Andrea P.
Lopez
8- Pahiyas
Ms. Rivellas
About Asia
Culture, Value, Arts and Music
The Indian subcontinent forms an inverted triangle extending from
the snow-bound Himalayan ranges of Asia toward the equator.
Known also as South Asia, the area includes the countries of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan; artistically, the
Tibetan highlands also form part of the region. Stretching some
1,800 miles from north to south, and almost the same distance from
west to east, the area is home to an ancient and diverse group of
cultures.
India is the largest single nation of South Asia. Its currently twenty-
four states exhibit a cultural diversity comparable to that seen
among the nations of Europe. The Tamil region of South India has a
language, script,
musical tradition
, dance forms, and an artistic heritage that are quite distinct from
those found in, say, Punjab in the north. It is this diversity that
makes the artistic traditions of India so complex and rewarding to
follow.
During the third millennium B.C., spacious cities, displaying
advanced town planning, were built along the plains of the Indus
River. The settlers of these ancient communities traded with the
contemporary civilizations of Mesopotamia and used an elegant
form of pictorial writing that is yet to be deciphered. Steatite seals,
delicately carved with figures of animals and occasionally of humans,
testify to their creators’ artistic sensibilities. The great cities of the
Indus Valley flourished for more than a thousand years.
Between 1800 and 1200 B.C., a steady trickle of Indo-European
peoples who called themselves Aryans (Sanskrit arya means “noble”)
entered the Indian subcontinent. They brought with them a group of
sacred hymns known as the Vedas (“knowledge”), composed in the
ancient Sanskrit language. The Vedic hymns praise an entire group of
deities to whom the Aryans offered homage. Several are
personifications of the powerful forces of nature, such as Indra, the
god of thunder and rain and the patron deity of war; the solar deity
Surya; and Agni, the god of fire. The religion known today as
Hinduism
has its roots in these ancient texts. Hinduism is a religion without a
single founder, a single spokesman, or indeed a single set of fixed
tenets. It evolved and changed over the years as the once-nomadic
Aryans spread across the subcontinent, took to settled life, and as
they mingled with the local populations, adopted several of their
beliefs and customs.
In keeping with its Vedic origins, Hinduism remains a polytheistic
faith that admits the power of a number of deities. The three
most popular deities
of present-day Hinduism, which draws directly on later texts known
as the Puranas (composed early in the present era), are the god
Shiva, the god Vishnu, and the goddess Shakti (literally, “Power”).
Hindus generally address their worship to one or another of the
three and are accordingly known as Shaivas, Vaishnavas, or Shaktas.
Temples were built to enshrine the image of the chosen deity, and
the exterior walls of these temples were covered with numerous
sculpted images and masses of decorative carvings. Relief carvings
from the myths of the enshrined deity played an important role in
glorifying the god whose various manifestations found a place in the
niches on the temple walls. In addition, sculptors carved a variety of
auspicious motifs that included overflowing foliage, figures of
women, and images of embracing couples, all of which suggested
growth, abundance, and prosperity.
Side by side with the flowering of the plastic arts, philosophy and
literature, as well as music and dance, flourished in the Hindu
context. India’s best-known philosophical system, Vedanta,
associated with the philosopher Shankara, proposed a monistic
belief in the identity of the human soul with the divine principle. A
rich body of secular literature, including poems and dramas, fables
and epics, was written first in Sanskrit and later in a number of
regional languages, from southern Tamil to northern Kashmiri, from
western Gujarati to eastern Bengali. Music and dance played an
important part in the religious and secular life of the subcontinent.
Hindu religion, culture, and art spread overseas into several parts of
Southeast Asia, where the two great epics of India,
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, continue to play an important
theatrical role.
India is the birthplace of two other major religions that arose during
the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. One was
Buddhism
, a faith propounded by Prince Siddhartha, who achieved
enlightenment and became known as the
Buddha
(literally, “Enlightened One”). The Buddha’s path to nirvana
(Buddhist salvation) was a path of moderation that was open to all.
