INTRODUCTION

The culture of a people is what marks them out distinctively from other human societies in
the family of humanity. The full study of culture in all its vastness and dimensions belongs
to the discipline known as anthropology, which studies human beings and takes time to
examine their characteristics and their relationship to their environments. Culture, as it is
usually understood, entails a totality of traits and characters that are peculiar to a people to
the extent that it marks them out from other peoples or societies. These peculiar traits go
on to include the people's language, dressing, music, work, arts, religion, dancing and so
on. It also goes on to include a people's social norms, taboos and values. Values here are to
be understood as beliefs that are held about what is right and wrong and what is important
in life. A fuller study of values rightly belongs to the discipline of philosophy. Axiology as a
branch of philosophy deals with values embracing both ethics and aesthetics. This is why
philosophical appraisal of African culture and values is not only apt and timely, but also
appropriate. Moreover, the centrality of the place of values in African culture as a heritage
that is passed down from one generation to another, will be highlighted. We shall try to
illustrate that African culture and values can be appraised from many dimensions in addition
to examining the method of change and the problem of adjustment in culture. Here we hope
to show that while positive dimensions of our culture ought to be practised and passed on to
succeeding generations, negative dimensions of our culture have to be dropped in order to
promote a more progressive and dynamic society.

Before we can have an appraisal of African culture and values, it is necessary for us to have
an understanding of the concept of culture and its meaning. This will help us grapple with
the issues we will be dealing with in this paper. Let us now look at the concept and meaning
of culture, as this is fundamental to our understanding of what African culture is.

THE CONCEPT AND MEANING OF CULTURE

Edward B. Taylor is reputed as the scholar who first coined and defined culture in his
work Primitive Culture (1871) and reprinted in 1958. Taylor saw culture as that complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs or any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society. This definition captures the exhaustive
nature of culture. One would have expected that this definition would be a univocal one -
but this is not so. In fact, there are as many definitions of culture as there are scholars who
are interested in the phenomenon. Culture embraces a wide range of human phenomena,
material achievements and norms, beliefs, feelings, manners, morals and so on. It is the
patterned way of life shared by a particular group of people that claim to share a single
origin or descent. In an attempt to capture the exhaustive nature of culture, Bello (1991:
189) sees it as "the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet
the challenge of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social,
political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms thus distinguishing a people from their
neighbours". Culture serves to distinguish a people from others, and Aziza (2001: 31)
asserts that:

Culture...refers to the totality of the pattern of behaviour of a particular group of people. It

includes everything that makes them distinct from any other group of people for instance,
their greeting habits, dressing, social norms and taboos, food, songs and dance patterns,
rites of passages from birth, through marriage to death, traditional occupations, religious as
well as philosophical beliefs.
Culture is passed on from generation to generation. The acquisition of culture is a result of
the socialisation process. Explaining how culture is passed on as a generational heritage,
Fafunwa (1974: 48) writes that:

The child just grows into and within the cultural heritage of his people. He imbibes it.
Culture, in traditional society, is not taught; it is caught. The child observes, imbibes and
mimics the action of his elders and siblings. He watches the naming ceremonies, religious
services, marriage rituals, funeral obsequies. He witnesses the coronation of a king or chief,
the annual yam festival, the annual dance and acrobatic displays of guilds and age groups
or his relations in the activities. The child in a traditional society cannot escape his cultural
and physical environments.

This shows that every human being who grows up in a particular society is likely to become
infused with the culture of that society, whether knowingly or unknowingly during the
process of social interaction. We do not need to have all the definitions of culture and its
defining characteristics for us to understand the concept and meaning of culture. Even
though there are as many definitions of culture as there are writers, there is an element of
similarity that runs through them all. This singular underlying characteristic is the attempt
to portray and capture culture as the entire or total way of life of a particular group of
people. Etuk (2002: 13) is of the opinion that "an entire way of life would embody, among
other things, what the people think of themselves and the universe in which they live - their
world view - in other words, how they organise their lives in order to ensure their survival".
It can be safely stated that there can be no culture without a society. It can also be said
that culture is uniquely human and shared with other people in a society. Culture is
selective in what it absorbs or accepts from other people who do not belong to a particular
cultural group.

Culture is to be understood as the way of life of a people. This presupposes the fact that
there can be no people without a culture. To claim that there is no society without a culture
would, by implication, mean that such a society has continued to survive without any form
of social organisation or institutions, norms, beliefs and taboos, and so on; and this kind of
assertion is quite untrue. That is why even some Western scholars who may be tempted to
use their cultural categories in judging other distinctively different people as "primitive",
often deny that such people have history, religion and even philosophy; but cannot say that
they have no culture.

In this paper, we shall be dealing with African culture and drawing examples from Nigerian
culture. It is true that based on the consideration of culture as that which marks a people
out from others, groups one can rightly say that there are many cultures in Africa. Africa is
inhabited by various ethnic nationalities with their different languages, modes of dressing,
eating, dancing and even greeting habits. But in spite of their various cultures, Africans do
share some dominant traits in their belief systems and have similar values that mark them
out from other peoples of the world. A Nigerian culture, for instance, would be closer to,
say, a Ghanaian culture on certain cultural parameters than it would be to the Oriental
culture of the Eastern world, or the Western culture of Europe. It is true that culture is
universal and that each local or regional manifestation of it is unique. This element of
uniqueness in every culture is often described as cultural variation. The cultures of
traditional African societies, together with their value systems and beliefs are close, even
though they vary slightly from one another. These slight variations only exist when we
compare an African culture with others. Certainly African cultures differ vastly from the
cultures of other regions or continents. And we believe there is no need to over-labour this
point since there are sufficient similarities to justify our usage of the term "African culture".
Here we would be sure to find a world of differences and diversity in beliefs, values and
culture generally. Using Nigerian culture for instance, Antia (2005: 17) writes that
"Nigerians always behave differently from the French, or Chinese, or Americans or
Hottentots, because Nigerian beliefs, values and total thinking are different from those of
the French, Chinese, Americans or the Hottentots".

