CHAPTERS 21 AND 22:
Cultural Geography of Africa
South of the Sahara
Sahel: Population Patterns
o Sahel extends from Senegal to Sudan. Includes Chad, Niger, Mali
and Mauritania. 100 ethnic groups in Chad alone. Influenced by
Arab, European, and indigenous African cultures.
o Mande people of Senegal and Mali, Wolof of Senegal, and Hausa of
Niger. Huasa -traders along caravan routes and then settled into
farming. Fulani raise dairy cattle and are world’s largest ethnic
group of nomadic herders. Strongest advocates of Islam.
o Berbers survived and maintained culture even after Arab invasion.
o Arab influence is strong. Not typical Muslims. Arabic is not major
religion but majority have adopted religion. Also follow traditional
African religious practices.
o Average population density is 103 people. Not even. Sudan is
highest along Nile River. Urbanization is influenced by economic
need.
o Desertification and deforestation has caused migration. Average
level of urbanization is 32%.
Sahel- History and Government
• When climate was wet and mild developed agriculture but then climate
became hotter and drier. Most people migrated away.
• Nile River Valley gave way to the Egyptian civilization. Spread their culture but
when they faded other cultures rose.
• Kush kingdom- Sudan. Rose to take their place until they were defeated.
• Mali Empire and Songhai grew rich from the gold for salt trade.
• Europeans began trading with the Africans in the 1200s. Traded for African
gold and slaves.
• 1800s saw area as source of raw materials and potential market for finished
goods. Laid claim to the territory. Ignored objections and set boundaries that
crossed ethnic lines leading to conflict.
• Mid 1900s started working for their independence. Have challenges left over
from colonial times. Adopted old colonial boundaries and had problems with
ethnic rivalries.
• Sudan- two distinct parts. Muslim in the north and favor Islamic centered
governments. South is rural and focused on subsistence so they want secular
government.
• Darfur- western region. Holds 1.8 million displaced people. Conflict between
agrarian non-Arab black African Muslims and government backed militias.
Deaths of tens of thousands and refugee camps.
Sahel- Culture
• African art has many forms- ritual masks, drum music to folk tales.
• Literature is mostly in northern Africa. Oral tradition is very strong and
many stories are spread that way.
• Strong family ties. Patriarchal- male dominated. Families organized into
clans. Cities have the nuclear families.
• African language groups- Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and CongoKordofanian. French is also widely spoken.
• Islam is predominate but there is some Christianity practiced.
• Indigenous religious practices still exist in many places.
• School enrollment rates and literacy rates are very low. Very few children
go to school. Families are too poor and the children need to work to
provide for their families.
• Poverty key to health care access. Major health concerns are high
mortality rates and infectious diseases. Lack health care during pregnancy
so infant mortality rates are high. Lack of adequate sanitation also a
problem.
East Africa- Population Patterns
• Many languages, belief systems, and ways of life intersected
blurring the lines between cultures. Bantu make up most of Uganda
and Tanzania. Hutu are dominate in Rwanda and Burundi.
• Uneven distribution because of climate and land. Desert, steppe,
and highlands. Tanzania varies from 3-133.
• City dwellers, nomads and farmers. Urban centers along the rivers.
• Soaring populations and economic challenges have made it hard to
feed the people.
• Agriculture main economic activity but they are not producing
enough.
• Government made problem worse. Push to export cash crop to
raise national income but still not giving enough food to people.
Droughts and poor farming practices have made situation worse.
East Africa- History and Government
• Considered origin of all humankind. Remains dating back 3.2 million years
in Ethiopia. 2.6 million years old in Kenya.
• Traders. Location along Red Sea meant they traded with Arabians, Asian
and Mediterranean Seas. Axum kingdom in Ethiopia dominated trade.
• Djibouti was the first country to adopt Islam.
• Europeans came in 1400s bringing Catholicism with them. Decline of
Arabian dominance. Hostility towards Christians and Europeans.
• David Livingstone- first European to really explore Africa. 40 years later
Africa was carved up by the Europeans. Changed the economies of this
area along with the power structure.
• Started getting independence in 1960s. Faced internal conflict.
• Uganda- 1970s dictator caused social disintegration, human rights
violations, and economic decline.
• Rwandan Genocide in 1994 caused by Tutsi people power over Hutu
peoples.
• Collapse of governments from warring factions, famine and drought
weakened countries. International attempts at peacekeeping failed as
well. Violence and instability were still very common.
East Africa- Culture
• Languages fit into three major language groups: Congo-Kordofanian, NiloSaharan, and Afro-Asiatic. Because of European colonization English and
French serve as a lingua franca, or common language.
• Arabic is also common in some countries because of Islam being
introduced through trade. Further south more indigenous languages and
religions are common.
