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