Culture has been classified into its material and non-material aspects. While material culture
refers to the visible tactile objects which man is able to manufacture for the purposes of
human survival; non-material culture comprises of the norms and mores of the people.
While material culture is concrete and takes the form of artefacts and crafts, non-material
culture is abstract but has a very pervasive influence on the lives of the people of a
particular culture. Hence beliefs about what is good and what is bad, together with norms
and taboos, are all good examples of non-material culture. From the foregoing, it is obvious
that culture is shared since it consists of cherished values or beliefs that are shared by a
group, lineage, and religious sect and so on. Apart from this, culture is dynamic in the sense
that it is continually changing. Culture is not static. We are not alone in this observation as
Antia (2005: 17) states that "culture is not fixed and permanent. It is always changed and
modified by man through contacts with and absorption of other peoples' cultures, a process
known as assimilation". Etuk (2002: 25) has also observed that "cultures are not static,
they change. Indeed culture needs to change; which wants to remain static and resistant to
change would not be a living culture". We can see that since culture is carried by people and
people do change their social patterns and institutions, beliefs and values and even skills
and tools of work, then culture cannot but be an adaptive system. Once an aspect of culture
adjusts or shifts in response to changes from within or outside the environment, then other
aspects of the culture are affected, whether directly or indirectly. It is necessary to know
that each element of a culture (such as material procedures, food processing or greeting
patterns) is related to the whole system. It is in this respect that we can see that even a
people's technology is part of their culture.

Idiong (1994: 46) opines that "there are some misconceptions that are widely held about
'culture' as a word. Such misconceptions can and often lead some persons to have a
negative perception of 'culture' and all that it stands for. Such persons raise their eyebrows
and suddenly frown at the word 'culture' as they in their minds' eyes visualise masquerades,
idol worshipping, traditional jamborees and other activities they consider bizarre that go
with culture". This "misconception", we believe, does not appear to be widespread but the
posture may have arisen from a partial understanding of the meaning of culture because as
we shall see, culture generally, and African culture in particular, is like a two-sided coin. It
has soullifting, glamorous and positive dimensions even though it is not completely immune
from some negative outcomes. African culture, as Ezedike (2009: 455) writes:

...refers to the sum total of shared attitudinal inclinations and capabilities, art, beliefs, moral
codes and practices that characterize Africans. It can be conceived as a continuous,
cumulative reservoir containing both material and non-material elements that are socially
transmitted from one generation to another. African culture, therefore, refers to the whole
lot of African heritage.

We could see that African culture embraces the totality of the African way of life in all its
forms and ramifications.

THE PLACE OF VALUES IN AFRICAN CULTURE

The value of a thing, be it an object or a belief, is normally defined as its worth. Just as an
object is seen to be of a high value that is treasured, our beliefs about what is right or
wrong that are worth being held are equally treasured. A value can be seen as some point
of view or conviction which we can live with, live by and can even die for. This is why it
seems that values actually permeate every aspect of human life. For instance, we can
rightly speak of religious, political, social, aesthetic, moral, cultural and even personal
values. We have observed elsewhere that there are many types and classifications of
values. As people differ in their conception of reality, then the values of one individual may
be different from those of another. Life seems to force people to make choices, or to rate
things as better or worse as well as formulate some scale or standard of values. Depending
on the way we perceive things we can praise and blame, declare actions right or wrong or
even declare the scene or objects before us as either beautiful or ugly. Each person, as we
could see, has some sense of values and there is no society without some value system
(Idang 2007: 4).

Whether we are aware of it or not, the society we live in has ways of daily forcing its values
on us about what is good, right and acceptable. We go on in our daily lives trying to
conform to acceptable ways of behaviour and conduct. Persons who do not conform to their
immediate society's values are somehow called to order by the members of that society. If
a man, for instance, did not think it wise to make honesty a personal value, and it is widely
held by his immediate society that truth telling is a non-negotiable virtue, it would not be
long before such an individual gets into trouble with other members of his society. This
shows that values occupy a central place in a people's culture. It forms the major bulwark
that sustains a people's culture, making it more down-to-earth and real. Elsewhere, we
have seen African culture as "all the material and spiritual values of the African people in
the course of history and characterising the historical stage attained by Africa in her
developments" (Idang 2009: 142). This simply means that there is a peculiar way of life,
approach to issues, values and world views that are typically African.

Based on cultural considerations, some forms of behaviour, actions and conduct are
approved while others are widely disapproved of. To show the extent of disapproval that
followed the violation of values that should otherwise be held sacred, the penalty was
sometimes very shameful, sometimes extreme. African culture, with particular reference to
the Ibibio people in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, for instance, has zero tolerance for theft. The
thief once caught in the act or convicted, would be stripped naked, his or her body rubbed
with charcoal from head to toe and the object he or she stole would be given to him or her
to carry around the village in broad day light. The sense of personal shame and the disgrace
the thief has brought on himself or herself, family, relations and friends would be enough to
discourage even the most daring thief. Antia (2005: 17) writes that "what a people hold to
be true, right or proper with regard to those things explains much of the cultural traits by
which they become identified". What Antia calls "traits" here can as well be called values;
and Etuk (2002: 22) writes that "no group of people can survive without a set of values
which holds them together and guarantees their continued existence".

