Referrences

http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/African_Culture_and_People.htm

http://www.africaguide.com/culture/index.htm

http://www.africanevents.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Africa

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/african-language-map.htm

http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/stats-on-human-rights/statistics-on-education/statistics-on-education-levels-and-achievements/

http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/za/water

http://www.geographia.com/indx06.htm

http://www.mcdonalds.co.za/about_us/about_us.html

http://www.newstatesman.com/business-food-and-drink/2010/06/coffee-starbucks-hotel-south

Tourism, a Culprit in Commodifying Cultures and Traditions?

I would agree that tourism is a culprit of commodifying cultures and traditions as tourism exposes tourists to the cultures and traditions of Africa. Through their experiences, they will spread on what they have seen to others and may cause a rise in visits through these means. With growing exposure of cultures and traditions, curious tourists will travel to experience it for themselves, with this increase, it may actually cause a lost of culture and tradition through destruction of habitat or westernization.

In conclusion, we can only keep the cultures and traditions of others going by our own actions. We have to practice responsible tourism so as to protect what is important.

Impacts on Africa from Growth of Tourism

Impacts of tourism
Positives:

• Increases country's GDP due to tourism receipts
• Create awareness and educate tourists on Africa's culture and nature
• Economic growth
• Help develop country through education
• Help develop the country through an increase in GDP
• Development of facilities like schools 

Negatives:

• Loss of culture through westernization/ Disneyfication
• Destruction of natural environment of Africa
• Sex tourism
• Rich get richer while poor gets poorer

Here shows some positive and negative points that I think how tourism has impacted Africa. 

Disneyfication in Africa

There are 2 factors in Africa where i can spot the " Disney". Firstly would be the McDonald's chain of fast food that is operating in Africa. The first McDonald's outlet opened in 1995 and has now grown to 132 restaurants in South Africa alone. A record was set when South Africa opened 30 restaurants in just 23 months, at one stage opening 10 restaurants in 78 days. McDonald's is renowned for its training throughout the world. South African crew members receive comprehensive training in restaurants across the country. The company has trained and employed over 6000 South Africans at various levels, including franchisees, restaurant managers and crew.

Secondly would be Starbucks Coffee. They have recently opened a few outlets in hotels like SunSquare Montecasino Hotel in Johannesburg and then will be launched across the country. Through a food service agreement that allows agencies to offer Starbucks coffee to business-to-business set ups such as food service and office coffee operators.

Through these facts, we can see how disneyfication could happen to Africa through Starbucks Coffee and how it has already happened through McDonalds outlets. It shows a growing trend of these outlets as we can see from the growth of McDonalds. With growing business, more labour would be required and the growing tendency for frontline service work to be viewed as a performance will only increase.

What is Africa known for?

Africa is known for many reasons. Firstly, would be for the safaris. Kenya is by far the most popular safari destination in the world. Its national parks are as exceptional as their reputations, and the Maasai Mara marks the beginning of the immense serengeti, known for its cats and colossal herds of migrating wildebeest. Kenya also blesses trekkers with the continent's second highest mountain, Mt. Kenya.
South Africa too, has some marvelously developed parks. The Kalahari Gemsbrook and Kruger national parks are some of the richest and most accessible in Africa. The landscape of South Africa is also known for its variety, offering many options for adventure.

Secondly, Zimbabwe is a wonderland of water. Once thought to be the mythic site of King Solomon's mines, Zimbabwe's real wealth can be found in the roaring waters of Victoria Falls. Some of the world's best whitewater rafting on the Zambezi River. 

Thirdly, Tanzania's incredible Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks are home to more game animals than anywhere in the world, and it is in Tanzania that we find the physical soul of Africa, the towering Mt. Kilimanjaro. Off Tanzania's coast, in the Indian Ocean, are the lush forests and poetic citadels of Zanzibar, an island which has changed little since its heyday as East Africa's primary gateway and trading post.  

Lastly, Africa would be best known for hosting the last FIFA World Cup. 

Types of Leisure Programmes in Africa

There are a large number of activities that Africa has to offer.

For those looking for adventure, Africa offers a variety activities like deep sea diving, rock climbing, cave dwelling, single seat racing, paragliding and wildlife safaris.

Africa also offers visits to villages, Mosques and Kramats. These are more for the visitors looking to experience the culture of Africa.

Africa also offer events like Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts where some of Sounth Africa's best musicians perform. The Summer Sun Festival is one of the largest of its kind. It offers food, wine, beauty competitions, live music and many more. And most recently, South Africa held the World Cup series that attracted thousands of visitors.

These are just a few of the many activities that Africa has to offer.

Mode of Education in Africa

Education in Africa is not easy to come by as it is a third world country and educated people are some times hard to come by. Africa has reached out to the world for help in regards to education. There are many non-profit organizations lending a hand to Africa in hopes to help with education and helping to develop their country. Some organizations like Education Africa, A Glimmer of Hope and Pearls of Africa are some examples. These organizations look for donations so as to help develop schools, villages, provide food and clean water for the people of Africa.

The highlighted area in the diagram below shows the number of children in Africa attending primary school. The diagram shows a significant increase in the number of children receiving primary education:

  

However, in the diagram below, we can see that there is a decrease in the number of Africans attending secondary school:

We can see from the 2 diagrams that there is a decrease in the number of children attending secondary school. This could be because of the lack of school facilities or teachers. Hopefully, with enough donations to these non-profit organizations that are helping Africa, we can see an increase in the number of educated children in Africa.

