1 / 14

Cultural Legacy of Africa

Cultural Legacy of Africa. Early Peoples/Government. First hunter-gatherers Settled Farming communities- Slash and burn agriculture Villages develop: power shared; no central authority. Family. Some families patrilineal: inheritance passed through father ’ s side

lamis
Download Presentation

Cultural Legacy of Africa

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Cultural Legacy of Africa

  2. Early Peoples/Government • First hunter-gatherers • Settled Farming communities- Slash and burn agriculture • Villages develop: power shared; no • central authority

  3. Family • Some families patrilineal: inheritance passed through father’s side • Some matrilineal: inheritance traced through mother’s side • Belonged to a lineage: group of household who claimed a common ancestor. Several lineages formed a clan

  4. Religion • Polytheistic • Used rituals and ceremonies to influence nature and sprits • Spirits of ancestors could affect people on earth • Islam moves into West African Kingdoms

  5. African Written and Oral Tradition • Griots: Record keepers • Before West Africa had written histories griots would memorize everything and recite to the people • Very important in West African culture • Folktales: a story that is usually passed down orally and becomes part of a community’s tradition • Folktales pass along history and teach young people morals and values • Famous folktale about the “trickster” hare-Brer rabbit

  6. Proverb: Popular sayings that use images from everyday life to express ideas or give advice • Ex: “Every time an old man dies it is as if a library has burnt down” • Written tradition: After Islam spread to West Africa written tradition became more important. • West Africans used Arabic to write

  7. West African Music • Music: Communicates ideas, values, and feelings. Celebrates historic events and important occasions • Call and response: A leader sings a short phrase then the group repeats the phrase • Enslaved Africans brought call and response to America

  8. Instruments • Balafon: Original Griot instrument. Wooden bars laid across a frame like a zylophone Ngoni: Small stringed instrument Made of hollowed out piece of carved into the shape of a canoe

  9. Kora:Harplike instrument with 21 strings • Made out of gourd that is cut in half and covered with cow skin

  10. Drums: Important part of West African culture • Used during parties, meetings, ceremonies, and religious gatherings • Made out of hollowed out logs and covered with animal skins

  11. Dance • Dance very important • Used for rituals, ceremonies, important events, celebrate success, educate children, seek help of spirits, and connect with ancestors • Dance movements reflect the conditions people live in

  12. Masks • Masks made of wood: very detailed • Very important for ceremonies, performances, and sacred rites • Used to summon spirits of the gods and ancestors • Inspired artists such as Picasso

  13. West African Visual Art • Sculpture-used to call upon spirits and honor leaders. • Used ivory, wood, bronze • Turned practical objects into things of beauty-storage containers, utensils, furniture, baskets

  14. Textiles • Kente Cloth: most famous • Sew together narrow strips of fabric • Colors and design have symbolic meaning • Seen today around the world especially in quilts

More Related