The concern with values, whether moral or aesthetic, occupies a very wide area in the
discipline of philosophy. To show the fundamental importance of values, it is regarded as a
core area in philosophy, together with knowledge and reality. When we are dealing with
actions that a people see as good or bad, right or wrong, praiseworthy or blame-worthy, we
are dealing with the aspect of value theory that rightly falls under ethics or moral
philosophy. But when we are dealing with an appraisal of beauty in the arts and crafts of a
people, we are dealing with the aspect of value theory called aesthetics. It does appear that
while material culture can be studied and evaluated under the aesthetic aspect of value
theory, non-material culture can equally be studied and evaluated under the ethical aspect
of value theory. Just as ethics and aesthetics are twin sisters that form or constitute value
theory, the non-material and material dimensions of a culture together constitute two
related aspects that give a people their unique identity, hence the relationship that exists
between ethics and aesthetics. Having seen the centrality of values to African culture and
any culture for that matter, it can be stated that the values of culture are what give it
uniqueness and identity. Let us now look at African culture and values.

AFRICAN CULTURE AND VALUES

Having looked at the concept and meaning of culture and having established the place of
values in a culture, we want to bring this down to the African context. A culture is an
embodiment of different values with all of them closely related to each other. That is why
one can meaningfully talk about social, moral, religious, political, aesthetic and even
economic values of a culture. Let us now look at these values piece-meal, as this would give
us an understanding how they manifest in an African culture and the importance being
attached to them.

SOCIAL VALUES

Social values can simply be seen as those beliefs and practices that are practised by any
particular society. The society has a way of dictating the beliefs and practices that are
performed either routinely by its members or performed whenever the occasion demands.
Hence, we have festivals, games, sports and dances that are peculiar to different societies.
These activities are carried out by the society because they are seen to be necessary. Some
social values, especially in African society, cannot exactly be separated from religious,
moral, political values and so on. This is why we can see that in a traditional African society
like in Ibibio land (Nigeria), festivals which were celebrated often had religious undertones -
they ended with sacrifices that were offered to certain deities on special days in order to
attract their goodwill on the members of the society. Social values are backed by customary
laws. They comprise of those traditional carnivals that a people see as necessary for their
meaningful survival. Let us illustrate with an example: the new yam festival as practised in
Ibibio land has a way of encouraging hard work and checking famine. It was a thing of
shame for any man to buy yams for his family within the first two to three weeks after the
festival. Doing so would expose a man as being too lazy. These festivals really discipline the
society because nobody is to do anything when it is not time. For instance, new yam could
not be eaten until the new yam festival has been celebrated.

MORAL VALUES

African culture is embedded in strong moral considerations. It has a system of various

beliefs and customs which every individual ought to keep in order to live long and to avoid
bringing curses on them and others. Adultery, stealing and other forms of immoral
behaviour are strongly discouraged and whenever a suspected offender denies a charge
brought against him, he would be taken to a soothsayer or made to take an oath for proof
of innocence. In Ibibio land for instance, ukang (ordeal) is very popular as a method of
crime detection. The soothsayer who specialises in it sets a pot of boiling oil, drops a stone
into it and asks the suspects to attempt to retrieve the stone. The guiltless can reach to the
bottom of the pot and retrieve the stone without the hair on his arms getting burnt. But
when the culprit approaches the pot, it rages and boils over in a manner that even the most
daring criminal would hesitate to make an attempt at retrieving the stone. The fear of being
made to go through such ordeal or to be stripped naked and taken round the community as
in the case of stealing, adequately checks crimes of some sort. African proverbs and wise
sayings have a rich repository of wisdom. The proverbs warn the African against evil
conduct and, according to Mbiti (1977: 8), are "therefore a major source of African wisdom
and a valuable part of African heritage". African culture has a moral code that forbids doing
harm to a relative, a kinsman, an in-law, a foreigner and a stranger, except when such a
person is involved in an immoral act; and if that is the case, it is advisable to stay away
from such an individual and even at death, their corpses would not be dignified with a noble
burial in a coffin and grave. Mothers of twins were not welcome and were regarded as the
harbinger of evil, hence unacceptable.

RELIGIOUS VALUES

Religion in African societies seems to be the fulcrum around which every activity revolves.
Hence religious values are not toyed with. African traditional religion, wherever it is
practised, has some defining characteristics. For instance, it possesses the concept of a
Supreme Being which is invisible and indigenous. It holds a belief in the existence of the
human soul and the soul does not die with the body. African traditional religion also has the
belief that good and bad spirits do exist and that these spirits are what make
communication with the Supreme Being possible. Above all, it holds a moral sense of justice
and truth and the knowledge of the existence of good and evil (Umoh 2005: 68). African
religious values seem to permeate every facet of the life of the African and the African
believes that anything can be imbued with spiritual significance. The worship of different
deities on different days goes on to show that the African people hold their religious values
in high esteem. Sorcerers and diviners are seen to be mediating between God and man and
interpreting God's wishes to the mortal. The diviners, sorcerers and soothsayers help to
streamline human behaviour in the society and people are afraid to commit offences
because of the fear of being exposed by the diviners and sorcerers.

POLITICAL VALUES

The African society definitely has political institutions with heads of such institutions as
respected individuals. The most significant thing about the traditional society is that the
political hierarchy begins with the family. Each family has a family head; each village has a
village head. From these, we have clan head and above the clan head, is the paramount
ruler. This kind of political arrangement is observable in the Southern part of Nigeria. Prior
to the coming of Western colonisation and its subsequent subversion of the African
traditional political arrangements, African societies had their council of chiefs, advisers, cult
groups, and so on. It was believed that disloyalty to a leader was disloyalty to God and the
position of leadership was either hereditary or by conquest. In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria,
for instance, even though the traditional political institution was overwhelmingly totalitarian,
there were still some checks and balances. Any ruler who attempted to usurp powers was
beheaded by the Ekpo cult. Antia (2005: 145) writes that "such checks and balances were
enforced by the existence of secret societies, cults, societal norms, traditional symbols and
objects, various classes of chiefs who performed different functions on the different aspects
of life". Hence, with respect to political values, we can see that it is inextricably linked with
religious, social, moral values and so on. It is the political value that a people hold which
makes them accord respect to their political institutions and leaders.