• Most people are Christian or Muslim.
• Education varies. Higher literacy rates in urban areas. 35-70% depending
on where you live. Small percent finishes a secondary education.
• Despite advances in health care problems still exist. Poor nutrition,
famine, overpopulation, and inability to cure common diseases the cause.
AIDS is rampant. Drugs to control it are too expensive for the people or
the governments. Cut average life expectancy.
• Way of life varies drastically. Rural farming to plantations to factories and
office jobs. Housing also varies from high rise apartments to thatched
huts.
West Africa- Population Patterns
• Diverse ethnic groups. Some have lived there for centuries and
others have recently migrated. Some groups cross borders but they
are divided by colonial made borders.
• Yoruba is one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Language is
part of the Congo-Kordofanian group of languages.
• Niger- huge population growth leading to competition between
herders and farmers for natural resources.
• Distribution uneven because of wide range of climates. Coast and
river plains.
• Rate of urbanization is the fastest in the world. Moving because of
depleted natural resources. Population growth has caused cities to
grow out into the countryside. Most still live in rural areas.
West Africa- History and Government
• 700s trading empires sprang up. Ghana and Mali are remnants of
these ancient empires. Ghana got rich trading gold for salt which
was highly valued to preserve food. Had plenty gold.
• 1400s Europeans had settled trading posts. Traded gold and slaves.
Slave trade was old and profitable by the time the Europeans got
there. Increased with the Europeans.
• 1914 Nigeria founded by the British. Many ethnic groups live there.
In the north based on Islam and in the south on Christianity. 1960
erupted in civil war after they gained their independence.
West Africa- Culture
• Hundreds of languages spoken. 250 alone in Nigeria. English, French
and Arabic are commonly spoken. Yoruba used in every day life.
Taught in schools, even colleges.
• Religion plays a role in every day life as well. Islam and Christianity
primary religions. Also native religions. Mostly peaceful but
sometimes they have conflict.
• Free universal education is inconsistent. Literacy rates from 19-75%.
• Health care is limited and uneven. High infant mortality rates. 248
per 1,000 children. Niger. Poor health conditions and inadequate
nutrition have contributed to high death rates.
Central Africa- Population Patterns
• Mostly rural. Large scale farming difficult because of the dense
growth of natural vegetation. Most people subsistence farm or
raise cattle.
• 250 ethnic groups exist in Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Cameroon. Each ethnic group in Central Africa has its own
language.
• One of the least densely populated regions on continent. Gabon has
so few people they have a labor shortage.
• Most densely areas of Central Africa are in the Republic of Congo,
Cameroon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Central Africa- History and Government
• 10,000 years people lived there but settling did not happen until the 600s.
Bantu settled most of the area including kingdoms of Congo, Luba, and
Luanda, and current states of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• Europeans came and established slave trade in the area. Millions were
taken as slaves and more died along the passage to the New World. Major
setback to the societies they left behind.
• 1800s is when major colonization happened. Malaria a major obstacle to
settlement.
• French controlled most of Republic of Congo. Treaties with the local
leaders to protect them from the Belgians. Changed economy to resource
extraction and growing cash crops. By 1900s small revolts happening.
• Europeans promoted their culture, weakened traditional African culture,
and treated them harshly. Village life replaced by huge plantations and
cash crops. After WWII rebellion against colonial rule became more
common.
• After independence most of the countries experienced instability,
violations of human rights, and ethnic conflict. Abundant resources have
helped countries become stable.
Central Africa- Culture
• Hundreds of languages. 700 local languages in Democratic Republic
of Congo alone. French widely spoken. Pidgin- simplified speech
used among people who speak different languages.
• Traditional religions are numerous and diverse. Profess a belief in
the existence of a supreme being and ranked deities. Nature spirits
and ancestor worship.
• Because of European influence various forms of Christianity are
practiced in this are. Divisions of labor between women and men
depending on whether they farm or raise livestock. Multiple
generations live in the same houses.
• Violent conflicts and economic problems makes education difficult.
50-85% literacy rates.
• Lack of drinking water, shortage of vaccines for curable diseases,
and AIDS primary health concerns.
Southern Africa- Population Patterns
• Members of ethnic groups share the same basic language and
religion.
• Some cross political boundaries like the Sena in Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
• Since colonial rule tension between races in southern Africa have
dominated areas. Apartheid in South Africa.
• Density varies. Namibia has 6 people per square mile while Lesotho
has 154 per square mile.
• Many peoples are leaving the traditional farming lifestyle and
moving to the cities to work in the gold and diamond mines.
• The spread of AIDS has kept the population low. 70% of the 36
million people that have HIV live in this region.
