African cuisine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: List of African cuisines


Ful Medames, one of Egypt's national dishes, served with
sliced eggs andvegetables.
African cuisine is a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of Africa. The continent of Africa
is the second largest landmass on Earth, and is home to hundreds of different cultural and ethnic groups.
This diversity is also reflected in the many local culinary traditions in terms of choice of ingredients, style of
preparation and cooking techniques.
Traditionally, the various cuisines of Africa use a combination of locally available fruits, cereal
grains and vegetables, as well as milk and meat products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet
features a preponderance of milk, curd and whey products. In much of Tropical Africa, however, cow's milk
is rare and cannot be produced locally (owing to various diseases that affect livestock). Depending on the
region, there are also sometimes quite significant differences in the eating and drinking habits and
proclivities throughout the continent's many populations: Central Africa, East Africa, the Horn of
Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa each have their own distinctive dishes, preparation
techniques, and consumption mores.
Contents
[hide]
1 Central Africa
2 East Africa
3 Horn of Africa
4 North Africa
5 Southern Africa
6 West Africa
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Central Africa[edit]


Fufu (right) is a staple food of Central Africa, pictured with some peanut soup.
Central Africa stretches from the Tibesti Mountains in the north to vast rainforest basin of the Congo River,
and has remained largely free of culinary influences of the outside world, until the late 19th century, with the
exception of the widespread adaptation of cassava, peanut, and Chile pepper plants which arrived along
with the slave trade during the early 16th century. These foodstuffs have had a large influence on the local
cuisine, perhaps less on the preparation methods. Central African cooking has remained mostly traditional.
Nevertheless, like other parts of Africa, Central African cuisine also presents an array of dishes.
The basic ingredients are plantains and cassava. Fufu-like starchy foods (usually made from fermented
cassava roots) are served with grilled meat and sauces. A variety of local ingredients are used while
preparing other dishes like spinach stew, cooked with tomato, peppers, chillis, onions, and peanut butter.
Cassava plants are also consumed as cooked greens. Groundnut (peanut) stew is also prepared,
containing chicken, okra, ginger, and other spices. Another favorite is Bambara, a porridge of rice, peanut
butter and sugar. Beef and chicken are favorite meat dishes, but game meat preparations
containing crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthog are also served occasionally.
East Africa[edit]


Ugali is pictured here with a side dish of cabbage, though it is more typically
eaten with kale (Sukuma wiki).


Barbecued beef cubes and seafood inForodhani Gardens, Zanzibar
The cuisine of East Africa varies from area to area. In the inland savannah, the traditional cuisine of cattle-
keeping peoples is distinctive in that meat products are generally absent. Cattle, sheep and goats were
regarded as a form of currency and a store of wealth, and are not generally consumed as food. In some
areas, traditional peoples consume the milk and blood of cattle, but rarely the meat. Elsewhere, other
peoples are farmers who grow a variety of grains and vegetables. Maize (corn) is the basis of ugali, the
East African version of West Africa's fufu. Ugali is a starch dish eaten with meats or stews. In Uganda,
steamed, green bananas calledmatoke provide the starch filler of many meals.
Around 1000 years ago, the Arabs settled in the coastal areas of East Africa, and Arabic influences are
especially reflected in the Swahili cuisine of the coast steamed cooked rice with spices in Persian style,
use of saffron, cloves, cinnamon and several other spices, and pomegranate juice.
Several centuries later, the British and the Indians came, and both brought with them their foods, like Indian
spiced vegetable curries, lentil soups, chapattis and a variety of pickles. Just before the British and the
Indians, the Portuguese had introduced techniques of roasting and marinating, as also use of spices turning
the bland diet into aromatic stewed dishes. Portuguese also brought from their Asian colonies fruits like
the orange, lemon and lime. From their colonies in the New World, Portuguese also brought exotic items
like chilies, peppers, maize, tomatoes, pineapple, bananas, and the domestic pig now, all these are
common elements of East African foods.
Horn of Africa[edit]
Main articles: Eritrean cuisine, Ethiopian cuisine, Djiboutian cuisine, and Somalian cuisine


