Ethnic Groups of Africa

1
Ethnic Groups of Africa
2
Religions, Customs, and Traditions

• Africa is made up of 54 different countries and
  many ethnic groups.
• A groups customs and traditions often come from
  religion, from where the group lives, or from the
  demands of daily life.
• Most Africans today are either Muslim or
  Christian, but traditional religions and customs
  still play a role in African culture.

3
Arabs

• The term Arab refers to a mixed ethnic group made
  up of people who speak the Arabic language.
• Arabs mostly live in North Africa and the Middle
  East.
• Some Jews, Kurds, Berbers, Copts, and Druze speak
  Arabic, but are not usually considered Arab.
• The term Arab includes Arabic-speaking
  Christians in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
  Overall, Arabs are divided into two
  groupsnomadic Bedouins and settled Arabs.

4
Ashanti

• The Ashanti people live in central Ghana.
• The family, especially the mothers family, is
  most important to the Ashanti.
• They believe that children inherit their spirits
  from their father and their flesh and blood from
  their mother.
• The mystical Golden Stool has been the center of
  Ashanti spiritual practice since the late 17th
  century.

5
Ashanti

• It is said to have arrived on Earth by floating
  down from the heavens.
• The Ashanti people believe the strength of their
  nation depends on the safety of this stool.
• It represents the unity of the Ashanti and the
  power of their chiefs.
• The Ashanti honor kings after death, in a
  ceremony in which a stool is blackened.

6
The Swahili People

• The Swahili people live on the East African coast
  from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique.
• The Swahili people practice a strict form of
  Islam. In addition to Islamic beliefs, the
  Swahili believe in spirits, or djinns.
• Swahili Muslims use trances to speak to djinns.
• Men wear amulets around their necks that contain
  verses from the Koran, which they believe will
  protect them.
• Only teachers of Islam and prophets are permitted
  to become spiritual healers.

7
Bantu

• The Bantu originally came from southeastern
  Nigeria, near the Benue-Cross Rivers that spread
  east and south near Zambia, in Central Africa.
• Around 1000 CE, the Bantu reached present-day
  Zimbabwe and South Africa.
• Here, the Bantu established the Munhumutapa
  Empire.
• This new empire controlled trading routes from
  South Africa to the area north of the Zambezi
  River.

8
Bantu

• The Bantu traded many natural resources gold,
  copper, precious stones, animal hides, ivory, and
  metal goods.
• They traded with Arab traders from the Swahili
  coast, as well as others.
• The empire collapsed in the early 16th century,
  after it used up all its resources.

9
African Literacy

• The literacy rate in Africa is 50.
• This means that half the population of Africa
  cannot read or write.
• Literacy is good for individuals as well as their
  communities.
• More developed countries tend to have a higher
  literacy rate.
• Sudan and Egypt both have a literacy rate of only
  51 .
• South Africa, the most developed country in
  Africa, has a literacy rate of 83.

10
Art and Music from Africa

• The dance and music of Africa has many distinct
  styles and uses unique instruments.
• Sub-Saharan African music and dance is different
  from the music and dance of the Arab cultures of
  North Africa, or the Western settler populations
  of southern Africa.
• Many of the Sub-Saharan traditions are maintained
  by oral tradition.

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Summary

• Describe the diverse cultures of the people of
  Africa and how literacy rate affects standard of
  living.