AESTHETIC VALUES

The African concept of aesthetics is predicated on the fundamental traditional belief system
which gave vent to the production of the art. Now art is usually seen as human enterprise
concerned with the production of aesthetic objects. Thus, when a people in their leisure time
try to produce or create objects that they consider admirable, their sense of aesthetic value
is brought to bear. If we see art as being concerned with the production of aesthetic
objects, then we can truly say of African aesthetic value that it is immensely rich. Let us
have an example: the sense of beauty of the Ibibio people is epitomised in their fattened
maidens whom they call mbopo. These fattened maidens are confined to a room where
they are fed with traditional cuisines. The idea behind it is to prepare the maiden and make
her look as good, healthy and beautiful as possible for her husband. This is usually done
before marriage and after child birth. The Western model of beauty is not like this. It is
often pictured as slim-looking young ladies who move in staggered steps. This shows that
the African aesthetic value and sense of what is beautiful is markedly different. Aesthetic
value is what informs a people's arts and crafts as it affects their sense of what is beautiful
as opposed to that which is ugly. The aesthetic value of a society influences the artist in his
endeavour to produce aesthetic objects that are acceptable to the society in which he lives.

ECONOMIC VALUES

Economic values of the traditional African society are marked by cooperation. The traditional
economy, which is mainly based on farming and fishing, was co-operative in nature. In
Ibibio land, for instance, friends and relatives would come and assist in doing farm work not
because they will be paid but so that if it happens that they need such assistance in the
near future, they will be sure to find it. Children were seen to provide the main labour force.
That is why a man took pride in having many of them, especially males. The synergetic
nature of the African society is what made two or more individuals to pool their resources
together and uplift each other economically through the system of contributions
called osusu. Apart from this, they even cooperated in the building of houses and doing
other things for their fellow members. When any of them was in difficulty, all members
rallied around and helped him or her. Hence, we can state without fear of contradiction that
the economic values of the traditional African society such as the Ibibio were founded on
hard work and cooperation.

Having looked at some of the values that characterise the African culture, it is important to
state here that these values are inextricably bound together and are to be comprehended in
their totality as African cultural values
CULTURAL CHANGE IN AFRICA AND THE PROBLEMS OF ADJUSTMENT

It is pertinent to examine some of the changes in culture and the problems of adjustment.
Within this context, "change" means a significant alteration or marked departure from that
which existed before. Invention, discovery and diffusion are some of the ways by which a
culture can change or grow. Invention, for instance, involves the recombination of existing
cultural elements to fashion new things. Ogbum (1922: 200), on this view, maintains that
"the rate of invention within a society is a function of the size of the existing culture base".
The culture base or the cultural elements, objects, traits and knowledge available in all
sections of the pre-1600 African society were limited in types and variation. Thus, few
inventions which could profoundly alter the culture could take place. Most appliances and
utensils used then were made of wood, as metal was not a commonly known cultural
element of the people. For example, a canoe was the only available means of transportation
then. It was wooden in all aspects until recently modified with motorised propeller and
tarpaulin.

Also, building materials were wooden frameworks, sand and leaves knitted into mats for
roofing. In spite of the introduction of new inventions from other cultures, most houses are
still built in the traditional methods using traditional materials, probably for economic
reasons and sheer conservatism. Again, the pre-European-contact African pattern of
exchange was mainly by barter. The need for currency did not arise and so none was
invented. Trade by barter, sale without standardised weights and measures and the general
non-contractual pattern of exchange, all went a long way to foster, enhance and sustain
social solidarity. The introduction of currency along with imported material artefacts
generated or at least accentuated acquisitive propensities and profit orientation among the
people, thereby gradually articulating social inequality based on purely economic criteria.
Inventions may be material or social in nature.

Apart from invention, culture can change and grow through discovery and diffusion.
Discovery, unlike invention, does not involve recombination of traits but the sharing of
knowledge of an existing but yet unknown thing. The importance of discovery in culture lies
in its use and or when it generates certain challenges to the people, which in turn
metamorphose into invention for the development and survival of the society. Another
process which can bring profound change in the culture of African people is the process of
cultural diffusion (the spread of culture traits from one society into another through cultural
contact). Diffusion entails intentional borrowing of cultural traits from other societies with
which the beneficiary society comes in contact, or an imposition of cultural traits on one
society by a stronger society intending to assimilate the weaker society.

The likelihood of reducing the period of culture lag is very much dependent on the
desirability of yielding to change in the non-marital culture, the compatibility of the
anticipated change with the existing culture or its flexibility, and the nature and magnitude
of force available to exact or induce compliance. However, the desirability of yielding to
change in the non-material culture depends on whether the people perceive the new mode
of conduct to be better than what they were used to.

In most instances the attractiveness of yielding to change is often mediated and conditioned
by the compatibility of the expected change with existing culture. A change which calls for
the replacement or total abandonment of pre-established and originally preferred modes of
behaviour is less likely to be accepted than one that is preservative- that is one which either
provides other alternatives and or extends the culture by merely adding new things to it.
Now, it should be known that force has its own limits in bringing about change as it is
impossible to spell out every bit of a people's ways of life and formulate legislations to cover
them. This is actually where the problem of adjustment to externally induced change has
arisen. Most contemporary Africans find it difficult to adjust between their primitive beliefs
in certain aspects of their culture and the supposedly modern mode of accepted behaviour.
For instance, how does the African explain disasters, deaths, accidents and other
misfortunes in the family? A new convert of the Christian church would run to the church for
explanation and comfort, but if the church's reaction is not immediate or prompt, the person
may turn, in secret, to the native medicine man for immediate remedies. If the relief comes,
he finds himself having to hold dual allegiance - one to his new found faith, and the other to
his primitive beliefs. This form of dichotomy goes beyond misfortunes and permeates most
aspects of the person's life.

EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION

Since values are an integral part of culture and culture is what defines a people's identity,
then the values that a people hold are what differentiate them from other people. It does
appear that cultures always try to maintain those values that are necessary for the survival
of their people. For the Africans, for instance, we see that close kinship relations are held at
a high premium. The synergetic nature of the society that allows people to build houses and
work on farms together is directly opposite to the Western individualistic model. In those
"good old days" as some would say it was usual to see a neighbour, friend or relative
correcting an erring child whose parents he knows. This was based on the true belief that
the churning out of a well-behaved child would be to the benefit of not only the immediate
parents, but also the society. In the same vein, it was believed that if the child turned out to
be a failure, it is not only the immediate family that would bear the brunt: neighbours,
friends and acquaintances could also fall victim of his nuisance. But today, we see people
adopting more and more nuclear family patterns and the individualistic life style of the
West. A friend or neighbour who tries to correct an erring child will in no time, to his
embarrassment, be confronted with the question: "What is your business?" Kinship ties and
love are what characterised the traditional African culture. It is only love that would make a
community, for instance, to tax themselves through the sale of the products of cash crops
like oil palm and use the proceeds to educationally support a child who is brilliant. In this
respect, the synergetic nature of African culture is what made the society very amiable.

It is part of the African world-view to treat the environment in which he finds himself with
respect: the African cooperates with nature and does not try to conquer it. There were
taboos against farming on certain days as a way of checking the activities of thieves who
may want to reap where they never sowed. It was against the custom to cultivate on certain
areas of the community or even fish on certain streams for some time. This system,
whether it was founded on myth or not, had a way of preserving and conserving nature.
Thus, whether consciously or unconsciously, the society was guaranteed an increase in
agricultural productivity, which was the mainstay of the traditional economy. Today, with
the violation of those customs and myths, we suffer low agricultural productivity and
denuded farmlands because the traditional values that safe-guarded the land, have been
watered-down and we do not have the technological know-how to replace these beliefs that
have been abandoned.

A look at the African reveals that marital rites and practices are usually carried out in line
with the custom of the society concerned. The polygamous marriage was more preferable;
not because the African is naturally polygamous as some would say, but because it was
associated with wealth, power, influence, social status and the strong African desire to be
surrounded by many children and relations.

Children were seen as social security and economic assets and parents took pride in having
many of them. A man who marries a woman, expects her to give him many children and if
the woman could not deliver on this duty, it was sufficient reason, not to divorce, but to
take a second or perhaps a third wife. As a man gets wealthier in farmland and herds of
cattle, his children would provide the workforce. So it was desirable for a woman to keep
bearing children as long as she was fruitful. From this, it is not hard to see why the first wife
would pressurise the husband into taking another wife in order to alleviate her of some
workloads and childbearing. Because of the demand for children, African women of old
would just keep bearing children until perhaps nature intervened to halt further
pregnancies. Apart from this, failure to pressurise the husband to take another wife would
be misinterpreted as selfishness - that she does not want anyone to share in her husband's
wealth. So she urges her husband to take another wife to avoid being called bad names.
Talbot (1969: 136) has observed that polygamy was considered right because of the civil
conditions concerning child bearing in the traditional society. He writes that "the custom by
which a woman is prevented from being 'spoilt' by a too early pregnancy or through
intercourse being tabooed until the child is being weaned by excessive child bearing is, as a
rule, strictly kept among most tribes". Childlessness was seen as a curse and the failure to
give birth to male children was blamed on the woman since it was believed that she
determines the sex of the child. Following this, Etuk (2002: 91) writes thus:

In my part of Africa, the woman bears the brunt of attack for childlessness in marriage. The
male except where he is clearly impotent, is hardly ever suspected as the cause of
infertility. So where there are no children, the husband will not go for investigation,
although medical experts say the male factor is a lot easier to establish or eliminate. For a
man to go for investigation, is already to point accusing fingers at his manhood and that is
something no proud African male wants to subject himself to.

Beside this, some societies are still practising the system that if a man dies leaving behind a
young wife and little children, the widow is required by custom to name someone in the
family of the deceased husband for whom she will stay on and fulfil the life-time obligation
that she owes her dead husband. Very rarely do they stop to wonder about the welfare of
the widow and that of the children left behind by their brother's demise. These instances
show that marriage practices and the cultural values that are held about them are due and
in urgent need for revision in some African societies. It does appear that while African
culture and values have positive, soul-lifting and humanistic-dimensions, it also has some
negative and dehumanising aspects. Prior to the arrival of Mary Mitchell Slessor (1848-
1905) in Africa, ignorance, superstition and negative values made multiple births to be seen
as a harbinger of evil. Explaining how twins were looked at in those dark days, Udoh (2007:
103) writes that "one of the twins was said to be genuine, the other, an impostor. By
sharing the same cradle bed together they were both infected and cursed; their parents
were equally guilty of defilement, particularly, the mother". The birth of twins was seen as a
very bad omen. In order to save the community from

the anger and wrath of the deities, the twins were killed together with their mothers. Since
this custom was stopped by Mary Slessor, multiple births are now seen as multiple
blessings. Members of the public freely make donations to aid their upkeep. We do not
experience any wrath of those deities that demanded the head of twins today. Twins have
grown up to become normal, healthy, respected and respectable members of our society
contributing economically, socially, morally, politically and intellectually to the development
of the African society.

