilisations. The history of not only
West African tribes, but African tribes in general would be
deficient because these symbols are not meant for aesthetic
purposes but rather to be understated archives of history.
Education
Unfortunately, not everyone in West Africa is going to school.
Last August, due to violence outbreaks, 9272 schools in West
and Central Africa closed: three times more than at the end of
2017. This forced 1.9 million children out of school.
Food
Given that West Africa is region made of 17 countries, it is not
surprising that it has a wide variety of food to offer. For
example, Senegalese Chicken Yassa, (a sour and spicy chicken
dish) Klouikloui, (fried peanut butter rings from Benin) etc.
West African cuisine is also popular in many parts of the United
States. This is because the slave trade brought many people
from West Africa to the States. For instance, red rice or
‘Hoppin’ John’, which is popular in Georgia and South
Carolina, descended from the Senegalese Jollof Rice. At the
time black-eyed peas, plantains, yams, peanuts, and rice were
all foreign to the Europeans who populated America.