Kitcha fit-fit, a mainstay in Eritrean cuisine, is presented with a scoop of fresh
yoghurt and topped with berbere (spice).
The main traditional dishes in Ethiopian cuisine and Eritrean cuisine are tsebhis (stews) served
with injera
[1]
(flatbread made from teff,
[1]
wheat, orsorghum), and hilbet (paste made from legumes,
mainly lentil, faba beans). Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine (especially in the northern half) are very similar,
given the shared history of the two countries.
Eritrean and Ethiopian food habits vary regionally. In the highlands, injera is the staple diet and is eaten
daily among the Tigrinya. Injera is made out of a variation and/or blend of: teff, wheat, barley, sorghum and
corn and resembles a spongy, slightly sour pancake. When eating, diners generally share food from a large
tray placed in the centre of a low dining table. Numerous injera are layered on this tray and topped with
various spicy stews. Diners then break into the section of injera in front of them, tearing off pieces and
dipping them into the stews.
In the lowlands, the main dish is akelet, a porridge-like dish made from wheat flour dough. A ladle is used to
scoop out the top, which is filled with berbere and butter sauce and surrounded by milk or yoghurt. A small
piece of dough is broken and then used to scoop up the sauce.


Typical Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine: Injera (pancake-like bread) and several
kinds of wat (stew)
The best known Ethio-Eritrean cuisine consists of various vegetable or meat side dishes and entres,
usually a wat, or thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread made of teff flour. One does not
eat with utensils, but instead uses injera to scoop up the entres and side dishes.
Tihlo prepared from roasted barley flour is very popular in Amhara, Agame, and Awlaelo (Tigrai). Traditional
Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork or shellfish of any kind, as they are forbidden in the Islamic, Jewish,
andEthiopian Orthodox Christian faiths. It is also very common to eat from the same dish in the center of the
table with a group of people.


Xalwo, the Somali version of halva, is a staple of Somali cuisine.
Somalian cuisine varies from region to region and consists of an exotic mixture of diverse culinary
influences. It is the product of Somalia's rich tradition of trade and commerce. Despite the variety, there
remains one thing that unites the various regional cuisines: all food is served halal. There are therefore no
pork dishes, alcohol is not served, nothing that died on its own is eaten, and no blood is
incorporated. Qaddo or lunch is often elaborate.
Varieties of bariis (rice), the most popular probably being basmati, usually serve as the main dish. Spices
like cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon andsage are used to aromatize these different rice dishes.
Somalis serve dinner as late as 9 pm. During Ramadan, dinner is often served after Tarawihprayers
sometimes as late as 11 pm.
Xalwo (halwo) or halva is a popular confection served during special occasions such as Eid celebrations or
wedding receptions. It is made from sugar,cornstarch, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, and ghee.
Peanuts are also sometimes added to enhance texture and flavor.
[2]
After meals, homes are traditionally
perfumed using frankincense (lubaan) or incense (cuunsi), which is prepared inside an incense
burner referred to as a dabqaad.
North Africa[edit]
Main article: North African cuisine


An array of Moroccan pastries
North Africa lies along the Mediterranean Sea and encompasses within its fold several nations,
including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mauritania, andEgypt. This is a region marked by geographic,
political, social, economic and cultural diversity, and the cuisine and the culinary style and art of North Africa
are also as diverse as the land, its people and its history. The roots to North African cuisine can be traced
back to the ancient empires of North Africa, particularly in Egypt where many of the country's dishes and
culinary traditions date back to ancient Egypt.


Fresh couscous with vegetables and chickpeas
Over several centuries traders, travelers, invaders, migrants and immigrants all have influenced the cuisine
of North Africa. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages,
the Carthaginians introduced wheat and its by-product, semolina. The Berbers, adapted this into couscous,
one of the main staple diet. Olives and olive oilswere introduced before the arrival of the Romans. From the
7th century onwards, the Arabs introduced a variety of spices,
like saffron, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, which contributed and influenced the culinary culture of
North Africa. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New
World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and chilies.
Most of the North African countries have several similar dishes, sometimes almost the same dish with a
different name (the Moroccan tangia and the Tunisian coucha are both essentially the same dish: a meat
stew prepared in an urn and cooked overnight in a public oven), sometimes with a slight change in
ingredients and cooking style. To add to the confusion, two completely different dishes may also share the
same name (for example, a "tajine" dish is a slow-cooked stew in Morocco, whereas the Tunisian "tajine" is
a baked omelette/quiche-like dish). There are noticeable differences between the cooking styles of different
nations there's the sophisticated, full-bodied flavours of Moroccan palace cookery, the fiery dishes
of Tunisian cuisine, and the humbler, simpler cuisines of Egypt and Algeria.
[3]

