African Cultures

African Cultures

Africa has more than 800 languages native to its continent. African cultures are so diverse that they are different from any other culture of the world. African cultures contain many different languages. African languages range from common French to languages unheard of to most people such as Swahili. African arts are much different than American arts. Their art involves much more creative pottery, masks, and paintings. Africa has a very interesting culture. Reasons being the people are very creative and like to express their individuality. The most diverse cultures in the world belong to Africa.

There are more than 800 languages spoken in the continent of Africa. Most Africans speak two or three languages, their primary language, or "mother-tongue", and a second or third language to communicate with people from other close by areas (Fetzer A-102).

African languages are broken up into four individual categories: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Khosian. The most commonly heard two categories are Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan. Both of these groups can modify the meanings of words by the tone of the speakers' voice. Niger-Congo languages are spoken of the people in West Africa, below the Sahara desert, Southern and Central Africa. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken mainly in Central Africa. Afro-Asiatic languages are mainly spoken in Northern and Northeastern Africa. This group includes Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and Arabic. Khoisan languages are spoken mostly in Southern Africa by Bushmen, members of traditionally roaming hunting people, and Hottentots, members of pastoral people of Namibia and South Africa. Khoisan languages are communicative through clicking sounds (Fetzer A-102).

Some South Africans speak Afrikaans, a language that was developed from Dutch. Europeans in African speak Portuguese, French, and English (Fetzer A-102). English is becoming very recognized in the countries of Africa. The 1991 South African Census concluded that 45% of the people in South Africa have a speaking knowledge of English. It also concluded that 10% refer to English as their "mother-tongue". The most common languages in South Africa are Xhosa, Tswana, Zulu, and Swahili (African Languages).

Zulu is one of nine Bantu languages spoken in East Southern Africa. Approximately 8.8 million people speak this language (African Languages).

Swahili is spoken as a mother language vast along the coast of East Africa. It is the national language of Tanzania and the official language of Kenya (African Languages). It is also the official in German East Africa (Reader 265). Approximately 50 million people speak this language (African Languages).

Art is very important to the Africans. In fact it is part of their everyday life (Fetzer 106). South African artists are active in many areas of art including sculpture, pottery, mask making, and many more (African Arts Information).

Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor's spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).

Masks were created to be placed over the face, on the top of the head, or even over the head. Most masks represent spirits of ancestors (Fetzer 106). Some villages make masks with full costumes and use them with music to dance in ritual performances. They used masks for social control, education of the youth, to enhance success, and for entertainment. These masks are "traditional" because they have been made in the same basic styles for generations, even centuries (African Arts).

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Clay pots, which are fired with wood and grass, have always had the practical uses of being cooking pots, cups, and plates. The pots are beautifully decorated using red soil and graphite. Some types of pots used were tshidudu, which was used for cooking vegetables, khali, which was used to keep water and beer in, tshidzhomela, which was used to drink