World Cultures 8

 Preserve culture  Influence new/other cultures  think of all the influences that the United States has received from other cultures!  Vikings, Spaniards, British, French, Irish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Hispanic, Indian, African, and many MANY more!  Change culture  can change how a culture adapts/deals

 “Generalizations are more difficult to apply to Africa or Africans than elsewhere.”  The Making of Modern Africa by Tunde Obadina o no other continent has so many countries, political divisions o the most Christian continent o More Muslims than the Middle East

 polygamy is popular  1 trained physician per 13,000 people  in Africa – more than 1,000 languages  12 million killed in civil wars since 1990

 oldest inhabited territory on earth  pop over 900 million  Cradle of Civilization

 diverse continent  over 3,000 ethnic groups  own cultures and traditions

 grinding poverty  deliver economic goods to larger proportions of people  deliver more benefits of good government to more people  end the destructive killing fields/wars  improve education  improve health services  decrease HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria

 snowy mountains, savannas (grassy plains), rain forests, deserts, and rivers  Deserts  Sahara –largest desert  desertification – lands replaced by desert, is increasing  Kalahari desert – the “great thirst”  Namib desert – highest dunes

 Mountains  Atlas, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, and more  Lakes and Rivers  Victoria Lake  Nile  Niger  Congo  Zambezi

 also gave its name to an infamous shark

 “The British are coming! The British are coming!”

 Foreign Invasions  Phoenicians  Greeks  Romans  North Africa under Roman control  Arabians and new Islamic religion  Portugal  Belgians  France  other Europeans

 Transatlantic slave trade  Africa across the Atlantic Ocean  European colonialism  emergence of common identity

 Change of Religion  Reasons for conversion: common bonds of government & fellowship tolerant of most customs often incorporated traditional values polygamy allowed

 Christianity based on teachings of Jesus Christ  1 of the 1st Christian churches in the world

 Islam  based on teachings of prophet Muhammad  detailed instructions to behave in private and public  specific rules in governance

 some have belief of 1 supreme god  some believe in more than 1  everyday life influenced by spirits  present in nature & one’s ancestors  prayer & sacrifice  communicate with spiritual world  fetishism – belief that an object has magical powers that can help its owner  sound familiar?  Any other similarities between your religion and African religions?  worship of animals

 Respect for ancestry  elaborate ceremonies and rituals to honor ancestors  ancestors will be pleased and send them blessings