The conclusion here is simply that those positive dimensions of our culture -our synergetic
society, our conservation of nature and even our native arts, dances and games that offer
us interesting sources of entertainment and happiness, should be encouraged given the fact
that culture ought to be knowledgeably innovative and instrumentally beneficial to people in
such a way that the society can move from one level of development to another.
Unfortunately, some traditional practices cannot be demonstrated empirically and such go
against the spirit of globalisation, science and technology. Therefore, negative and harmful
traditional practices that dehumanise people and portray them as unimproved and backward
people without future, should as a matter of urgency be discarded since culture is an
adaptive system together with values that play a central role in giving the society its
uniqueness.

Early encounters with Europeans were often recorded in African art. Look
closely at the top of the mask above (and the detail below). Do you see faces?
These represent Portuguese explorers with beards and hats (flanked by
mudfish) who visited the Benin Kingdom along the west coast of Africa in
the late 1400s. These explorers began to collect ivory which they referred to
as “white gold.”

Saltcellars like the one below, commissioned by Portuguese officers and

exquisitely produced by West African carvers, held precious table salt. They
would have been taken back to Portugal to be displayed in curiosity cabinets
(collections of rare or unusual objects compiled for study and/or
entertainment). Today their carvings serve as a record of the introduction of
guns, Christianity, and European commodities to West Africa.
 Detail, Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoba), 16th century, Edo peoples,
Court of Benin, Nigeria, ivory, iron, copper, 23.8 x 12.7 x 8.3 cm (The
Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Portuguese explorers with beards and hats flanked by mudfish (detail), Queen Mother Pendant Mask (Iyoba),
16th century, Edo peoples, Court of Benin, Nigeria, ivory, iron, copper, 23.8 x 12.7 x 8.3 cm (The
Metropolitan Museum of Art)

By the 1880s European powers were interested in Africa’s resources,

particularly mineral wealth and forests. Today, Africa is divided into 53
independent countries but may scholars argue that the boundaries that
separate these countries are really artificial. They were drawn by Europeans
at the Berlin Conference in 1884-85 without a single African present. They
did not divide the continent by cultural or tribal region, but instead created
borders based on their own interests. The problems this created—separating
families, language groups, trading partners, pastoralists from watering holes,
etc.—are still very much at issue today.
Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory,
29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Lidded Saltcellar, Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan
Museum of Art)

Movements in African History and Art

African cultures never existed in isolation—there was always movement,
trade, and the exchange of ideas. And logically African art is dynamic and
has changed in form, function, and meaning over time. Nevertheless, in the
Western art market and in academia, there exists the concept of “traditional”
African art. Usually this refers to “indigenous art traditions that were viable
and active prior to the colonization of Africa by European powers in the late
nineteenth century. Implicit in the use of the word traditional is the
assumption that the art which it describes is static and unchanging.”[1] Many
collectors and museum professionals place far greater value on African
objects created prior to colonization. For them, pre-colonial objects have an
aura of an untainted, timeless past when artists only made artworks for their
own communities unaffected by the outside world. These objects are too
often seen in opposition to work produced today using Western materials and
conventions by artists who are engaged in a global discourse and who make
works of art to be sold.
Lidded Saltcellar (detail), Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century,
ivory, 29.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Lidded Saltcellar (detail), Sierra Leone, Sapi-Portugese, 15th-16th century, ivory, 29.8 cm high (The
Metropolitan Museum of Art)

In reality, some African art has always functioned as a commodity and artists
have always drawn inspiration and materials from outside sources. While
many auction houses and art museums clearly differentiate between
“traditional” African art created prior to the colonial period and artwork
created during and after colonization, African art historians are beginning to
dispel this simplistic division and instead, ask their audiences to recognize
the continuity and dynamism of African art. Looking closer, scholars find
that specific historical moments had a profound affect on African
communities and their art. During the slave trade and colonization, for
example, some artists created work to come to terms with these horrific
events—experiences that often stripped people of their cultural, religious and
political identities.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

One of the most damaging experiences for many ethnic groups in Africa was
the transatlantic slave trade. While slavery had long existed in Africa, the
transatlantic slave trade constituted a mass movement of peoples over four
and a half centuries to colonies in North and South America. Ten million
people were taken to labor on cotton, rum, and sugar plantations in the new
world. Slavery coupled with the colonial experience had a profound effect on
Africa and still cause strife. For example, Ghana has over 80 ethnic groups
and during slave raids, different groups were pitted against one another—
those living near the coast were involved in slave raiding in the interior in
exchange for Portuguese and Dutch guns. Territorial disputes, poverty,
famine, corruption, and disease increased as a result of the brutality of the
slave trade and European colonization.
The Colonial Period
With the collapse of the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century, European
imperialism continued to focus on Africa as a source for raw materials and
markets for the goods produced by industrialized nations. Africa was
partitioned by the European powers during the Berlin Conference of 1884-85,
a meeting where not a single African was present. The result was a continent
defined by artificial borders with little concern for existing ethnic, linguistic,
or geographic realities.
 Colonial Africa in 1913
Colonial Africa in 1913

European nations claimed land in order to secure access to the natural

resources they needed to support rapidly growing industrial economies. Once
European nations secured African territories, they embarked on a system of
governance that enforced the provision of natural resources— with dire
consequences for people and the environment.
Resistance to colonial rule grew steadily and between 1950 and 1980, 47
nations achieved independence; but even with independence the problems
associated with the slave trade and colonialism remained. The introduction of
Christianity and the spread of Islam in the 19th and 20th century also
transformed many African societies and many traditional art practices
associated with indigenous religions declined. In addition, as imported
manufactured goods entered local economies, hand-made objects like
ceramic vessels and fiber baskets were replaced by factory-made containers.
Nevertheless, one way people made sense of these changes was through art
and performance. Art plays a central role, particularly in oral societies, as a
way to remember and heal. As African artists began catering to a new market
of middle-class urban Africans and foreigners, new art-making practices
developed. Self-taught and academically trained painters, for example, began
depicting their experiences with colonialism and independence; as fine
artists, their work is largely secular in content and meant to be displayed in
galleries or modern homes (for example, see the work of Cheri Samba, Jane
Alexander, and Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu).

