The culture(s) of Africa encompasses and includes all cultures within the continent of .

There is a political or racial split between , and , which is in turn divided into a great number of ethnic cultures. African cultures are diverse and varied and not static, and like most of the world have been impacted upon by both internal and external forces.

 Our culture provides us with an ethos we must honor in both thought and practice. By ethos, we mean a people's self-understanding as well as its self-presentation in the world through its thought and practice in the other six areas of culture. It is above all a cultural challenge. For culture is here defined as the totality of thought and practice by which a people creates itself, celebrates, sustains and develops itself and introduces itself to history and humanity

 Africa is umerable , and , some representing very large populations consisting of millions of people, others are smaller groups of a few thousand. Some countries have over 20 different ethnic groups, and also are greatly diverse in beliefs.

 African culture has always placed emphasis on personal appearance and has remained an important personal . Many pieces of such jewellry are made of shells and similar materials. Similarly, are made with elaborate designs and are important part of African culture. Masks are used in various ceremonies depicting ancestors and spirits, mythological

 In most of traditional art and craft of Africa, certain themes significant to African culture recur, including a couple, a woman with a child, a male with a weapon or animal, and an outsider or a stranger. Couples may represent ancestors, community founder, married couple or twins. The couple theme rarely exhibit intimacy of men and women. The mother with the child or children reveals intense desire of the African women to have children. The theme is also representative of mother mars and the people as her children. The man with the weapon or animal theme symbolizes honor and power. A stranger may be from some other tribe or someone from a different country, and more distorted portrayal of the stranger indicates proportionately greater gap from the stranger.

 Like all human cultures, African folklore and religion represents a variety of social facets of African culture. Like almost all civilizations and cultures, flood myths have been circulating in different parts of Africa. Culture and religion share space and are deeply intertwined in African cultures. In Ethiopia Christianity and Islam form the core aspects of Ethiopian culture and inform dietary customs as well as rituals and rites. According to a myth, Chameleon hearing a strange noise in a tree cut open its trunk and water came out in a great flood that spread all over the land.

 Women's traditional clothes in are made from called and used to make : it is basically cotton cloth, about 90 cm wide, woven in long strips which are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into the for an elegant effect.
Men wear pants and a knee-length shirt with a white , and perhaps a sweater. Men often wear knee-high socks, while women might not wear socks at all. Men as well as women wear shawls, the . In West Africa much of the local dress is influenced by Islamic traditions. Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally celebratory occasions, and modern westernized clothing for everyday use.

Traditional male clothing is usually light, consisting of a twopart apron (similar to a loincloth) used to cover the genitals and buttocks. The front piece is called the (pronounced and is usually made of or other animal hide twisted into different bands which cover the genitals. The rear piece, called the [ibeu], is made of a single piece of springbok or hide, and its length is usually used as an indicator of age and social position; longer (plural of ibheshu) are worn by older men. Married men will usually also wear a headband, called the umqhele [umle], which is usually also made of springbok hide, or hide by men of higher social status, such as chiefs. Zulu men will also wear cow tails as bracelets and anklets called [imioozi] during ceremonies and rituals, such as weddings or dances.

 African literature refers to of and from . As George Joseph notes on the first page of his chapter on African literature in Understanding Contemporary Africa, while the European perception of literature generally refers to written letters, the African concept includes
.

 The African works best known in the West from the period of colonization and the slave trade are primarily slave narratives, such as

During this period, African

began to emerge. in wrote the ,a between

of published the first English-language African play, In first East African drama, cautionary tale about African tribes). of
(

POST-COLONIAL AFRICAN LITERATURE

 Setting: Jungle

Characters: - he is the husband of Luetsi - Kis wife; the bravest among the three characters - Kis brother
Conflict:

David Diop

 Africa, my Africa Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs Africa of whom my grandmother sings On the banks of the distant river I have never known you But your blood flows in my veins Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work The work of your slavery Africa, tell me Africa Is this you, this back that is bent This back that breaks Under the weight of humiliation

scars And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answers me Impetuous child that tree, young and strong That tree over there Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers That is your Africa springing up anew Springing up patiently, obstinately Whose fruit bit by bit acquires The bitter taste of liberty.

YESTERDAY Land of sacrifices and slavery Land of humble helpers and innocent people

TODAY

TOMORROW

Land of the hopeless and dependent blacks

Breeds the Achievement of liberty realization for the need of freedom Felt the hope of Free from slavery and independence discrimination among countries which holds them as slaves Development of Land of the brave and the unity and patriotic fighters of freedom and oneness among equal rights its people

by

Lyric poem that tries to comfort the homeland Content of the Poem

Africans

In their body social, the heart has always been strong; it is sustained by devotion and service and it is the upholder of almost all things (George Kimbel)

AFRO-ASIAN CHARACTER

Orientals

They have the same feelings, dreams, hope, and love with the west

has the overpowering force of the heart which awakens them to aspire for the grander, freer and brighter tomorrow

prioritize more on what they feel which shows their being sincere and honest character

Asians

They believe that whatever happens, nature takes its course

 Endowed Depart Epitomize

Presented by: