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Diverse Cultures
of Africa
SS7G4:
The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Africa.
Ethnic Group vs. Religious Group
•Ethnic Group: share many common
characteristics, such as language, physical
features, customs, and traditions
•Religious Group: share a common belief
system, but are not necessarily composed of
of a single ethnic group
Major Ethnic Groups in Africa:
• Arab
• Ashanti
• Bantu
• Swahili
The Arab People
• Arabs brought Islam with them to Africa
• Those who became Muslim had to learn Arabic in order to
read the Qur’an
• Arab traders carried gold and salt across the Sahara desert
by caravans
• Today, Muslims are found throughout Africa
Ashanti People
• Found mostly in Ghana
(rich in gold)
• Led by a king and a queen mother
• They have a Golden Stool that
symbolizes the power of the Ashanti
• The traditional Ashanti religion believes
in one god
• The Ashanti people are divided between
Islam, Christianity and their traditional
Ashanti religion
THE GOLDEN STOOL
The famous Golden Stool for the People of Ashanti is their
spiritual symbol. Covered with pure gold, it flew out from
the sky in a thick cloud of white dust and rested on the
knees of Osei Tutu I who united the Ashanti Kingdom in
1701. This happened on a famous Friday at a gathering of
chiefs from Ashanti and was made possible by an intelligent
and powerful fetish priest, Okomfo Anokye.
This Golden Stool is never allowed to touch the ground. When a
new Ashanti King is crowned, he is merely lowered and
raised over it three times without touching it. Whenever the
golden stool is taken out on special occasions, the
Asantehene follows it.
The Ashantis have never lost the Golden Stool and it serves as an enduring symbol of their
culture. It has also helped to keep the Asante people as one people.
Tradition also has it that, this stool contained the spirit of the Asante people. Just as a man
could not live when his soul is departed, so the Asante people would disappear from history
if ever the Golden stool were taken away from them.
On the advice of the Fetish Priest Okomfo Anokye, Osei Tutu I also established the great
annual festival called Akwasidae (or Odwira). On the occasion of this festival, all the Asante
kings assemble at Kumasi and renew their allegiance to the Golden Stool and their loyalty to
the Asantehene.
The Golden Stool
Bantu People
• The Bantu are many different people with a shared
language (over 400 Bantu languages) and some
cultural characteristics
• Bantu migration is important to the study of Africa
because it covered such a large area of Africa
• Over 60 million people
• They practice a wide variety of religions
Swahili People
• They are found in East Africa
• The Swahili language is a mix of Bantu and Arabic
• “Swahili” means one who lives on the coast in
Arabic
• Most are Muslim
• They believe in “mila” which are spirits that can
possess a person
Religions in Africa
• In Africa, there are 3 major religions:
• Traditional beliefs: may include worship of ancestors,
spirits, gods, animals, land, inanimate objects, and/or
natural phenomena.
• Christianity: the belief in Jesus Christ as the son of one
God.
• Islam: the belief in Muhammad the prophet of Allah, the
one God.
• In Africa, some groups combine Christianity and traditional
beliefs.
Animism
• A traditional form of religion in western Africa
• the belief that all natural objects and the universe itself have
souls
• Masks are used to take on the spirit of a god
• Waste is sinful
Example: Several African religions teach that there are spirits
live in the skies. These spirits are important since they are
believed to control the rain that is so important to the raising of
crops and animals.