Southern Africa[edit]
Main article: South African cuisine


Traditional South African cuisine
The cooking of Southern Africa is sometimes called 'rainbow cuisine', as the food in this region is a blend of
many cultures the indigenous African tribal societies, European and Asian. To understand indigenous
cuisine, it is important first to digress to understand the various native peoples of southern Africa. The
indigenous people of Southern Africa were roughly divided into two groups and several sub groups. The
largest group consisted of the Bantu-speakers, whose descendants today may identify themselves by
various sub-group names such as Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Shangaan and Tsonga. They
arrived in the region around two thousand years ago, bringing crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and iron
tool making with them. Hence the Bantu-speakers grew grain crops extensively and raised cattle, sheep
and goats. They also grew and continue to grow pumpkins, beans and leafy greens as vegetables.
A smaller group were the primeval residents of the region, the Khoisan, who some archaeologists believe,
had lived in the region for at least ten thousand years. Many descendants of the Khoisan people have now
been incorporated into the Coloured population of South Africa. The Khoisan originally were hunter gathers
(who came to be known as "San" by the Bantu-speakers and as "bushmen" by Europeans). After the arrival
of the Bantu-speakers, however, some Khoisan adopted the Bantu-speakers' cattle raising, but did not grow
crops. The Khoisan who raised cattle called themselves "Khoi-Khoi" and came to be known by Europeans
as "Hottentots."


Potjiekos is a traditionalAfrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and
cooked over coals in cast-iron pots.
People were, in other words, defined to some extent by the kinds of food they ate. The Bantu speakers ate
dishes of grain, meat, milk and vegetables, as well as fermented grain and fermented milk products, while
the Khoi-Khoi ate meat and milk, and the San hunted wild animals and gathered wild tubers and
vegetables. In many ways, the daily food of Black South African families can be traced to the indigenous
foods that their ancestors ate. The Khoisan ate roasted meat, and they also dried meat for later use. The
influence of their diet is reflected in the universal (black and white) Southern African love of barbecue
(generally called in South Africa by its Afrikaans name, a "braai") and biltong (dried preserved meat).
Traditional beer was ubiquitous in the southern African diet, and the fermentation added additional nutrients
to the diet. It was a traditional obligation for any family to be able to offer a visitor copious amounts of beer.
Beer brewing was done by women, and the status of a housewife in pre-colonial southern Africa depended
significantly on her skill at brewing delicious beer.


A carton and glass ofmageu, a traditional non-alcoholic drink made
fromfermented mealie pap that is popular among many of theNguni people.
Milk was historically one of the most important components of the southern African diet. Cattle were
considered a man's most important possession, and in order to marry, a man had to compensate his
prospective in-laws with a gift of cattle as a dowry for his bride. A married man was expected to provide a
generous supply of milk to his wife and children, along with meat whenever he slaughtered cattle, sheep or
goats. Because there was no refrigeration, most milk was soured into a kind of yogurt. The young men of
the family often took care of the cattle far away from the villages at "cattle posts," and they sent a steady
stream of yogurt home on behalf of their fathers. Today, many Black South Africans enjoy drinking sour milk
products that are sold in the supermarket, and these products are comparable to American buttermilk,
yogurt and sour cream. On weekends they, like white South Africans, will have a "braai" and the meal would
usually consist of "pap and vleis", which is maize porridge and grilled meat.
The basic ingredients include seafood, meat products (including wild game), poultry, as well as grains, fresh
fruits and vegetables. Fruits
include apples, grapes, mangoes, bananas and papayas, avocado, oranges, peaches and apricots.
Desserts may simply be fruit, but there are some more western style puddings, such as the
Angolan Cocada amarela, which was inspired by Portuguese cuisine. Meat products include lamb, and
game like venison, ostrich, and impala. The seafood includes a wide variety such
as crayfish, prawns, tuna, mussels, oysters, calamari,mackerel, and lobster. There are also several types of
traditional and modern alcoholic beverages including many European-style beers.
West Africa[edit]
Main article: West African cuisine