• Loss of caregivers for children, shortage of labor supply, businesses
close, adults die in prime of their lives.
Southern Africa- History and Government
• Cultures dating back 1 million years. Zulu culture is one of the oldest.
Descendants of the Bantu people.
• 600s people of Madagascar trading with Europeans. Arabs and Europeans
settled this area for economic reasons. Trading posts and highly complex
colonies.
• Portuguese controlled Angola and was big in the slave trade. People of
Africa did not benefit from these changes.
• Mid-1900s resistance to colonial rule was growing. In some cases
governments were overthrown.
• Most were ripped apart by conflict after independence. A few have been
able to stabilize themselves. No one left to run the governments or the
businesses. Civil wars caused influxes of refugees into other countries.
• Apartheid in South Africa. Led to revolution. Finally had an end to
apartheid in 1994.
Southern Africa- Culture
• Indo-European languages like French, English and Afrikaans exist
here. Afrikaans is a combination of several languages.
• Christianity is most common religion along with traditional native
religion.
• AIDS a major concern. A child in Zimbabwe more likely to die of
AIDS than any other cause. Treatments are too expensive for most
people so it goes untreated.
The Economy
• Faming major economic activity. 2/3rds of population involved in some
type of farming. Single crop and multi-crop farming.
• Most are subsistence farming. When they have extra they sell it.
• Variety of methods used for farming. Pastoralism (raising livestock),
shifting cultivation (crop rotation), slash and burn farming, sedentary
(permanent settlements) and commercial farming (large scale farming for
profit).
• European colonization helped along the commercial farming aspect.
Reliance on one crop is risky for an economy.
• Problem with commercial farming also comes from the large plantations
taking the best land and leaving the rest of the farmers with land too poor
to yield good crops.
• Overgrazing, overworked soil, and lack of technology make farming
difficult. Erosion and desertification. Not enough food to feed the people.
• Conservation farming becoming popular to try and reverse the effects of
over farming.
The Economy
• Logging causes serious problems but is a small part of their overall
economy. Commercial fishing is also not a major part of the
economy of this area.
• Mining, despite the dangers, is a major part of the economy.
Witwatersrand, gold deposit 300 miles long, makes South Africa the
world’s largest producer of gold. Leader in production of gems and
industrial diamonds. Richest country. Most owned by foreigners
and white South Africans.
• Economy is unbalanced because of uneven mineral resource
distribution. Many people do not benefit equally.
• Starting to industrialize but the process is slow. Still not a huge
money maker but it is growing. Lack of skilled workers, power
shortages, and political conflicts are obstacles to be faced.
The Economy
• Transportation and communication is vital to trade and the growth
of industry but it is hard to create and maintain them.
• Railroads a priority in Nigeria- wants to link all of their railroads
together. Roads important in Uganda who wants to repair the
Trans-African highway. Trans-Sahara Highway opened in 2003.
• Relied on radio with state run stations. Not as many tv’s outside of
the cities. Too expensive.
• Low literacy rates hinder communication growth. Telephone service
limited in rural areas. Mobile phones have tripled.
• Most trade happens between Japan and the U.S. although China is
increasing their influence. Debt is a major problem. The G8
members cancelled the debt of the 18 poorest African nations.
People and their Environment
• Fighting just for survival. Poverty and hunger the biggest dangers.
Drought and human activities contributed to scarcity of food. 31 million
are in danger of starvation.
• Once upon a time this part of the world could sustain life. As the climate
changed and became drier farming became more difficult and the desert
took over more and more land. Carry capacity (number of people an area
of land can support) declined.
• Droughts are more severe and have turned farmland into wastelands.
1998 these have killed off crops and livestock putting the lives of millions
in danger.
• War a major contributor to hunger and malnutrition. Halts economic
growth and caused widespread starvation. Refugee populations strain
already short food supplies in other countries. Civil war in Somalia which
hasn’t had a government since 1991 has endangered lives of 2 million
people.
• Sudan has also been subject to violence which has caused food shortages.
Peace is crucial to solving the hunger problem.
People and their Environment
• 12 million acres of tropical rain forests are disappearing each year.
• Ivory Coast and Madagascar have lost 90% of their forests. Reserves
created to protect tropical forests.
• Deforestation destroys animal habitats. Hundreds of animals in
danger of extinction. Hunting has been a major contributor to this
as well. 600,000 elephants left because of poaching.
• 1930 home to 5-10 million elephants. Last century they were hunted
for meat, for sport and for their ivory. 80,000 a year were shot
during the 1970s when the price of ivory went up.
• Have been trying to find ways to reverse negative effects of the
past as well as prevent future problems. Game reserves. New
ranching laws. Ecotourism a big business in this area.