Clothing in Africa

Africa's culture is so different compared to the United States, of course they would have different traditional clothing than America. Since at times it can get extremely hot in Africa, you would expect everyone to wear little clothing. However, most women wear beautifully colored dresses in many styles. Some styles are called a kanga, djellaba, or gomesi. Many of these women, too, wear head wraps with a piece of cloth. Males in Africa wear a dashiki, which is a long colorful short sleeved shirt. They also wear a grand boubou, which is a dress-like robe for a man. When seeing the grand boubou, it looks as if royalty from Africa would wear it. It looks very luxurious.

GOMESI

KANGA

DASHIKI

GRAND BOUBOU

These traditional African clothing are very beautiful, and come in all sorts of colors and amazing patterns. I have seen many of these outfits before hand, but I never knew what they were called. I think it would be very fun to try a couple of these outfits on to see what they would look like on me, since they look so natural on the Africans themselves. Overall, I love these dresses and shirts and they are very beautiful and full of life with tradition. 

Music in Africa

In Africa, they have a whole different look on music with a different sound and everything. Even though I'm not sure what they are saying in their songs, it gives me a happy and traditional vibe. Africa has many famous singers as well, and their music is very popular. A few of these famous singers include Amadou & Mariam, Miriam Makeba, and Yossou N'Dour. These singers have amazing voices that make you want to dance and sing along. The beat to their music is kept by using a lot of a conga drum (Jembe), Shekere, and the Kora. This also adds to the mood of the music, with wanting to dance and the tradition behind it. These singers also have music videos to their songs, which shows many different ways to look upon the African tradition.

Click the following links for videos/songs of the following singers:

Miriam Makeba

Yossou N'Dour 

Amadou & Mariam

I wish I could explain in more depth of the feeling I get when listening to this music, it's just powerful and makes me feel great inside. There music just really relaxes someone and makes an individual feel like sitting around a camp fire while listening to these singers. I encourage everyone to at least listen to these songs at least once, and think about the feelings inside.


JEMBE                                                                                           SHEKERE

KORA

Education Disaster in Africa

Since Africa is such a big country, it has many people. Of course some of these people are school aged children that need to attend school. There are 128 million school aged children in Africa, and 17 million of these children will never attend a school. However, 37 million children who do attend school will barely learn anything that they end up just like the ones who never attended. These kids who aren't learning anything are going to be Africa's future, and it's not looking so good.

The education system has gotten better in the last few years, but it doesn't help so much when the children are not actually learning while in school. Half of the sub-saharan children who attend school will grow up to adolescents without the basic skills to live adequate lives. In 3 countries, over half of the children attending school will not learn the basic skills by the end of primary school.

Click here for more information.

The question is, what do they need to do to fix this education crisis? Many people say they need more books to have proper teachings, but from the readings it seems as if they already have a great amount of these books. My personal opinion is that the teachers need help in class, and they do not have the proper techniques to teach these children and keep them on track at school. What's your opinion?

Popular African Games for Kids!

The children of Africa have a few popular and traditional games in their continent that requires few to if any props. Their top 5 games include Mancala, Ampe, Kudoda, Nyama-Nyama-Nyama, and Stockings. While watching a few videos of these children, you can see how much they enjoy playing these games.

A few games that require some props include Mancala, Kudoda, and Stockings. Mancala is a game in which the children have a wooden board with a few indented holes and the objective is to take marbles and move them across the board. Whoever ends up with the most marbles on their side, wins. Kudoda requires a small bowl with 20-30 marbles or small stones, whichever the children can find. For this game, the children toss a stone as high as they can while grabbing as many stones from the bowl as possible before the stone drops. Whoever ends up with the most stones wins the game! Stockings is related to an activity everyone plays around the world: jump rope. Two children hold on to the rope, as one jumps in the center. The twist, though, is that they slowly raise the height of the jump until the jumper cannot jump the height of the rope. They can make it more difficult as well by adding another jumper to the mix.

The other two popular games, Ampe and Nyama-Nyama-Nyama, require no props and only the children. Ampe is a very interesting game, and it seems as if the children are dancing with a few claps involved. The objective of the game is to jump and land with one leg in front of the other and obtain points depending on which leg you and your opponent land on. Nyama is a game that involved the children's voices and creative minds. One child, the leader, yells out the name of an animal, and if the animal can be eaten the other children yell "NYAMA". Nyama actually means "meat". This is a very popular game for all ages in Africa.

