World Cultures: Africa

diversity

northern Africa are mostly Muslims while southern Africa are mostly Christians, there are over 2000 native African languages, many live in poverty while some are richer (economic diversity)

single story

idea from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her TED Talk about how one idea of group of people creates stereotypes

sahara desert

largest hot desert in the world, average rainfall per year is 4 inches

the nile

longest river in the world (maybe), spans 11 countries

sub-saharan africa

region of Africa, savanna/grassland, includes West Africa/East Africa/Central Africa/Southern Africa

sahel

region in North Africa, where the earth transfers from desert to grassland

savanna

huge grassland with shrubs and isolated trees & large herds of animals

congo basin area

a region in central Africa, largest carbon sink in the world

tropical diseases

found in tropical and subtropical conditions, effects more than 1 billion people billions of dollars each year (ex. dengue fever)

water issues

scarcity of water in Africa (lack of accessible fresh water), effects 1 in 3 people

otjize

a custom by the Himba people of Namibia (specifically women) to protect themselves from the desert climate and for beauty; they mix butterfat and ochre pigment and apply the paste onto their hair and skin

scarification

a custom by the Karo people of Ethiopia as a mark of beauty and a rite of passage; they take sharp objects and make scars in a pattern all over the body

lip plates

a custom by the Mursi/Chai/Tirma people of Africa (specifically women) as a mark of beauty and to improve their worth to potential husbands; they slit their lip (sometimes knocking out the bottom teeth) and insert increasing sizes of plates to stretch out the bottom lip

neck rings

a custom by the South Ndebele people of Africa (specifically women) as part of their traditional dress and a sign of wealth/status; they add increasing lengths of metal coils onto the neck to give an illusion of a longer neck

female genital mutilation

a custom practiced all throughout Africa (specifically young girls and women) as a sign of femininity and modesty; their female genitalia would be altered or injured, often without any pain relief

atlantic slave trade

when Portuguese ships came to West Africa to trade gold and spices, they found human beings they could trade; Africans were enslaved and sent off into Europe and the Americas

evolution of european & african relations

many European nations colonized Africa’s countries, ruling over its people and taking its resources; eventually gave countries their independence, but still had influence

scramble for africa

when (mostly) western colonizers invaded, divided and conquered parts of Africa to get their resources

industrial revolution impact

increased urbanization, Europe was able to produce more guns and cannons to control Africans

divide and rule

in which Africa was partitioned and taken over by many European nations during the Berlin Conference in the late 19th century

“white man’s burden”

a poem by Rudyard Kipling about the Philippine-American war about how white people believe its their duty to manage nonwhite people who they think are inferior (in support of the white side)

colonization of the congo

when Belgium invaded the Congo for their ivory and rubber, the people were treated poorly and kept there

colonization of rwanda

originally owned by Germany , but after WW1 Belgium took over in which they treated the people poorly and seperated them by ethnic groups (created a divide between Hutus and Tutsis)

apartheid

a system in South Africa for keeping whites and nonwhites separated (lasted until early 90s)

nelson mandela

known for being an anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the former president of South Africa (laid down the foundation for democracy there)

pan africanism

a movement that had the idea that people of African descent have common interests and should all unite

decolonization

during the cold war, the countries of Africa transitioned into independence

year of africa

1960; 17 countries of Africa celebrated their independence from former years of colonization, a celebration of the pan-africanism movement

neocolonialism

when countries impose their influence over places, especially those they no longer rule

cold war effects

essentially the U.S. and the Soviet Union tried to convince/force African leaders to side with them (for their resources), but most leaders wanted to remain neutral, leading to raised global prices/civil unrest/political coups

rwandan genocide

a short occurrence in mid 1994 in which extremist Hutus massacred almost a million Tutsi and moderate Hutus due to the decades of division incurred by Belgium and for revenge