It denied the caste system of the Hindus and emphasized an upright,
moral life. Buddhism gained rapid popularity within India and, at an
early date, spread along the Silk Road into China, Korea, and Japan,
where it became a major force. The countries of Southeast Asia, too,
imbibed the Buddha’s teachings. Buddhists especially revere the
founder of their faith, who was deified and adored as a god. In early
times, his mortal remains (in the form of ashes following cremation)
were interred within relic mounds known as stupas. Relief sculptures
narrating the life of the Buddha were used to decorate such stupa
mounds. The range of auspicious motifs used in a Hindu context—
foliage, women, couples—also formed part of the decorative
scheme of the stupa. Buddhas later built richly decorated temples to
enshrine an image of the Buddha.
The other major religion that arose in the sixth century B.C. is
traditionally accepted as having been founded by Mahavira, an elder
contemporary of the Buddha. Once he had attained enlightenment,
he was known as Jina, or “Victor,” and the path he propounded is
known as
Jainism
. Although similar in many ways to the path of the Buddha, Jainism
places greater emphasis on austerity and asceticism, which are
upheld as ideals. The faith did not spread beyond India, but it holds
an important place within the subcontinent. Jain temples, which
enshrine an image of one of the twenty-four jinas, are similar in
many ways to those built to honor Hindu gods; only the narrative
themes and the identity of the sacred images are different.
India is home to other religions as well, including
Islam
, a monotheistic faith. Northwestern India was first penetrated by
Muslim armies in the early eighth century A.D., although Islam did
not establish a firm foothold there until the eleventh century. The
last of the world religions to arise in the subcontinent is Sikhism,
which, in certain respects, attempted to bridge the gulf between
Hinduism and Islam.
The greater proportion of the art in stone that has survived was used
to decorate sacred structures. Secular monuments certainly existed,
and monarchs and nobles built themselves imposing palaces and
Andrea P. Lopez
8- Pahiyas
Ms. Rivellas
mansions. It would appear, however, that such structures were
made in the perishable medium of brick and wood and decorated
with terracotta and wood sculptures. In the hot and humid climate
of much of India, these ancient secular monuments have perished. It
is only after Islam came to India that secular monuments began to
be constructed of stone. Thus it is that the majority of the works of
art seen in the South Asian galleries of the Metropolitan Museum,
most of them of stone, come from a religious context. The artistic
remains, consisting of sacred images as well as sensuous, often
flamboyant figures of women, emphasize the intermingling of the
sacred and the secular in the art of India.
Asian Holidays
• Chinese New Year
• Despite the name, Chinese New Year is actually celebrated
in a lot of countries. The 2019 Chinese New Year is
the Year of the Pig and is celebrated on February 5th. It
celebrates the first day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar and
is the most important yearly festival for the Chinese. Each
year is named after one of the 12 animals of the Chinese
Zodiac.
• Ching Ming Festival
• This Chinese holiday, celebrated on April 5th, is the Ching
Ming Festival (aka Qingming Festival.) Ching, in Chinese,
means pure or clean and Ming means brightness. Most
people call this holiday grave-sweeping day because
people head to the cemetery to clean graves.
• Ching Ming is a festival to remember those who have left
us
• Holi
• Holi is a spring festival that is celebrated throughout India.
For two days, people party it by dropping powdered
colors from the rooftops, drench each other with balloons
filled with colored water and have huge feasts. This festival
is held to celebrate the defeat of the mythical
creature, Holika. Holi starts off with a big bonfire to help
clear the leavesand twigs of the autumn that has just past.
• Holi the Festival of Colors
• Asian Traditions and Culture
• Buddhism: While there are as as many religions in Asia as
there are anywhere else, Buddhism is one of the
predominant ones. Buddhism was established in
northern Indiaabout 2500 years ago in response to the life
and teachings of Gautama Siddhartha who was given the
title "Buddha" or "awakened-one."
• Dim Sum: A traditional Chinese meal that consists of lots of
small dishes of a bunch of different kinds of foods,
including steamed or fried dumplings.