Languages of Africa

There are an estimated 2000 official languages spoken in Africa. There are many other small families and languages, as well as obscure languages that have yet to be classified. In addition, Africa has a wide variety of sign languages. Several African languages are whistled or drummed to communicate over long distances.About a hundred of the languages of Africa are widely used for inter-ethnic communication. Berber, Arabic, Igbo, Swahili, Hausa, Amharic, and Yoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people.

There are four major groups of African languages: Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharian, Niger-Saharian (Niger-Congo), and Khoisan, on the map below, you see the distribution of language and some major African languages.

Below shows another picture of where certain languages of Africa are spoken:

 

However, with this high diversity of many languages, it has made language policy a vital issue in the post-colonial era.

Indigenous Groups of Africa

There are many different indigenous groups and tribes across the continent of Africa, with their cultures and languages varying from tribe to tribe. Here are some examples of the indigenous groups across Africa. 

The Amhara are the politically and culturally dominant ethnic group of Ethiopia. They are located mostly in the central highland plateau of Ethiopia and comprise the major population element in the provinces of Begemder and Gojjam and in parts of Shoa and Wallo.

 

The Bobo people have lived in western Burkina Faso and Mali for centuries. They are known for their masks which are worn with elaborate outfits for celebrations. Primarily agricultral people they also cultivate cotton which they use to trade with others. 

The 'Bushmen' are the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, where they have lived for at least 20,000 years. Their home is in the vast expanse of the Kalahari desert.

The Dogon are a cliff-dwelling people who live in Southeastern Mali and Burkina Faso. Among the indigenous groups in Africa they are unique in that they have kept and continued to develop their own culture even in the midst of Islamic invasions which have conquered and adapted many of the current people groups. 

The Wolof are one of the largest people groups that inhabit modern-day Senegal. They live anywhere from the desert area of the Sahara to the rain forests. Traditionally many Wolof lived in small villages governed by an extended family unit but now most Wolof move to cities where they are able to get jobs.   

Traditions of Africa

There are many traditions in Africa as well. I will be explaining on African wedding and festival traditions. 

African weddings involves the whole family as it involves the combining of two people, two families, and sometimes even two communities. There are many different wedding traditions in the African continent and no two are exactly alike. However, in all the communities the bride plays a very important role and is treated with respect because she is a link between the unborn and the ancestors. 

There are many steps that take place before marriage starting at a very young age where training takes place in how to be a suitable partner. Girls will many times go to circumcision schools where women teach them what is involved in marriage, and in some ethnic groups even learn secret codes and languages so that they can communicate with other married women. In the certain tribes there are times where the elders of the village gather with the bride and give advice and gifts.

Weddings can be very elaborate, involving feasting and dancing for days within a community, they can be very simple, or they can even be performed in huge marriage ceremonies involving many different couples. 

Everywhere you go in Africa, you can experience different tribes and cultures, all having different believes and traditions. Their festivals and events will also be different.  I will explain on some of these festivals from the Southern parts of Africa.

The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival occurs each year on the first Thursday of October. The main days of the festival will be Friday through Sunday. During the four days of the festival about 40 events will take place at 8 venues in Morija which cater for all tastes in music, dance, drama and film of Africa. At the main stage, arts & crafts are displayed and sold, as well as information booths and tents marketing a wide range of products, including food and drinks of different traditions.The friendly & festive atmosphere of this festival is unique.

The National Arts Festival is one of the most important event on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent.It showcases the cultural art work of the whole of Africa during this festival. It attracts visitors from all over to come and view their art. It helps to promote the cultural heritage of Africa. 

Cultures of Africa

Africa offers a wide range of different cultures. Arts & crafts are one of their main culture, figurines for example. 

When a person views African art, several themes seem to come up over and over again. These themes are representations of different things that are significant to African culture; and reveal the importance behind some of its most beautiful art. Some of the themes are a couple, woman and a child, a male with a weapon or animal or an outsider or stranger. Arts & crafts also involve the making of jewelry. Much of African culture places great emphasis on appearance and therefore on jewelry. African jewelry has been given tremendous attention for centuries. Now a useful and beautiful part of African culture. Many pieces of African jewelry contain sea shells. They are not only beautiful but also symbolic. Unfortunately, most of the African art comes with no explanation of the meaning intended to be symbolized when it was made. 

Another big part of their culture is music and dance. African dance refers mainly to the dance of Sub-Saharan Africa. These dances teach social patterns and values and helps people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry and to encounter gods.The most widely used musical instrument in Africa is the human voice.

The sound and the rhythm of the drum expresses the mood of the people. The drum is the sign of life to them and its beat is the heartbeat of the community.In an African community, coming together in response to the beating of the drum is an opportunity to give one another a sense of belonging. It is a time to connect with each other, to be part of that collective rhythm of the life in which young and old, rich and poor, men and women are all invited to contribute to the society. 

Introduction to Africa

African culture is incredibly interesting because it is very diverse. Every African country is a mix of tribes each with their own language and culture. Some countries as small as Uganda have more than 30 tribes. The vast continent of Africa is very rich and diverse in its culture with it not only changing from one country to another but within an individual country many different cultures can be found as well.

Much of Africa's cultural activity focuses on the family and the ethnic group. Art, music, dance, festival and events and oral literature serve to reinforce existing religious and social patterns. The Westernized minority, influenced by European culture and Christianity, first rejected African traditional culture, but with the rise of African nationalism, a cultural revival occurred. The governments of most African nations foster national dance and music groups, museums, and to a lesser degree, artists and writers.
 

Till today, the vast majority of its inhabitants are of indigenous origin. People across the continent are remarkably diverse. They speak a vast number of different languages, practice hundreds of different religions, live in a variety of types of dwellings, and engage in a wide range of economic activities.