West African Maafe or groundnut stew, prepared by a Senegalese cook
A typical West African meal is heavy with starchy items, meat, spices and flavors. A wide array of staples
are eaten across the region, including those ofFufu, Banku and Kenkey (originating from Ghana),
Foutou, Couscous, T, and Garri which are served alongside soups and stews. Fufu is often made from
starchy root vegetables such as yams, cocoyams, or cassava, but also from cereal grains like millet,
sorghum or plantains. The staple grain or starch varies region to region and ethnic group to ethnic group,
although corn has gained significant ground as it is cheap, swells to greater volumes and creates a beautiful
white final product that is greatly desired. Banku and Kenkey are maize dough staples, and Gari is made
from dried grated cassavas. Rice-dishes are also widely eaten in the region, especially in the dry Sahel belt
inland. Examples of these include Benachin from The Gambia and Jollof rice, a pan-West African rice dish
similar to Arab kabsah.
Seeds of Guinea pepper (Aframomum melegueta; also called grains of paradise or melagueta pepper) a
native West African plant, were used as a spice and even reached Europe, through North African
middlemen, during the Middle Ages. Centuries before the influence of Europeans, West African people
were trading with the Arab world and spices like cinnamon, cloves, and mint were not unknown and became
part of the local flavorings. Centuries later, the Portuguese, French and British influenced the regional
cuisines, but only to a limited extent. However, as far as is known, it was European explorers who
introduced the American Chile, or chili (Capsicum), to Africa sometime soon after Columbus sailed to
America, and both chillies and tomatoes have become ubiquitous components of West African cuisines.


Jollof rice is a popular dish throughout West Africa
The local cuisine and recipes of West Africa continue to remain deeply entrenched in the local customs and
traditions, with ingredients like native rice (oryza glaberrima), rice, fonio, millet,
sorghum, Bambara and Hausa groundnuts, black-eyed beans, brown beans, and root vegetables such as
yams, cocoyams, sweet potatoes, and cassava. Cooking is done in multiple
ways: roasting, baking, boiling, frying, mashing, and spicing. A range of sweets and savories are also
prepared.


Klouikloui, rings of fried peanut butter as served in Benin
Cooking techniques of West Africa are changing. In the past people ate much less meat and used native
oils (palm oil on the coast and shea butter in sahelian regions). Baobob leaf and numerous local greens
were every day staples during certain times of the year. Today diet is much heavier in meats, salt, and fats.
Many dishes combine fish and meat, including dried and fermented fish. Flaked and dried fish is often fried
in oil, and sometimes cooked in sauce made up with hot peppers, onions and tomatoes various spices
(such as soumbala) and water to prepare a highly flavored stew. In some areas, beef and mutton are
preferred, and goat meat is the dominant red meat. Suya, a popular grilled spicy meat kebab flavored with
peanuts and other spices, is sold by street vendors as a tasty snack or evening meal and is typically made
with beef or chicken. It is common to have a preponderance of seafood and the seafood, as earlier stated,
is sometimes also mixed with other meat products. Guinea fowl eggs, eggs and chicken are also preferred.
With regard to beverages, water has a very strong ritual significance in many West African nations
(particularly in dry areas) and water is often the first thing an African host will offer his/her guest. Palm
wine is also a common beverage made from the fermented sap of various types of palm trees and is usually
sold in sweet (less-fermented, retaining more of the sap's sugar) or sour (fermented longer, making it
stronger and less sweet) varieties. Millet beer is another common beverage.
See also[edit]

Food portal
AfroFoodtv.com
List of African dishes
References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:
a

b
"Eritrean Food Practices." Webcitation.org.
Accessed July 2011.
2. Jump up^ Barlin Ali, Somali Cuisine, (AuthorHouse: 2007), p.79
3. Jump up^ Wolfert, Paula. "The Foods of North Africa". National
Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc.
Further reading[edit]
McCann, James C. (2009). Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University
Press. ISBN 9780896802728. Retrieved November 2012.
African people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Demographics of Africa, see Demographics of Africa. For emigration of African people,
see Emigration from Africa. For New World populations, see African diaspora. For an overview of individual
African peoples, see Ethnic groups in Africa.