• Tea: Tea plays a major role in Asian culture - whether it's in
China, India or Malaysia - tea ceremonies, in
their various forms, are a major part of most Asian
cultures.
• Origami: Origami is the art of folding paper. While it is
quite popular in Japan, it is believed to have originated in
China in the first century AD. One of the most popular
origami shapes is the crane. The crane is thought to be
a sacred animal in Japan and legend has it that if you
fold 1,000 paper cranes, your wish will come true.
Asian Music
East Asia can be viewed as one of the big four among the generally
urban, literate cultural areas of the world. The other three are South
Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Around each of these major
regional cultures one can find many satellite musical systems known
as national forms. In most cases, the fundamental musical concepts
of such national forms reflect the basic ideals of the cultural core.
For example, the musics of Iran and Egypt are of one family, as are
those of France and Sweden or of China and Japan. A possible fifth
addition to the “big four” concept is the Southeast
Asian musical culturecharacterized by the use of knobbed gongs. Its
documents on music theory from the 18th to the 20th century
combine South and East Asian concepts with indigenous insights. Its
most distinctive aspects are its instrument types and resulting
ensembles and forms.
Using instrument type alone as a measure, it is sometimes possible
to note cultural influences and mixtures of the major traditions in
smaller units. For example, the physical structure and playing
positions of various bowed instruments in mainland Southeast
Asiacan often mark clearly Chinese influence, as in Vietnam, or
Muslim and Chinese forms in confluence, as in the various bowed
lutes of courtly ensembles in Cambodia and Thailand. By the same
token, the appearance of flat gongs in mainland Southeast Asia
shows Chinese connections, while the knobbed gongs clearly stem
from Southeast Asian culture proper.
Concepts of music
If one turns to distinctions in musical style, one of the first questions
to arise is “What is music?” Two basic definitions will suffice for the
present discussion. The first definition is cultural: a sonic event can
be called music if the people who use it call it music, regardless of
one’s own reaction to it. Similarly, certain events that sound musical
to foreign ears are not music culturally if they are not accepted as
such by native culture carriers. A good example of such a situation is
found in the Middle East, where singing is never allowed in the
mosque, though one may hear performances and even buy records
of “readings” from the Qurʾān. Such cultural and functional
problems of definition seldom arise in East Asian music, and a more
neutral definition is appropriate. A sound event may be considered
and studied as music if it combines the elements of pitch, rhythm,
and loudness in such a way that they communicate emotionally,
aesthetically, or functionally on the levels that either transcend or
are unrelated to speech communication. Those who have been
moved by a love song or a lament can well appreciate some of
the implications of such a view of music. When listening to “exotic”
music—i.e., that of a tradition outside one’s own background—it is
important to remember that such transcendental values are at work
for the alien listener as well as for listeners familiar with the
particular musical language in use.
There are many kinds of music in the world, the three most common
terms being folk, popular, and art music. Folk and popular musichave
their special indigenous and mixed forms in Asia (as in all the world
today), but it is in the literate art traditions of Asia that historical and
musical distinctions can be made most clearly. In the context of this
discussion, art music is defined as a tradition having, to some
degree, a conscious theoretical basis and a sense of repertoire that
is played against the highest standards held by informed native
listeners. The performer is often a professional, and there may be a
known historical depth to the traditions. Thus, there may be art
music in many nonliterate cultures such as that of the Australian
Aboriginesand that of the tribal courts of Africa. Here, however, the
major concern is with one of the large urban, literate cultures and its
Andrea P. Lopez
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Ms. Rivellas
three national variants. Before looking at these musical systems in
detail, it is useful to compare the entire culture with those of the
other major “big” three, South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Theoretical systems
All four major literate cultures, in their ancient forms, laid a strong
emphasis on the extramusical qualities of music. For example, the
study of such concepts as the power of vibrations (in ancient Indian
music theory) and the relationships between music and other
elements in the universe (in Assyrian records as well as in the
writings of medieval European scholars) can be matched in East Asia
by the joint efforts of Chinese musicologists and astrologers to bring
the music of the empire in tune with the universe.