While reading about these games, it shows how you can have nothing and still make something of it. They can make a game out of anything, and have a great time. One game I am very familiar with of theirs is Mancala. I used to play this game many times with my friends, and it is a very addicting and fun game. All of their popular games seem very interesting, and different.

African Cuisine

All of Africa doesn't just have the same food everywhere. Each part of Africa, north, south, east, west and central, has a few differences in their food. North African cuisine has had lots of influence on traders and migrators. Their most important harvest in northern Africa are olives. With this in mind, they also use olive oil in many of their dishes. South and east Africa mostly rely on grains, vegetables, and beans and fish for protein. They raise cattle, but it's mainly for dairy due to the fact that they are a symbol of wealth. In the west, they eat a lot of corn and rice. As well as the south and east, they also eat fish as their source of protein. Plantains and cassavas' are the basis for most meals in central Africa. Since meat is very expensive in central Africa, they eat a lot of wild meat. This includes monkey, antelope, and wild pig. 

It's crazy how in one continent there are so many different ways of cuisine. Each culture is a little different, and they do everything in diverse ways. Some parts of Africa do not eat cattle due to the fact that they are a symbol to the culture, while other parts do eat this cattle meat. Africa is such a big continent, though, that it's hard to put in mind that there are such great differences since mostly everyone in America is the same. 

Traveling to Africa

When asked, many people would say that they would enjoy a vacation to Africa to see what it's like there. Although they do wish for this, they don't know exactly what they could do for fun in this continent. I was wondering the same thing since I've always had an itch to visit such place. I looked online to see what they had for information on what to do, and I found a list. It's the Top 10 Things to do in Africa. Here's the list:

1. Go on a safari: This is the main reason why people visit Africa. You can safari to see the "Big Five" which includes the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and cape buffalo. You can also track gorillas.

2. Relax on a beach:Africa has many beautiful beaches. The West coast's current is more rigorous, so it is perfect for surfing. The East coast has many private huts for rent so a stay on the beach is possible.

3. Hike a mountain: Anyone can go for a half day hike, or a 5 day trek! Africa contains Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and the Atlas Mountains.

4. Explore on two wheels: Cycling in Africa for vacations have become more popular over the years. Biking lets you experience Africa at your own pace. You can see and hear more of the outdoors than you can while riding in a car. There are many bike tours available. 

5. Volunteer and make a difference: Volunteering always helps to teach one to appreciate what they have. It helps one understand the different cultures. You can teach them and help them while vacationing.

6. Get historical: Africa has an amazing history with monuments and tombs, great cities that once were, and marks from slave trade. You can see and tour many of these things. The great cities include one, Timbuktu, that can still be enjoyed today.

7. Be wildly adventurous: There are many things to do that are adventurous and get your adrenaline pumping. You can swim up to the edge of the world's largest waterfall and white water raft. You can surf while observing the Great White sharks below. 

8. Shop in local markets and Bazaars: This is a great way to get an insight into Africa's food, smells, culture, and sounds. Shopping around will help you understand the local economy, and work on your bargaining skills.

9. Take a culinary tour: These involve some hands on cooking, wine tasting and much more. This is a great way to understand their culture. 

10. Attend a festival: Attending their religious festivals or local events would be a great time. They have food, music and a great time. Sometimes it's hard to get access to get in, but there are many events that happen annually that you can enjoy. 

This list of amazing things to do in Africa sounds so interesting to me. This list has made me have a stronger desire in vacationing and visiting there someday. I especially would like to do numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8. Those all sounds like the most fun, and I'm definitely the most interested in those things. First you may of thought that there wasn't much to do in Africa, but this list proves there's a whole lot more than you think! 

Deforestation in Africa

Deforestation has been a gigantic problem throughout the world for years now. Africa contains 30% of the world's tropical forests, and their numbers are going down significantly each year from deforestation. One big reason why they are losing their forested areas in Malawi, a small country in Africa, is because of the "slash and burn" agriculture method. They are cutting down trees in these forested areas to make more room for farming. Especially since this small country is growing, and doubles every 25 years, they have to make more room for farming every 2 to 3 years. More than 80% of the population in Malawi are farmers. They cut down trees for other reasons too. They need wood for a fire and cooking food. Wood is also used to build houses, although they don't actually use wood on their houses. The wood is to start a fire to make bricks out of clay soil.

Click here to learn about more reasons why they are cutting down their forests.