Profiles of African peoples, from Egypt and Sudan's pyramids to Tanzania and
Madagascar's outback.
African people are natives or inhabitants of Africa and people of African descent.
[1][2][3]

Contents
[hide]
1 The peoples of Africa
o 1.1 Prehistoric populations
o 1.2 Indigenous peoples and ancient settlers
o 1.3 Migrations
1.3.1 Arab
1.3.2 European
1.3.3 Indian
1.3.4 Other
o 1.4 Decolonization
o 1.5 Contemporary demographics
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
The peoples of Africa[edit]
See also: Demographics of Africa
The African continent is home to many different ethnic groups, with wide-ranging phenotypical traits, both
indigenous and foreign to the continent.
[4]
Many of these populations have diverse origins, with differing
cultural, linguistic, and social traits. Distinctions within Africa's geography, such as the varying climates
across the continent, have also served to nurture diverse lifestyles among its various populations. The
continent's inhabitants live amid deserts and jungles, as well as in modern cities across the continent.
Prehistoric populations[edit]
Further information: Recent African origin of modern humans
Perhaps it is a function of the number of excavations actually performed in given areas, but it is at least
suggestive that the five very earliest out of the twelve of earliest archaeological discoveries of Homo
sapiens sapiens have been in Africa and the adjacent Arabian peninsula.
[5]

As early as 1964, A. W. F. Edwards and others had discovered that three populations in Africa were related
but distinguishable on the basis of a relatively small set of genetic information (20alleles). Those
populations were called Tigre (Ethiopians), Bantu (in southern Africa), and Ghanaian (West Africa).
When general anthropometrics were taken as the criteria for grouping, the African population was split into
a different three groups: the more closely related Pygmy (such as the Mbuti) andBushmen (such as
the Khoisan) and the Bantu.
[6]

By 1988 more genetic detail were known, more groups could be distinguished on the basis of genetic
information, but the relationships among these groups were accounted as different depending on which was
the data was construed. The groups analyzed at this time were Bantu, Berber and North African, Ethiopian,
Mbuti Pygmy, Nilotic, San (Bushman), West African.
[7]



A representation of genetic distances by one analysis
Spencer Wells a geneticist and anthropologist, has traced the migration of the early Africans beyond their
own continent by noting the appearance of new genetic markers on the Y-chromosome as the migrations
progressed.
[8]
Studies of mitochondrial DNA conducted within the continent of Africa have shown that the
indigenous population has diverged into three divergent main lines of descent.
A number of scholars such as Alan Templeton hold that support is found for traditional racial categories only
because many studies use the pre-defined categories to begin with, and subsequently insert data into those
categories rather than let data speak for itself.
[9][10]
Templeton uses modern DNA analysis to argue that
human "races" were never "pure", and that human evolution is based on "many locally differentiated
populations coexisting at any given time" - a single lineage with many locally gradated variants, all sharing a
common fate.
Researchers such as Richard Lewontin maintain that most of the variation within human population is
found within local geographic groups and differences attributable to traditional "race" groups are a minor
part of human genetic variability.
[11]
Several other researchers (Barbajuni, Latter, Dean, et al.) have
replicated Lewontin's results.
[10]
According to a study by researcher L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza:
It is often taken for granted that the human species is divided in rather homogeneous groups or races,
among which biological differences are large. Studies of allele frequencies do not support this view, but they
have not been sufficient to rule it out either. We analyzed human molecular diversity at 109 DNA markers,
namely 30 microsatellite loci and 79 polymorphic restriction sites (restriction fragment length polymorphism
loci) in 16 populations of the world. By partitioning genetic variances at three hierarchical levels of
population subdivision, we found that differences between members of the same population account for
84.4% of the total, which is in excellent agreement with estimates based on allele frequencies of classic,
protein polymorphisms. Genetic variation remains high even within small population groups. On the
average, microsatellite and restriction fragment length polymorphism loci yield identical estimates.
Differences among continents represent roughly 1/10 of human molecular diversity, which does not suggest
that the racial subdivision of our species reflects any major discontinuity in our genome.
[12]