In addition, all four cultures developed mathematically and
acoustically based music theories. The pitches produced by dividing
the length of a string were the basis of the three non-East Asian
music theories. String acoustics were known in China as well, but
East Asian writings use the overtones of end-blown bamboo tubes to
illustrate their systems. It is fascinating that, whatever their origin,
the Middle Eastern and South Asian theories produced highly
variable tone systems while the two ends of the old continent (i.e.,
the West and China) generated 12 tones based on a cycle of pitches
5 tones apart (such as C to G to D in the West). This cycle
of fifths produced 12 pitches that were mathematically correct, but
the 13th pitch did not match the 1st pitch. In the West this so-called
“Pythagorean comma” became bothersome as Western
music oriented toward vertical sounds called harmony in which the
distance between pitches in chords needed to be the same in every
key. In the 17th century Western acousticians developed a formula
that allowed them to bypass the “natural” tone system by making all
pitches equidistant. The same formula was discovered by a Chinese
mathematician and musicologist, Zhu Zaiyu, in the late 16th century;
but such “well-tempered” tuning was not accepted in Chinese music
practice until very recently, when Western music styles combined
with indigenous traditions. This is one reason why Asian music
sometimes sounds “out of tune” to Western ears.
The scientific base of music is reshaped by each culture into a
system that meets its needs and tastes. There are differences in the
sound, the instrumentation, and the forms of Western and Eastern
music. However, if the wonder of such variants is to be fully
appreciated, it must be understood that music is not in fact an
international language. It consists of a whole series of equally logical
but sometimes very different closed systems. The word closed is
used to mean that the musical facets mesh perfectly within a given
system, but they often may prove difficult or impossible to transfer
to another system. In this light, a given passage of Chinese music
when analyzed or judged with the logic of Beethoven is chaos, but
Beethoven seems equally illogical when viewed in the context of
Chinese, or for that matter Indian, music theory. Such intercultural
clashes can be constructed between almost any of the larger
systems. In this context, one can see that Chinese music is tonally
more foreign to Middle Eastern or Indian music than to Western,
though historically it had closer relations with the other two. There
are, of course, many other musical concepts and styles that traveled
over the Silk Roadbetween China and other parts of Asia, which are
treated in the article Chinese music.
Musical traits common to East Asian cultures
In these primary considerations a view of some
general aesthetictraditions common to much of East Asian music is
also requisite. The tonal vocabulary of 12 tones generated in a cycle
of fifths is the first common factor. From this tonal vocabulary
various scales of five to seven notes are chosen. As in the West, the
total number of notes in an East Asian scale is often seven, but each
scale tends to have what could be called a five-tone (pentatonic)
core. The one scale in which no half steps appear (the so-called
anhemitonic pentatonic) is common all over the world, although
casual listeners often mistake it as being characteristically
“Oriental.” A few moments spent listening to authentic East Asian
recordings will reveal clearly that the five black notes on the piano
do not represent all the sonic resources of Asian music. Indeed,
there are a great variety of East Asian musics. Some are historically
related and others are indigenous. Their three most common
characteristics are linearity, transparency, and word orientation.
Linearity means an emphasis on melodic tension and release
supported by or held in further tension by rhythmic devices. This
line-and-rhythm orientation and lack of interest in Western-style
harmony are, in fact, major distinctions between most of the world’s
music and that of the West. In traditional East Asian music, as well as
in most other non-Western traditions, all melodic instruments play
the same basic melody. No one fills in the texture with chords. If
harmonic texture is used, its function is to provide colour rather
than to generate tension or release by chord progression.
