Although Yoruba people live on the west coast of Africa, they can also be found in the eastern Republic of Benin and Togo. Because the majority of the slaves brought to the Americas were from West Africa, some descendants can also be found in Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean, and the US. In addition, there are many Yoruba’s who are living in Europe, particularly Britain; since Nigeria was once a British colony. The Yoruba are one of the largest cultural groups in Africa. They have created a strong economy through farming, trading, and art production.
Music, dance and story telling are among the forms of art that have been kept century after century in Africa. Everyday life activities in traditional Africa included music and many other cultural experiences. Music and dance were traditions that characterized an African musical expression and played an important role in the lives of the people.The traditional music of Africa possessed a distinguishing feature of rhythmic complexity like no other continent. Music was highly functional in ethnic life, accompanying birth, marriage, hunting and even political activities.Before the 20th century, music was very different when compared to the 21st century music. Special occasions owned a distinctive type of African music.
As well as many other religions/likewise, traditional religions belong to those, whom practicing and celebrating life-cycle rituals play an essential role throughout the one’s life. In Africa; for example, the most popular yet well-known rituals such as, birth, coming of age, marriage, and death in general concepts are reasonably extensive between each other. First, the native African civilizations and their pattern of performing life-cycle practices are frequently initiated as some type of contributions to the familial/ancestral spirits. These offered gifts are a combination of food such as pumpkins, honey, and yams, with different beverages; for example, water or something stronger left at the worship places “… taken out and poured over the ancestral, burial ground” (Sinaiko, xli). Therefore, birth as a first ritual plays an important part, and shortly after birth, it is crucial to name a newborn baby.
These reasons are that it has enabled the construction of black communities, it brought education to many African Americans, it brought African Americans into politics, it ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, and it gave us a taste of what it means to be free. Reconstruction helped bring African Americans together socially through churches and public schools. Back in the slave days, a social life was non-existent and you were lucky to work on the same plantation as your family. Although it is still scary to go outside for many blacks, we have the option of living with our families and loosening our chains to leave as we please, which was unheard of twenty years ago. Black churches have made it possible for black communities to come together, which has been very beneficial when forming organizations and networking.
The history of African and West Indian culture is reflected in many of the recipes and food traditions that remain popular today. The southern United States, where the slave population was greatest, has developed a cooking culture that remains true to the African-American tradition. As Doris Witt notes in her book Black Hunger (1999), the "soul" of the food refers loosely to the food's origins in Africa. Some common soul foods include intestines (chitterlings), pork chops, fried porgies, potlikker, turnips, watermelon, black-eyed peas, grits, hushpuppies, and pancakes. Today, many of these foods are eaten by African Americans only on holidays and special occasions.
It was often used as food for animals as well as humans in these regions. Corn would be found in porridge or bread. China was the quickest to adopt American food plants including corn. Corn reached China during the 16th century through Portuguese ships in Macao. Before corn, Chinese agriculture was based on rice which grew in the river valleys of Yangzi and Huang He.
A: Akara: A popular breakfast dish made from mashed black-eyed peas seasoned with salt, pepper, and onion then deep-fried. Which is usually called cowpeas in English-speaking Africa; are native to Asia, the Middle East, and perhaps Africa. They were cultivated in the Mediterranean region in ancient times, and have been grown all over Africa for centuries. B: Benin, Countless slaves were shipped to the New World from this West African state during the 18th and 19th centuries. After independence from France in 1960.
This helped him gather many more ideas on the inequalities that blacks had to face because of whites. His brother Muhammad wrote to him, “The black prisoner symbolized white society’s crime of keeping black men oppressed and deprived and ignorant, and unable to get decent jobs, turning them into criminals” (Haley, 195). Which illustrates Malcolm X’s life perfectly, because he used to strive and care about school, but once he found out the true meaning of being black in American it twisted his character. Not being able to look forward to having a good job meant you could probably make more money on the streets hustling. With no ability to advance in society, he wondered if settling for a job like a janitor is really worth it.
Residing in Africa, before the belief of Islam was revealed to exempt individuals from taxes, were the believers in ancestral veneration. These people followed numerous rituals in order to please not only their ancestors, but also the greatest creator of all, which varied from one society to the next. The people’s worship towards their deceased ancestors was quite the opposite of
The Dominican citizens and their customs became a mix of Africans, Tainos, and Europeans. There are many animals and fruit in the country of Africa. My Dad used to have a part of an African fruit to show me and teach me. It was a purple nut. Africans are very proud of their culture.