In the wake of this research, a number of writers
[who?]
question the classification of African peoples like
Ethiopians into "Caucasian" groups, holding that given the minor proportion of human genetic diversity
attributable to "race", grouping of such African peoples is arbitrary and flawed, and that DNA analysis points
to a range or gradation of types rather than distinct racial categories. Rather than arbitrarily allocating such
African groups to a European "race", the range of physical characteristics like skin colour, hair or facial
features are more than adequately covered by the differentiation within local geographic groupings.
[13]

A 2009 study detailed the genome-wide relationship among the largest number of African populations
sampled to date, accordingly, Fourteen ancestral population clusters were found in Africa that correlate with
self-described ethnicity and shared cultural and/or linguistic properties;
[14]

Indigenous peoples and ancient settlers[edit]
Further information: Indigenous peoples of Africa
The population of North Africa in ancient times consisted predominantly of Berbers in the West
and Egyptians in the East. The Semitic Phoenicians and Jews, the Iranian Alans, and the
EuropeanGreeks, Romans and Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Berber speaking populations
constitute significant communities within Morocco and Algeria and are also still present in smaller numbers
in Tunisia and Libya. The Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of
the Saharan interior of North Africa. The Nubians, who developed an ancient civilization in Northeast Africa,
are among the predominately Nilo-Saharan-speaking groups found in Sudan, in addition to
the Fur, Zaghawa and Nuba, among others.
Speakers of non-Bantu NigerCongo languages predominate in West Africa, with
the Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani and Wolof ethnic groups among the largest. There are also Chadic-speaking West
Africans in northerly areas bordering the Sahara, most predominately the Hausa, and small numbers of
Nilo-Saharan speaking Africans in Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic as well such as
the Kanuri, Sao and others.
Speakers of Bantu languages (part of the NigerCongo language family) are the majority in southern,
central and east Africa proper, due to the Bantu expansion from West Africa. However, there are
several Nilotic groups in East Africa, and a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ("San" or "Bushmen")
and Pygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africansalso predominate
in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia.
In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely
related to, but distinct from "Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other
Africans and are the pre-Bantu indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous
peoples of central Africa.
In the Horn of Africa, most populations speak Afro-Asiatic languages. Certain Ethiopian and Eritrean groups
(like the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya people, collectively known as "Habesha") speakSemitic languages.
The Oromo, Afar, Beja and Somali peoples speak Cushitic languages, but some Somali clans claim Arab
descent.
[15]

Migrations[edit]
Arab[edit]
The Arabs arrived from Asia in the seventh century, introducing the Arabic language, and Islam to North
Africa. Over several centuries, the majority of the indigenous African population of the region
became Arabized by adopting the Arabic language, and developing a common identity with other peoples
throughout the Arab World. Today, the majority of North Africans are Arabic-speaking, although the Berber
language still predominates among Berber communities in certain areas. Sudan and Mauritania are divided
between a mostly Arabized north and a Nilotic south. The Nubians have also been partly Arabized, although
their original language is still in use.
In East Africa, some areas, particularly the island of Zanzibar and the Kenyan island of Lamu,
received Arab Muslim and Southwest Asian settlers and merchants throughout the Middle Ages and even in
antiquity. This gave birth to the Swahili culture.
European[edit]
Despite having a presence in Africa since Greek and Roman times, it was not until the sixteenth century
that Europeans such as the Portuguese and Dutch began to establish trading posts andforts along the
coasts of western and southern Africa. Eventually, a large number of Dutch augmented by
French Huguenots and Germans settled in what is today South Africa. Their descendants,
the Afrikaners and the Coloureds, are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today. In the
nineteenth century, a second phase of colonization brought a large number of French and British settlers to
Africa. The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in Mozambique. The Italians settled
in Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The French settled in large numbers in Algeria where they became
known collectively as pieds-noirs, and on a smaller scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as
in Madagascar. The British settled chiefly in South Africa as well as the colony of Rhodesia, and in the
highlands of what is now Kenya. Germans settled in what is now Tanzania and Namibia, and there is still a
population of German-speaking white Namibians. Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen,
and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as Nairobi and Dakar.
Decolonization from the 1960s onwards often resulted in the mass emigration of European-
descended settlers out of Africa especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia. However, in
South Africa and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from
Europe, and a significant population of Europeans remained in these two countries even
after democracy was finally instituted at the end of the Cold War. South Africa has also become the
preferred destination of white Anglo-Zimbabweans, and of migrants from all over southern Africa.
Indian[edit]
European colonisation also brought sizable groups of Asians, particularly people from the Indian
subcontinent, to British colonies. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are
present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and east African countries. The large Indian
community in Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The
islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of South Asian origin, often mixed with
Africans and Europeans.
[16]