Heterophony (more than one version of the melody being heard at
the same time) may occur to enrich the line. The sense of moving
through a time continuum toward an ending, however, is basically
developed through the tension produced during the wait for a pitch
to resolve to a pitch of rest just one tone above or below. In
Western single line (monophonic) music one feels this melodic
tension when, for example, in the key of C major the note B or D
resolves to C. A Westerner may feel an additional sense of harmonic
accompaniment in such an example. While such harmonic
orientation is not part of traditional East Asian listening and
although the scales and pitches may be different in East and West,
this basic principle of melodic tension is the same.
Transparency refers to the preference in East Asian music for
chamber-music sound ideals; no matter how large an ensemble may
be, the individual instruments are meant to be heard. This differs
from the orchestral sound ideal, popular in 19th-century Western
music, in which the intention is to merge the sounds of the
individual instruments into one musical colour. A transparent
texture is a logical choice for a tradition that wishes to emphasize
lines; orchestral colour helps to merge various lines into single
vertical sonic events called harmony.
Word orientation refers to the fact that until the 20th century there
was little abstract instrumental music, such as a sonata or
a concerto, in East Asia. A piece had either a text or a title that
evoked an image, such as Moon Over the River or Spring Sea.
Perhaps this relates to a general sensitivity to nature in East
Asian culture as a whole. Whatever its source, it has produced many
sonorous and pleasing results.
Asia Facts
Our Asia Facts for Kids shall provide lots of interesting and fun facts
on the Asian continent.
Asia is the largest continent of our planet, both in size and also when
we consider the population. The Asian continent includes 48
countries, that are members of the United Nations. The continent is
located mainly in the eastern hemisphere and in the northern
hemisphere
1. There are 48 countries in Asia (see list on the right of the 10
biggest countries) that are recognised by the United Nations
Andrea P. Lopez
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(Palestine, however, has 'only' observer status as it does not control
the majority of the claimed land). Two of the Asian countries also
share part of their territory on the European continent;
these countries are Russia and Turkey.
2. More than 4.4 billion people live on the continent. Asia is thus
the most populous continent.
3. Largest Country: Russia by landmass, even though roughly 40% of
the country belongs to the European continent. China is the largest
country by population. Did you know that in China as many people
live as in Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America and
Western Europe combined?
Shanghai in China is the world's most populous city!
4. Asia Facts - Largest City: Shanghai in China. With more than 24
million inhabitants Shanghai is also the largest city in the world by
population. Tokyo has the largest metropolitan area and has more
inhabitants than the whole of Canada!
5. Asia Facts - Smallest Country: Maldives. The Indian ocean country
is one of the smallest countries in the world and Asia's smallest
country. It consists of 26 coral atolls which in total consist of more
than 1190 islands.
Orang Utan in Borneo
6. Biggest Island: Borneo in South-East Asia is also the third largest
island in the world and the largest in Asia. The island belongs to
three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north while Indonesia
claims the southern part of the island. Borneo is home to vast
rainforests and many animals only live on this island such as the
Bornean Orang-Utan.
7. Longest River: Yangtze River is the longest on the Asian continent.
It is in China. (6,300metres/3,915miles). The Yangtze is the third
longest river in the world after the Amazon and the Nile.
Yangtze River
8. Highest Mountains: Mount Everest. The mountain
(8,849metres/29,035ft) is located in the Himalayan mountain range.
The Himalayas between Nepal and China are the world's highest
mountains.
Mount Everest in the Himalaya mountains
9. Asia Facts - Biggest Lake: Caspian Sea. The coastline is shared by
five countries: Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and
Iran. The lake is also among the deepest lakes in the world with a
maximum depth of more than 1,000m/3,300ft! Baku, the capital of
Azerbaijan, is located at the Caspian Sea.
Baku at the Caspian Sea
10. Driest Place: The Gobi desert is the largest desert in Asia and the
fifth largest desert in the world. This is a cold desert where the
temperatures can be very low and sometimes even snow can occur.
Yurt in the Gobi Desert
A yurt is a typical round tent covered with mats or fabric and is built
by the nomads living in and travelling through the Gobi desert.
