Five Contributions to World Culture in Africa - Essay Example

Five Contributions to World Culture in Africa Five Contributions to World Culture in Africa African culture is one of the world’s most diverse cultures. African countries have numerous ethnic groups and all such groups have modified cultures. Therefore, the region is home to very rich and diverse culture and its contributions to the world culture are numerous. The following paper takes into account the contributions of the African culture to the world culture. African Music The African music is a unique kind of music which reflects the culture of the region. There are numerous talented musicians in the region which have started to gain recognition in the international music industry. African music has started to have its influence over the world music in the recent past. A number of international musicians have started to collaborate with African musicians and numerous other international musicians have showed an influence of African music in their own work. One of the earliest African musicians to influence the international music industry was Remi Kababa who came to the U.S. in 1970s and collaborated with the likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Winwood. There are a number of examples from the recent past that show that African music has had a significant impact over the world music. One of the most well known examples is a recent collaboration between the international music artist Shakira and a music group from Africa called Freshlyground. The song called ‘Waka Waka’ was influenced by the African culture and the style of African music. The song was a massive hit all around the globe and this proved that African music is appreciated all around the world. Apart from the collaborations with international music artists, there have been a number of platforms through which the African music is making its way into the world music. One of the examples of such platforms is the movement “Playing for a Change”. The primary goal of this movement is to promote world peace and unity through music and a number of African musicians are a part of this movement. It is like a platform through which the African musicians are having an influence over the world music. Thus, it can be said that the African music has contributed towards the world music in a number of ways. From the instruments to the vocals, African musicians have continued to inspire the international music industry. African Art African art was misunderstood by the Westerners for a very long time who perceived it to be ‘primitive’ in nature, thus establishing a negative connotation of the African art. It started to get recognized in the West due to the increased interest of great artists such as Picasso and Modigliani. Since the African art inspired such great artists, it continues to have its influence on the world art. The positive aspects of African art that have greatly inspired the world art are that African art represented the intrinsic power of forms rather than just emphasizing on the physical aspects that are confined to the ability of sight. African art incorporates the faculty of emotion, imagination and religious experiences as well which make it rich and more sophisticated. It was this aspect of sophistication that was appreciated by a number of international artists and these were the aspects that inspired the world art. These aspects of African art inspired the increased inclination of artists towards abstraction and exploration of psychological aspects through art. These factors changed the overall status of visual art. African art has significantly flourished over time and it is appreciated by both the artists and collectors. The distinguishing factors about African Art are; it is enduring, spontaneous, pure and its instinctive attributes represent the intensity of the culture of the region. These qualities of the African Art have influenced the world art and artists all around the globe are inspired by these qualities. African Art is enduring because it does not represent only a phase or a trend in time but it represents the factors and themes that have been and will continue to be appreciated in the world art. African Art is more difficult to interpret as compared to ancient Western art. Ancient African art made use of objects that had the tendency to perish quickly therefore most of the ancient African art has not been rediscovered. However, the African art that has been discovered is relatively recent production. The objects such as wood and grass were used to create art works. African Cuisine Similar to other things, African cuisine is also very diverse due to the vastness of the region. Different nations have different foods and drinks. Traditional African cuisine includes use of starch along with stew containing vegetables and meat. The food also reflects the culture of the region. Different regions in Africa prefer different cuisines, such as; Saharan Africans consume subsistence diet, while people in coastal parts of West Africa prefer to have food with chilies (Ehret, 2002). The main contribution by Africa to the world culture in food is said to be Coffee which is claimed to have originated in Ethiopia. From Ethiopia, Coffee slowly spread to other parts of the world such as Yemen, and Saudi Arabia and then to other parts of the world. African Literature Literature is one of the most important aspects of the culture of a region as it holds the information regarding the culture as it was in the past times and as it is currently. African literature is also very diverse due to the geographical diversity of the region. There are a number of sub-cultures in Africa that have their own literature with distinguishing factors. With regard to literature, there is a concept of ‘oral literature’ in Africa. The ancient literature in Africa was passed down to generation through oral prose or verse. Such literature often included historical or mythological tales and it was passed down to other people through stories. The poetry in Africa was also narrated or sung and it included praise poems to rulers, ritual verse, and epic. After the era of oral literature, the African literature was dominated by postcolonial work. The postcolonial literature dealt with hardships of maintaining an African identity in the world in the wake of stereotyping and deteriorated perceptions. African literature has earned its name in the world culture over time and there are a number of African authors whose work is recognized and appreciated all around the globe. Some of the most well known African authors are Chinua Achebe and Alan Paton. Chinua Achebe’s novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ is one of the first English language African novels to be recognized globally. The novel depicts the life of villagers in Nigeria and the life of a leader named Okonkwo. The novel is studied all around the globe as it delivers a comprehensive account of African culture. Alan Paton’s novel ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’ was also internationally recognized and it also earned two cinema adaptations. The cinema adaptations introduced the novel to a wide range of readers and thus the novel inspired the world literature. African Sports Sports are also a significant part of any culture and the sports that originated in or are played extensively in Africa represent the culture of the region as well. The African sports that are widely famous all around the globe are archery and horse and camel riding. Both these sports form an integral part of the African culture. Apart from being sports, these activities were an essential part of the lifestyle in Africa however with the global development these sports symbolize the ancient culture of Africa. Archery was an important practice in ancient Egypt. Skills in archery represented the competence of a pharaoh to be a ruler. Archery contests regularly took place in Africa when wars were fought with arrows and bows (Barakat, 1993). Camel and horse racing was also played as a sport in Africa and it also represented the culture of the region as camels and horses were used for trading and riding in the ancient times. Horse racing is widely popular in other parts of the world as well and it can be said that this is one of the contributions of the African culture to the world. References Barakat, H. (1993). The Arab World: Society, Culture, and State. University of California Press Ehret, C. (2002). The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Read More