Whenever you hear about deforestation, you immediately think it is a terrible thing. Well, it is. As humans we need oxygen to survive and we get our oxygen from these trees. Without the trees, we could suffocate and die. However, Africans do not have the resources we do like an oven or a thermostat in our houses. They need this wood from these trees to live. They have cause to cut down trees around them. They need wood for fires, their own ovens, and to make bricks for their houses. They also need to cut them down for more ground to farm. These aren't selfish reasons, these are their priorities in life. I do not agree with deforestation without a reason, but they have reason and a priority for life.

African Religion

Religion is a very important part in an African's life. Each society in Africa has their own religious system with their own set of beliefs and practices. According to Professor Mbiti, all African cultures across the Nation are extremely religious regardless of national origin, language, or ethnicity. Most Africans are Christian or Muslim (Islam), however, traditional religions still play a huge role (Indigenous Religions). This includes Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. There are also Islamic Religion, They practice their religion in their daily life style, with prayers of gratitude and prayers of supplication. The religions do have some similarities, though. They both believe in one God, ancestral spirits, and sacrificing.

The articles I received this information from was very interesting to me. I never knew exactly what kind of religions were practiced in Africa, and I now know a lot about it. These articles were very helpful, and straight forward with the information. Although, I cannot believe they still practice sacrifices to to ensure protection and generosity. In the picture I have posted below, it shows which religions are practiced in the certain countries of Africa. Most countries practice more than one religion.

To learn more about the different religions, click here. 

This website doesn't only just give facts about religions, but it also provides activities to do with the religions. Click here to check out the activities. 

SHARE Africa

In the year 1987, a very special program came to live that would change the lives of many African children. Dr. Martha M. MacGuffie and Dr. Renée M. Brilliant started SHARE, a not-for-profit organization that improves the quality of life for the children and adults of Africa. They help them through the devastations of AIDS and other life threatening diseases, as well as common poverty. They focus on the Kenya area, a region in need of extreme help due to the high abundance of AIDS, lack of health, and poverty. They also provide education, emergency medical services, nutrition information, and opportunities for woman to have jobs. This is a very exceptional program and everyone can help. Anyone can send in items to help such as notebooks, pencils, books, clothes, and toys. People can also donate money, offer their time, and sponsor a child with a certain annual donation.

I think this program is very helpful to the communities in need in Africa. This program has done so many things, and have changed so many lives. Children become happier each day when receiving anything from a pair of shoes to a soccer ball. Everyone has these things laying around their house that aren't useful anymore, and it should be sent to these children in need of happiness and acceptance. I love this program, and am definitely going to send things in that are in need there.

"Make a positive difference in the lives of African communities."

Click here to send items into SHARE Africa

Hunting Ban: Botswana, Africa

In South Africa, there is a country called Botswana. Since 2012, this country has had a ban against hunting for trophy animals. Trophy animals include lions, elephants and leopards. Although you may think this hunting ban is a good thing so the endangered species can live, the ban is actually a terrible thing for the African society. Since there are no hunters on the prowl for these trophies, the animals have been roaming into villages more than usual. Lions attack all livestock and elephants eat the farmer's gardens, leaving the villagers without food supply. In the village of Sankuyo, there were two lions killed by villagers because they wandered into residential areas. "When the hunting was introduced, we actually ended up killing less animals, that's the irony," said Dr. Child. In 2012 there were 4,361 conflicts with wild animals in 2012, and in 2014 there were 6,770. Poaching incidents also increased from 309 in 2012 to 323 in 2014.

Throughout the years, trophy hunting has helped Africa in so many ways. In the year 2010, Sankuyo earned approximately $600,000 from tourists hunting. Sankuyo earned this much from 120 animals which included 22 elephants, 55 impalas, and 9 buffalo. The tourists pay for their license, a place to stay, someone to drive them, and someone to take them hunting. This money ended up paying for outdoor toilets in 20 households and standpipes to be installed in courtyards. This allowed 40 families to have running water.

I always thought hunting these fascinating animals was a terrible thing. After reading this article, however, I feel differently about hunting "trophy" animals. These animals cause great danger and harm to the people of Africa, and to their environment. They may work extremely hard on growing a garden, to find out it has been destroyed by an elephant. Living in America, you are taught to appreciate these animals since they are endangered species; although the people are in more danger than the animals. The ban has more harm to the people in Africa, financially and physically.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/world/a-hunting-ban-saps-a-villages-livelihood.html?ref=africa&_r=0
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/07/29/427451836/one-point-of-view-on-how-lions-can-earn-money-for-africa
http://safaritime.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/elephant-trophy-hunting.jpg
http://www.thewildernessociety.com/uploads_media/lion_of_kalahari__media_1306713972.jpg