11. Asia Facts: There are 12 landlocked countries in Asia: The largest
landlocked country in the world is Kazakhstan in Asia. Kazakhstan is
the 9th biggest country in the world! Among the landlocked
countries in Asia are also Bhutan, Laos, Nepal and Mongolia that are
located in the interior of the continent and do not have access to
any ocean.
12. Clima: The Asian continent has a very diverse climate ranging
from arctic climate in Siberia (Russia) to tropical climates in South-
East Asia. Siberia is also on of the coldest places on earth. In the
tropical regions of South-East Asia, also the most tropical storms
occur. Cyclones occur mainly in the Philippines and south of Japan.
Some countries in Asia are at high risk for negative impacts of
climate change. In 2004, a tsunami hit the coast in India, Thailand,
Indonesia and other countries and killed more than 250,000 people
in more than 14 countries.
Street in Vietnam
13. People of Asia: There are many ethnic groups in Asia. This is a
huge continent, where vastly different cultures are practiced. In
India and China, the most populous countries in Asia, there are many
different ethnic groups all with their own distinct language and
culture. Imagine that in India more than 850 different native
languages are spoken and used in daily conversations! India is not
only the second most populous country in Asia, it has also the
largest number of poor people and child labourers. One in four
Indians cannot read or write. Then there are the Arabs, the Russians,
Koreans, Japanese, Indians, Indonesians and so many more different
cultural groups. There are also vast differences in living standards
and poverty. In South-East Asia, most people live in rural areas
outside the big cities which are underdeveloped. In fact, four out of
ten poor people who live with only $1.9 per day, live in Asia!
However, there is also the tiny country of Singapore which is one of
the richest, most modern and influential cities in the world.
Singapore is a leading country in modern technology and innovation
and a major financial centre.
zǎo ān
14. Languages in Asia: In Asia more than 2,300 languages are
recognised. The most spoken languages are Chinese (all dialects) has
more than 1.39 billion speakers while Hindi-Urdu languages (used in
India and Pakistan) are spoken by more than 588 million people and
there are many different languages in the Hindi-Urdu language
group, more than 1,600 languages exist alone in India. In Indonesia,
600 languages are spoken and in the Philippines over 100 languages.
15. Asia Facts: Religion: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and
Confucianism are the main religions in Asia. Many religions originate
in Asia, such as the Islam which is also the most widely followed
religion in Asia. Judaism and Christian faith is practised by smaller
population groups in the region.
16. Tourist attractions in Asia: The most popular attractions are:
Great Wall in China
Grand Palace in Thailand
Grand Palace in Bangkok/Thailand
Kyoto and the cherry bloom in Japan
St Basil's Cathedral and Kremlin in Russia
Hagia Sophia in Turkey
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore
Taj Mahal in India
Petra in Jordan
Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia
Bali island in Indonesia
17. Main natural resources in Asia are minerals such as aluminium,
tin, coal, gold and iron ore. Arab countries also are rich in fossil fuels
as they have the world's largest deposits of natural gas and oil. Saudi
Arabia is the world's largest oil producer. Interesting fact: The
country of Bhutan in the Himalayas produces most of the renewable
energy through hydropower!
18. Seven of the Asian countries belong to the Commonwealth
States. Queen Elizabeth II of England is the head of the
Commonwealth. The Asian nations belonging to the Commonwealth
are: Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri
Lanka.
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Africa
Culture, Value, Arts and Music
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 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. 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 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
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 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.
Oral Tradition- Oral tradition is very important in African culture, as
it insures the passage of cultural practices from one generation to
another.
Listening is an equally important skill, which has been perfected by
the traditional oral practices. Numerous songs and dances have
been transmitted by word of mouth.
Music and Poetry in African Traditions
Naturally, singing is very important to the African society because
the melody and rhythm follow the intonation of the song text. The
songs are often sung in call-and-response form.
In West Africa, a griot is a praise singer or poet who possesses a
repository of oral tradition passed down from generation to
generation. They must know the traditional songs and must also be
able to improvise songs about current events and chance incidents.
Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in
African society. Songs accompany marriage, birth, rites of passage,
hunting and even political activities. Music is often used in different
African cultures to ward off evil spirits and to pay respects to good
spirits, the dead and ancestors.
Andrea P. Lopez
8- Pahiyas
Ms. Rivellas

Although the musical styles and instruments vary from region to
region, there are some common forms of musical expression. The
most significant instrument in African music is the African drum. It
expresses the mood of the people and evokes emotion. The beat of
the African drum is the “heartbeat of the community” and its
rhythm is what holds the dancers together.
Dance is an integral part of the African culture, and it utilizes
symbolic gestures, masks, costumes, body painting and props to
communicate. The dance movements can be simple or complex with
intricate actions including fast rotation, ripples of the body and
contraction and release. Dance is used to express emotion, whether
joyful or sorrowful and it is not limited to just the dancers. Often
spectators will be encouraged to join in.
Traditional African Masks -The African masks that are used in
dances have religious, ceremonial and functional origins. The artist
who carves the mask will ceremonially purify himself and offer
prayers to his ancestors for guidance before he begins the actual
carving of the mask.
The African mask represents a spirit and it is believed that the spirit
possesses the dancer as they wear the mask. The chosen dancer
goes into a trance-like state in order to receive guidance and
wisdom from the ancestors. The dancer will utter and moan the
messages received and a wise man, who accompanies the dancer
will translate the message.
Art -Although music and dance are extremely important African
traditions and are very common forms of communication, many
African people express themselves in other art forms as well.
The Zulu people are well known for their intricatebeadwork. The
colour of each bead carries a specific meaning. The beads have been
used to carry messages known as “ucu,” a Zulu term loosely
translated as “love letters”.
The wedding is held at night when the moon is full.....The wedding is
held at night when the moon is full. It is considered bad luck if the
wedding takes place when the moon is not bright. The wedding
celebrations can last several days but the bride’s parents do not
attend because it is too sad for them and the event is intended to be
a joyous one. A man can have as many wives as he can afford and
the wives share the responsibilities of the daily chores, such as
babysitting, pounding corn, preparing meals and washing clothes.
The practice of polygamy brings more families together and deepens
the interest of the welfare in others. The protection of the family is
the core value in most African tribes. Members in the tribe care for
one another, share wealth and food and assure that no child is
abandoned.In African culture, a child learns at an early age how to
become a good member of his tribe. Each member of the tribe
belongs to an age group that has special services within the tribe.
Each person is expected to contribute to the tribe by doing his share
of the work and obeying its customs.
The rite of passage.....The rite of passage is a controversial African
custom that varies from tribe to tribe. Circumcision, which is usually
performed on males is, in some cultures, performed on females as
well. The ritual is usually spread over a period of several months and
the one being circumcised is forbidden from screaming or crying
because doing so is considered cowardly behaviour.
Circumcision....The African customs of tribal circumcision has often
caused mutilation and even death. The victim seldom seeks medical
care from a hospital because they are often abandoned by their
family and their tribe for doing so. It is believed that complications
arising from circumcision are the fault of the victim because they are
either being punished for having done something wrong or they are
too weak to be qualified as men.

It is an African tradition for young girls to send a boy a

beaded bracelet of different colours. The boy will court her for a
while and at the appropriate time, he will ask her the meaning of the
beads.

Art and sculpture are prevalent in African culture, and the most
common themes depict a couple, a woman and child, a male with a
weapon or animal, or a “stranger.”Couples are usually freestanding
figures of the same size, representing the importance of “two as
one.” A male and female couple in African art usually depicts
strength and honour rather than love and intimacy, as it is
uncommon for African men and women to publicly display their
affection. A mother and child couple can represent “mother earth”
and her people or the strong bond between mother and child. The
male figure with a weapon or animal, represent honour to departed
ancestors. African men are often honoured in warfare and there is a
great emphasis on weaponry in African art, as it depicts survival and
power.

When the stranger is represented in African art, it usually depicts

someone from a foreign country or tribe that is not welcomed.