Igbo People

Igbo people find their home in a rich and fertile crescent created by the lower Niger River within Nigeria. Their population has presently grown to around thirty million people. Within all of Africa, the Igbo homelands are probably one of the most densely populated regions. It is believed by many that this area and its people were one of the driving forces in the early development in the Iron Age which has helped mold the world as we know it. Their culture has brought much to enrich the world.

Gold on Hold

They arrived in pickup trucks, in school buses and on foot: thousands of highland Mayans, each wearing their community’s distinctive traje, covered the Zaculeu pyramid in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. They came to witness a visit from James Anaya, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, and they held placards with slogans like “No to mining; yes to life” and “San Juan Atitán says no to the multinational corporations.” 

“There are some who believe the Mayans are gone, and all that remains are these ruins,” a man dressed in white with a cowboy hat was speaking from the stage. “We are here to tell them, ‘We are alive, and we are here to bring these monuments back to life.’” The crowd roared its assent.

Wodhaabhe Pastoral Fulani

The diverse Fulani people are scattered all around the West African Savannnah belt. This area sits between Senegambia and the French Equatorial Africa. It has been roughly estimated that there are over six million people who consider themselves Fulani, and or that speak the Fulani language. The area most densely populated by Fulani is the British Cameroons and Nigeria, with a total population of 3,630,000. This culture is sub-categorized by different use of the Fulani Language, and also by their means of economic gain. Some Fulani use vocabulary others don’t which results in a language that is both diverse and constantly changing.

The differences in the Fulani mode of life are very noticeable. Some Fulani are part of stable farming communities, others are part of urban areas, while others, such as the Pastoral Fulani are cattle herders. . The Origin of the Fulani culture is a controversial issue. The question of when they migrated to Western Sudan, and how long ago remains a mystery. Some experts say they have a Jewish origin, and some counter with and Ethiopian argument. Others seek a compromise in between, and some say they were Hindu people. The Fulani culture has their own story, with a couple of variations. One involves the son of two Muslims who could understand a new (Fulani) language who was the foretold founder of the culture. Another version of that story includes the child teaching the language to his brothers who formed the four great branches of the Fulani people. The Pastoral Fulani culture myth is about a herder who is expelled from the settlement because of his harsh way of life. His wealth came from a water spirit who sent him cattle.

This History Of "Chewa"

Location: The actual dictionary meaning of the word Chewa is 'a member of the Bantu-speaking people of Malawi.' The Chewa, also known as the Cewa or Chichewa is an African culture that has existed since the beginning of the first millennium, A.D. They are primarily located in Zambia, Zimbabwe, with the bulk of the population in Malawi. Their climate can be classified as sub-tropical that varies with elevation. In the lowlands, the average temperature ranges from 21C (69F) to 29C (84F). The rainy season exists from November to April with an annual rainfall of 90 inches in the highlands to about 30 inches in the lowlands.

African History

African history and African heritage are topics that are crucial in the study of the human civilization. Not only is the study of African history important as it relates to the rest of the world, but furthermore, it is also one of the most extensive and complex to undertake. The African history and African heritage can trace back their roots to what is arguably the single most important piece of human history. It has been concluded that man originated somewhere in the eastern regions of the African continent.

Africa, in fact, can be considered to be the birthplace of the human race. This simple yet important fact are not only crucial in African history, but also in the history of man and of the Earth. Though there has been much to study in terms of artifacts and other important pieces of history left behind, much of African history is still very much an elusive, complex, and difficult concept to explain. Much of this is due to the fact that there is not very much of African history that was committed to writing. For the very few exceptions left behind by the Ancient Egyptians of other early civilizations, it seems that most of African history and heritage has relied on its people to provide for an extensive and complex oral history.

Africa

In more recent times, Africa has been in the news in a different light. Unfortunately, any news regarding Africa tends to concentrate on the negative aspects that the government, people, and culture have suffered throughout past decades because of extreme poverty levels and diseases running rampant throughout the continent. It is no surprise that because of its lack of resources, Africa is constantly being reported in the news as a horrible place to live. However, in a change of tone, recent news having to do with Africa seems to be in a more positive light. South Africa will play host to one of the most widely-viewed sports in all the world and its most prestigious championship event, the World Cup. Soccer–or Football, depending on where you are geographically–is the sport that has the most popularity in nations throughout the world. Save the United States, Soccer is the most participated-in sport, so much so that it is infused with the inherent culture, specifically in Latin America and Europe. Every four years, the World Cup becomes a worldwide event where nations rally behind their home team in a display of patriotism and nationalistic pride. In June of 2010, the World Cup will come to South Africa, hopefully bringing a much needed economic stimulus to the nation, and possibly even the continent itself.

Art: African Masks

African masks play an important role in the various cultures and tribes found throughout the African continent. Generally speaking, African masks are used in intricate religious ceremonies as a way to conjure or communicate with spirits or ancestors. Visually and aesthetically speaking, masks will differ not only from culture to culture, but also in the intended purpose of each mask. Furthermore, African masks will also vary in the types of materials used to construct each individual mask. In many African cultures and tribes, they have an appointed member attributed with the purpose of designing and fabricating the masks. This person is usually referred to as an African tribal artists.

Each tribal artist is expected to perfect specific carving techniques associated with its various social and religious connotations and apply them to each individual mask, depending on the intended purpose of that mask. Typically, a tribal artists learns his skill by becoming an apprentice of the master tribal artists. More often than not, it takes many years for tribal artists to master his art through rigorous training. In many African cultures and societies, the task is passed down from father to son, through generation after generation.

Voices from the Edge

A Contested Land

It was the middle of May, just days into the rainy season when we made the trip to Lote 8, one of the dozens of Maya-Q’eqchi’ villages scattered within, and against, the steep and perennially green Sierra de Santa Cruz in far eastern Guatemala. Clouds built and dissipated over the Western Highlands, reaching the lowlands around Lake Izabal and the Polochic River basin in the falling dusk. Then the stagnant heat broke, in storm. In the weeks to come, the rains would increase, scouring the mountains of their red earth, forcing it to the valley below, and eventually out to sea.

Preservation of Culture In Africa and Media

The colonial expansion of European states in Africa was usually accompanied by missionary efforts to proliferate Christianity and European civilization. A kind of benevolent tutelage of the `inferior native' populations occurred that was particularly well-illustrated in Rudyard Kipling's The White Man's Burden. The direct consequences of the colonial expansion ranged from genocide that wiped out of large segments of a population, to the subtle destruction of African cultures.

Every culture has a dual tendency, a tendency towards stability and a tendency toward change. What is the contribution of culture to the development process? Surprisingly, on numerous occasions even normally intelligent and knowledgeable Africans erroneously and inadvertently conceptualize culture as `drumming and dancing' and therefore fail to see any contribution culture makes or made to the struggle for socio-economic development.