Globalization Today
The diverse and complex systems now at play as a result of globalization are
having a profound impact on Africa. Some scholars argue that globalization
will have even greater consequences than the slave trade and colonization in
terms of population movement, environmental impact, and economic, social
and political changes. Whatever the result, these stresses will be chronicled
by the continent’s many brilliant artists.

[1] Judith Perani and Fred T. Smith, The Visual Arts of Africa: Gender,
Power, and Life Cycle Rituals (Prentice Hall, 1998) p. xvii.
4 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND
EUROPE
So, you finally booked your volunteer project and can’t wait to see what the other side of the world is
all about. Before you have a culture shock when you arrive here, you need to understand that South
Africa and Europe have quite a few cultural differences. The fact is, if you go unprepared, your first
few days might be a bit challenging.
To prepare you we have outlined some of the major difference below.

1.MAJORITY SOUTH AFRICANS ARE EXTROVERTED

South African people are much more open and talkative towards people they don’t know. European
people keep very much to themselves and expect people to respect their personal space, people in
South Africa are the complete opposite. You can call them more outgoing. It’s not a weird thing for
people to randomly approach you in the street or during your night out. And don’t worry if they start
asking you tons of questions, it’s just them being nice!

2.A RELAXED WAY OF LIVING

Life in South Africa is also way more relaxed. Most Europeans, especially those living in North and
West Europe are used to living their lives in a rush. We work, come home, cook, go to our hobbies
and usually do about a million things at the same time. ‘Time is money’, is what we learn at a young
age and we live for this. We never take time out for self-reflection. In South Africa, time is money as
well of course, but it’s not always as visible. Here people are more relaxed in the way they live their
lives. They work at the office, come home, go to the beach or have a drink, and basically, they forget
about their work. Of course, South Africans have their daily tasks like cooking and picking the kids
up from school as well, but they take their time for that and themselves. You don’t see them running
around all the time, doing a million things at the same time.
3.SOUTH AFRICAN TIME
Their relaxed lifestyle goes hand in hand with the punctuality here. Or it doesn’t, because let’s be
honest, South African people do things on their own time. Being late sometimes seems to be the
norm here, and because of that the volunteers often refer to the time as ‘European time’ and ‘South
African’ time. So, if someone’s coming in 20 minutes European time, they will be there in 20 minutes,
if it is 20 minutes South African time, you will most likely be waiting a little longer.

4.PUBLIC TRANSPORT
When first arriving in South Africa, you would think that there is no such thing as public transport, but
it does in fact exist. There are things like taxi busses, busses that connect the bigger cities, and even
trains. It’s just that these ways of transport are not used as often as they are in Europe, especially
not by foreigners. Volunteers usually use Ubers to go anywhere they want to go or rent their own
car. Contrary to Europe these options are not expensive at all and a safer way to travel.
4.SAFETY FIRST
The idea that it is very dangerous to travel in South Africa, is old and not true at all. Travelling in
South Africa is perfectly safe, but there a few things you need to consider, that you don’t think of
waking around a European country. Walking around with your phone in your hands or sticking out
your back pocket is a no go. Just leave your phone at home if you don’t need it. Furthermore, you
should not leave the house by yourself, especially at night time. Try to always go out in groups, just
for your own safety! But, if you take some precautions, you will be all fine!
Although these are obviously not the only differences, knowing these will prepare you for the biggest
cultural shocks. They will help you get ready for the experience of a lifetime!
See you in Africa!

In African culture, the “self” is not separate from the world, it is united and
intermingled with the natural and social environment.

It is through relations with one’s community and surroundings that an individual

becomes a person of volition, whose actions and decisions affect the entire group
rather than just oneself.

There is a Xhosa proverb that is common to all African cultures and languages,
“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” (“A person is a person through persons”).

The rich and diverse African culture varies not only from one country to another,
but within each country as well. The culture of each ethnic group centres on family
and can be found in each group’s art, music and oral literature.

Throughout Africa, the people speak a

variety of languages, practice numerous
religions and reside in various types of
dwellings.

The vast majority of people living in

Africa are indigenous; however, people
from all over the world have migrated to
Africa for hundreds of years. Arabs
began crossing into North Africa from the
Traditional African homestead (Ndebele village in Zimbabwe)
Middle East in the 7th century, A.D.,
bringing with them the religion of Islam.
Europeans began settling in the southern portion of the continent in the mid-17th
century, as did South Asians, who settled in the areas of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
and South Africa. Over the centuries, African culture has meshed with cultures from
around the world, although much of traditional African customs have remained
throughout.

Ethnic groups and African tribes have customs that are unique to their culture.
The customs and traditions of each group have been woven into a tapestry as
colourful and diverse as the people of Africa themselves.
African Art
African arts and craft include sculpture,
weaving, beading, painting, pottery,
jewellery, headgear and dress. Art from
particular regions have distinct
characteristics depending on beliefs,
values and customs, but common
themes found in art include women,
couples, children, animals, man with a
weapon, or a combination of these. Large woven Zulu basket

Masks are usually a representation of

religious and spiritual beliefs. They are used for traditional ceremonies to honour
deities or ancestors.
Clothing
The type of clothing worn across Africa varies from north to south, and by religious
beliefs and traditional customs. Some cultures wear colourful attire, while others
wear less colour but include shiny threads in their dressing with minimal jewellery.
African Food
The environment plays a huge part in
what kinds of foods are consumed in
different parts of the African continent.
Most cuisines include fruit, grain,
vegetables, milk and meat products.
Quite a number of cultural groups have
very similar foods in their cuisines. For
Sadza (pap) with nuckle bone stew
example, a very common maize/corn-
based dish is pap, also named ugali,
sadza, nsima, nchima, chima, poshto, tuozafi, ubgali, bugali, sokoro, sokora,
depending on which part of the continent you are eating it.
Music of Africa
African music is as diverse as the people, and has also been influenced by music
from the western world. Traditional music in southern Africa usually involves drums
and singing, and such instruments as the thumb piano accompanied by rattles
made from some dried fruit or vegetable with seeds inside.

