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The culture in Africa is extraordinarily interesting since it encompasses all cultures of more than 50 nations in the continent. Every African country is so diverse and it is composed of mix tribes with their own rich culture and unique language.
ART
- According to wikipedia.com, African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. It has a rich tradition in arts and crafts, which are expressed in woodcarvings, sculpture, paintings, pottery and many others. Most of the African art deals with themes of a woman with a child or men with weapon. African culture in art always placed prominence on personal appearance and jewelry that is considered as an important personal accessory. Most of these accessories are made out of cowry shells and fashioned with elaborate and sophisticated designs. At the beginning of 20th century, infamous artists such as Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin have become the inspiration of African art. However, the influence of western art does not totally affect the traditional art. Traditional art is still the most famous and studied forms of African that has been commonly found in museum collections. Despite the diversity of African art, it does not fail to draw attentions of people from different walks of life.
FOLKLORE AND TRADITION
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Every country has its own folklores and folktales to tell and the continent of Africa is one of those. An example of African tradition-- is jumping the broom during wedding. This African wedding tradition is widely known in the continent. Another folklore spreading around the continent is the Pygmy myth, it has been deemed that when a Chameleon hears a strange noise, water comes out and a great flood will spread throughout the world.
LANGUAGE
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Africa speaks over a hundred languages or dialects. The very prominent languages spoken in the continent are Arabic, Swahili and Hausa. There are also four important language families in the continent namely:
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*Afro-Asiatic- a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North Africa, Southwest Asia, and parts of the Sahel.
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*Nilo-Saharan- language family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30 million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are mainly spoken in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
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*Niger-Kordofanian- language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of different languages.
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CUISINE
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African cuisine is as diverse as its culture, tradition and history. Being the second largest continent on Earth, it houses one of the world’s unique and wide ranges of scrumptious cuisines. Traditional African cuisine is often characterized with the use of starchy ingredients such as cassava and potatoes. It also uses hot spices and green vegetables. The cuisine of Africa has been influenced by other continents. Nonetheless, it adds the continent’s dishes more delectable and unique. West African fares often use fish and meat in their cooking whilst the East African dish generally does not include meat products in their fares. Arabic influences are also reflected in East African cuisine like the usage of several spices and other herbs.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_art
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Africa
http://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/african.cfm
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