The African continent is the most mysterious and interesting. Many peoples live here according to the ancient or medieval way of life. Too many Africans do not have access to television, the Internet and newspapers; they live in a traditional way in harmony with nature. Scientists and tourists come to Africa, who study not only the unique flora and fauna, but they are attracted by the color of local tribes and nationalities. Well, who among the lovers of exotic vacations does not dream of seeing a village hut molded from manure, pagan shamans and hunting with the bow and arrow for animals from the jungle. This article is a selection of the 50 most fascinating facts about Africa and the peoples living there.
Africa is the cradle of humanity. It was here that three million years ago the most ancient people appeared. Here the first state in the world arose – Ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians left us a great cultural heritage in the form of the Pyramid of Cheops, hieroglyphic writing, statues and vases, myths and legends.
Scientists do not know exactly how many peoples live in Africa. They counted from three to eight thousand nationalities, many of which are very small. This scatter in the calculation is due to the fact that local peoples are very similar to each other in terms of language and culture, live on a vast territory and are prone to assimilation.
The population of the African continent is 1.2 billion people. This is a huge population, considering that 30% of the continent is occupied by desert regions of the Sahara with a very harsh climate. About 15 percent of the world’s population lives in Africa. In the ten largest cities in Africa, approximately half the people of this continent live. Representatives of various nationalities live in Africa, but for many tourists these people seem to be the same. But this is not so, because the peoples of Africa are very different in language, culture, traditions, religion. Residents of Africa speak many languages and languages, of which there are one and a half thousand. The largest distribution among the population has received the Arabic language. Most African people speak at least two languages. In France and the French-speaking regions of Canada combined, the number of people speaking French is less than the number of people from the African continent for whom French is their native language.
In Sudan, the Dinka people live. Four million representatives of this people are engaged in cattle breeding, and boys from a young age are taught to respect animals. Family affluence here depends on the number of livestock in the family. Compared to other continents, the African continent has the most children under the age of fifteen. The density of the African population is an average of thirty people per kilometer squared, which is significantly lower than in Eurasia. Over the past half century, people in Africa have begun to live much longer. The average life expectancy here has grown by as much as fifteen years. Africans now live on average 54 years, but this is still much less than in other regions of the planet. At the end of the last century, the Second Congolese War was underway in Africa. During the eight years of the war, 5.5 million people died. This is the third war in terms of human casualties and destructiveness in the history of mankind after two world wars of the first half of the 20th century.
Most people on the continent do not have clean drinking water. The number of people living in Africa is growing very rapidly. Scientists suggest that by the middle of this century, the number of Africans will double in comparison with our days. Most Africans are Muslims, the second most popular on the mainland is the Christian faith. Shameful slavery still exists in a number of African countries. The lifestyle of most of the peoples of Africa is very different from the life of modern people. They have unique customs and traditions, have lived on them for many centuries and do not want to change their usual way of life. These peoples have an amazing value system.
In the northern part of Namibia, the unique Himba people live. They don’t wear modern clothes, they don’t like strangers, they don’t know what television, radio, newspapers and the Internet are. But despite the absence of the benefits of civilization, many of the tribe know how to write their name and know the numbers, and the smartest learned a few words in English. One of the most amazing peoples of Africa is Bantu. They were able to preserve the customs and life, known to them since ancient times. But at the same time, among them there are politicians and representatives of the creative intelligentsia.
Most of the small nations of Africa are afraid of white people, consider them strangers and do not invite them to their settlements. But the Bantu people have surprisingly adapted to the fact that there are many peoples and cultures in the world. They are pleased to invite tourists to their homes, show their way of life, their homes, treat them with national food, play musical instruments for tourists, show how religious rituals are held, and get paid for it. We can say that tourists feed the Bantu and contribute to the prosperity of this people.
Hamar is an amazing African tribe. Here they say goodbye to the childhood, performing naked rite of initiation into men. For this ritual, boys must jump four times in a row on the backs of bulls. Teenagers are given only three attempts, in case of failure – the fourth chance will be only after a year. But if the boy successfully runs along the backs of the bulls, then the father will allow him to look for a wife and the young man will receive a gift from his parents – a cow.
Hamar is a very friendly and interesting people, but they also have very cruel rites. For example, during a traditional dance, girls are beaten by men. Poor women are whipped on the back with thin rods; they should not cry and show fear and pain. In this case, they will receive respect from the male, and the numerous traces of the rods on the back will be a matter of female pride.
Hamar people are allowed polygamy, provided that they can pay a ransom for each wife in the form of two or three dozen cows or bulls. But in the presence of several wives, the first wife remains the oldest and most important, and a sign of seniority will be a metal collar with pieces of skin on the neck of this woman. Every sixth African lives in the poorest and most populated country of the continent – Nigeria. Bushmen live in southern Africa, using primitive tools and weapons. Archaeologists have found the sites of the ancient Bushmen, which date back to 45 millennium BC, and proved that the tools of ancient and modern Bushmen are absolutely identical. In Togo, a man who complimented the fair sex is required to marry this woman.
In the western part of the mainland, the Matabi tribe lives. They love to play soccer, but they do not have real soccer balls. Therefore, matabi are often chased to football, kicking the skulls of dead people. Masai believe that they are the best people in the world. They are sure that the gods patronize them in the first place. Masai neglect the neighboring peoples and tribes, do not consider them to be people and steal their livestock and property. Because of this nature of the people of this tribe, wars often happen with neighboring tribes, tired of the ugly tricks of the Masai. Masai are sure that powerful gods live near Kilimanjaro, so they try to build their settlements near the slopes of this mountain.
Masai live in huts made from dried manure. These houses are built exclusively by women. The people of this tribe love to drink animal blood and milk, but they rarely eat meat. Such a ritual is popular among the Masai: they pierce the cattle artery to drink the blood of the animal. After drinking enough, the Masai smear the wound with manure, and after a while the poor animal is again tormented in this way. The seven-year-old Masai pass through the rite of piercing the ears and expanding them with wood. People like to use bulky jewelry worn over their ears, so they have this body hanging down to their shoulders. People of this appearance are considered respected members of society.