Below are Zimbabwean musicians playing the mbira (left) and the hosho (right)

Some Interesting African Cultures

• Men from the Latuka tribe in Sudan still
practice the tradition of kidnapping a
woman that they want to marry. After a
Latuka man has taken his bride-to-be,
he goes back to the father of the woman
to ask for his blessing.

• To protect their skin from the sun, the

Himba people of northern Namibia cover
Himba girl
themselves with a mixture of red soil and
milk fat, and so they appear to have
reddish skin. The otjize mixture is considered to be a beauty cosmetic. They also
use wood ash for cleansing the hair because water is scarce.

• The Algerian men of the Ahaggaren Tuareg group wear a veil almost all the time,
occasionally taking them off when in a family group or while they travel.

17 African Cultural Values (To Know Before You Travel to Africa)

By Mark Wiens 117 Comments

AFRICAN CULTURAL VALUES – DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

In Africa, actions speak louder than words, especially if there is a barrier

between languages.

In an effort to contextualize and be mindful of a complex mindset and worldview,

here are a few African cultural values to be aware of when traveling in Africa!

1. Greeting – Hello and a Handshake

Greeting people in Africa is one of the most important things you can do. A quick
“hello,” paired with a handshake is a sufficient way to make a positive first
impression with anyone.

2. Show Respect to Elders

African cultural values are based on a foundation of the past and present, a leading
reason why elders are so well respected. Always acknowledge an elder, let them
ask questions, and during mealtime elders should be served first.

3. Pointing At Things

Pointing at something or someone with the index finger is usually considered rude or
just straight offensive – it’s not something you want to do. Different ethnic groups
have different ways of pointing, but the method I usually employ is poking my chin in
the right direction and widening my eyes.

4. Overhand Motion Calling

Avoid motioning to call a person with an upwards palm. The preferred method is to
call someone over with the palm faced down and pulling the fingers inwards.

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5. Sole of the Foot
Just like in many cultures around the world, the very bottom of your foot is the very
dirtiest part of your body. Try not to directly point your foot sole towards anyone.

6. Eat with the Right Hand

You might have heard this before, the right hand is for eating food and the left hand
is reserved for the unsanitary task of what happens afterward. Whatever you do,
don’t touch African food with your left hand!

7. Hissing and Kissing Sounds

To call the attention of someone is often performed with a hissing or loud smack of
the lips. If you are not expecting it, the sounds might come as a surprise, but it’s
totally acceptable and very common.

8. Silence is an African Value

Don’t be alarmed or nervous with spans of silence during African

conversation. When there’s something to be said, it will be said; when there’s
nothing to be said, silence is perfectly fine. There’s no need to feel uneasy during a
period of silence in Africa, take the time just to enjoy the presence of others.
9. Time – A Little Less Important

Despite the use of clocks to tell “what time it is,” African clocks work differently;
things fall into place as they unfold. An African worldview does not focus far into the
future, but dwells more on past events and whatever is happening currently. Future
scheduled times can’t be rushed and thinking so will only make one more and more
frustrated.

10. Use Flexibility

Africa will teach you to be flexible. Closely relating to how future-time is of less
importance, schedules aren’t always at the forefront of lifestyle. If a plan gets shut
down or changes drastically, there’s not always something you can do besides
accept it and continue with a positive attitude.

11. Do NOT Publicly Show Anger, Frustration, or Impatience

Though circumstances have potential to become frustrating, it’s highly important

to NOT publicly display any sort of negative feeling in public. Africans have
incredible self control, being careful not to offend or shame anyone in public.
12. Positive Communication

Positive communication is a key African cultural value. Along with not displaying
public negativity there are countless ways to express “good,” or “ok.” Don’t
immediately get into a discussion about a hardship or struggle, these topics can be
gradually be brought forth.

13. Relationships Matter

With future-time a little less important, current time is of extreme value. Meeting
people and spending time with others to develop lasting relationships is an aspect of
African culture that is truly cherished.

14. Don’t Talk Too Much During a Meal

Simple small talk is permissible, but don’t try to talk too much business or
seriousness during a meal. Serious issues are handled after the meal.

15. Receive a Gift With Both Hands

If someone graciously gives you a gift, a non-verbal way to show extreme

thankfulness is to accept it with both hands outstretched.

16. The Un-Stated – “Sorry We’re Out”

There will inevitably be a circumstance in Africa where you go to a restaurant, order

a dish, and a totally different dish is served to you – no questions asked. You will
naturally complain, saying “this is not the dish I ordered.” The waiter will shyly
back away and simply tell you that what you ordered was not available. It can be a
bit frustrating to say the least (remember #10, 11, and 12, and that African
flexibility!).

17. Personal Space

It might seem odd (or even drive you crazy) when you are the only person on an
empty bus and another person gets on and sits down right next to you. Imagine
growing up in a single room with 10 people living together, or living with a clan of
extended family; your idea of personal space might be a little different thinking
in African terms.

AFRICAN CULTURAL VALUES - RWANDA

In the end, remember that Africans are extremely gracious and caring people, ready
to go the extra mile to respect and service others. Hopefully if we can understand a
bit of African cultural values when we travel to Africa, we can make a positive
impression; showing respect that will leave lasting memories!