The Cultures of West Africa

Africa

Cultural Diversity of W. Africa

• 17 countries make up the regionHundreds of ethnic groups (cultural diversity)W. Africans speak many languages

Cultural Diversity of W. Africa

the hundreds of ethnic groups speak different languages

Groups in in West Africa often speak different languagesMost W. Africans speak more than one languageThey use these different languages when they travel or conduct business

Cultural Diversity of W. Africa

• W. Africans have many ways of making a living

• Most live in rural areasA village consists of a group of homes surrounded by farmlandThe village people get food for themselves, but they also grow cash crops

Cultural Diversity of W. Africa

• In the Sahara and the Sahel many people herd cattle, goats, sheep or camelsAlong the coast most make a living by fishingSome live in large cities and work in hospitals, hotels, or office buildings

Belonging to groups

• The strong ties of kinship• Strongest bond is kinship (family relationship)

1st level is the nuclear family2nd level is extended familyExtended families work together and take care of each otherFamily members take care of the elderly and sick and less well-off“It takes a village to raise a child” (African proverb)Neighbors pitch in and help one another (strong sense of community)

Cultural Diversity of W. Africa

• Family members take care of the elderly and sick and less well-off“It takes a village to raise a child” (African proverb)Neighbors pitch in and help one another (strong sense of community)

Lineage and clans

• groups of families may be able to trace their families back to a common ancestor (such a group is a lineage)Matrilineal groups -- trace their lineage through the mother’s side of the familyPatrilineage--trace their lineage through the father’s side of the family

Changes in family life

• People moving from rural villages to urban areas or cities (urbanization)Men move to the city to find jobsThe women often stay in the rural homes and raise the children and farm the land

Storytelling

• Spoken rather than writtenTeach children cultural valuesStoryteller is called a griot and passes the oral tradition from one generation to tells the histories of ethnic groups and kinships

Storytelling

• Stories of tricksters, animal fables, proverbs, riddles, and songs are also part of the oral traditionApprox. ½ of the enslaved Africans that came to the US came from W. AfricaBrought along their stories, dances, music and customsBrer RabbitJazz Music