Impact of Westernization of African Culture - Research Paper Example

Impact of Westernization of African Culture This paper will discuss westernization in Africa and how it has affected the African culture. It will illustrate how westernization came to Africa. It will also discuss the economic, political and social way of life of the Africans before the arrival of the Europeans. It will then explain by giving clear examples of how westernization affected the African culture specifically and how it led to the loss of centeredness. Christian missionaries were some of the first people to introduce western culture in Africa. They did this while spreading Christianity in Africa. According to Shillington (2004), these African missions included the African Inland Mission (AIM), Church of Scotland’s catholic mission in Africa, etc. By spreading Christianity and building churches, hospitals and schools, the missionaries introduced western culture in Africa. The transatlantic slave trade also contributed to westernization in Africa. Many slaves were transported from Africa to the plantations in Americas. After slavery was abolished, some of these slaves came back to Africa where they spread the western culture they learned in North America. According to Shillington (2004), colonization is the major factor that brought about westernization in Africa. This happened as European countries tried to expand their territory by colonizing African countries. Before coming of the Europeans, the native Africans had a very strong culture. In most African cultures, they believed in presence of a supreme being that ruled over everything. For example, according to Shillington (2004), the Yoruba of West Africa believed in a supreme being which they referred to as Oduduwa, and he was the creator of everything, both living and non-living things. Before westernization, almost all Africans prayed to their gods in times of need and when giving thanks. They usually offered sacrifices to their respective god. For example, the Zulu of South Africa gave the offerings and prayers to Unkulunkulu after a great harvest (Shillington, 2004). Africans had a unique way of dressing before the arrival of the Europeans. There was a set code of dressing depending on what gender, social class and age of the members of the community belonged to. For example, according to Shillington (2004), among the Zulus aprons and dresses made of leopard skin were only worn by members of the royal family. Married Zulu women had their bodies fully covered. This symbolized that they were off limits since they were already married. Men wore an apron known as the ibheshu which covered their behind. The length of the ibheshu depended on the age of the man. If a man was young, he wore a short one and if the man was elderly, he wore a long one that covered the legs. Before westernization African culture was based on traditional ceremonies which accompanied events such as weddings, funerals and wars. The traditional African political structure was well organized. Most of the political structures in the African cultures were based on a monarch system where leadership was inherited by rite of blood. The monarch kings and queens, however, had a council of elders who helped them in ruling by giving them advice and dealing with domestic conflicts such as land disputes. In almost all African cultures warriors were men that just gone through the rite of passage. For example, according to Shillington (2004), the Yoruba had a divine king who was assisted by a council of elders known as Ogboni. Before westernization economic activities of the Africans were mainly based on nomadism, simple farming and minor trade. As stated by Shillington (2004), the Fulani of West Africa were traditionally nomads and reared animals such as indigenous cattle. The western culture impacted African traditional culture in many ways. For example, it led to the assimilation of western dressing attire. After the coming of the Europeans, Africans started getting dressed in clothes made out of cotton and wool instead of the animal skins they used to wear. Slowly African traditional attire started to fade away until it was no longer heard of. Women started wearing miniskirts and tight trousers, which in African culture was viewed as being immoral. Westernization also saw the disappearance of African religion as most Africans converted to Christianity. This witnessed the vanishing of prophets and traditional healers as Africans turned to science and medicine which were brought by the Europeans. African beliefs became a thing of the past and the African gods were forgotten. Westernization has also resulted in the disappearance of traditional African ceremonies. For example, after the introduction of Christianity, traditional African wedding ceremonies slowly stopped taking place. They were replaced by Christian church weddings. Westernization saw the disappearance of African architecture as new durable buildings were constructed by the Europeans. This resulted in the Africans preferring the western civilization architecture. Introduction of western civilization saw some inhuman cultural practices such as polygamy and killing of twins as most Africans adopted Christianity which was against such practices. African people lack centeredness in their life. Most African people know nothing or very little of their culture as a result of westernization. For example, young African people do not make or listen to music that is identified with their culture. Instead, they listen to music made by foreigners and even go ahead and practice the way of life that accompanies this foreign music. Another example that illustrates how westernization has led to loss of centeredness among people of African culture is the African-American culture we have in the United States of America. African-Americans either do not know or do not remember their origin. This has resulted in most of them not being proud of their African origin causing them to assimilate other cultures. They lack a sense of identity and belonging as a result of the spread of westernization in Africa by Europeans. Despite the fact that westernization brought some advantages such as hospitals, education and good infrastructure to Africa, people of African origin should be centered to their culture and trace back their routes. People should be proud of who they are by respecting their culture. References Shillington, K. (2004). Encyclopedia of African history (vol. 1). CRC Press. Read More