The Malagasy of Madagascar are an Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally mixed
with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European populations. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important
components in the group of people known in South Africa as Cape Coloureds (people with origins in two or
more races and continents). In Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Oceanthat is included in the African
continent, Indian people form a majority.
Other[edit]
During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies
of Lebanese
[17]
and Chinese
[18]
have also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East Africa,
respectively.
[19]

Decolonization[edit]
Further information: Decolonization of Africa
Decolonization has left some nations in power and marginalized others.
Conflicts with ethnic aspects taking place in Africa since Decolonization include:

Dervish state (18961920)
Mau Mau Uprising (19521960)
Zanzibar Revolution (1964)
First and Second Chimurenga (18961897)(19661980)
Casamance Conflict (since 1990)
Conflict in the Niger Delta (since 1990)
Insurgency in Ogaden (since 1995)
Second Congo War (19982003)
War in Darfur (since 2003)
Kivu conflict (since 2004)
Civil war in Chad (since 2005)
Second Tuareg Rebellion (since 2007)
Contemporary demographics[edit]
Main article: Demographics of Africa
Total population of Africa is estimated at 1 billion as of 2009.
See also[edit]
List of African ethnic groups
List of topics related to Black and African people
Africans of European ancestry
African diaspora
Pan-Africanism
References[edit]
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University Press. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
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3. Jump up^ "The Free Dictionary".
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man: a genetic odyssey. Princeton University Press. pp. 1
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(2001). "Apportionment of Racial Diversity: A
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of Human Diversity". Evolutionary Biology 6: 391398.
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4519, April 1997, Barbujani, Magagnidagger, MinchDagger, and
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African Genetic Diversity", African Archaeological Review, Vol.
16, No. 2, 1999, p. 1-5.
14. Jump up^ Tishkoff, SA; Reed, FA; Friedlaender, FR;
Ehret, C; Ranciaro, A; Froment, A; Hirbo, JB; Awomoyi, AA et al.
(May 2009). "The genetic structure and history of Africans and
African Americans". Science 324(5930): 1035
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17. Jump up^ Ivory Coast - The Levantine Community
18. Jump up^ Chinese flocking in numbers to a new frontier:
Africa
19. Jump up^ Lebanese Immigrants Boost West African
Commerce
African Games - Games Played in Africa
Traditional African Board Games
By Anouk Zijlma, About.com Guide
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Board games have been played in Africa for thousands of years and you can
find information about ten of them in the list below. One of the oldest known
board games in the world isSenet from Egypt. Unfortunately no one wrote
down the rules, so historians have had to make them up. Many of Africa's
traditional board games can be played using materials found in nature. Seeds
and stones make perfect game pieces, and boards can be scratched into dirt,
dug out of the ground, or drawn on a piece of paper. Mancala is an African
board game that is played worldwide, there are in fact hundreds of versions
played in Africa.
1. Mancala, Oware, Bao (Throughout Africa)
Anouk Zijlma
Mancala is one of oldest games in the world, dating back thousands of years.
Pits have been found carved into the roofs of ancient Egyptian tombs in
Luxor and Thebes. I grew up playing bao in Malawi, some of you may know
the game as mancala, oware, ayo, omweso, enkeshui oraweet. There are in
fact more than 200 versions of this "count and capture" game, played
throughout Africa, all with slightly different rules. In North and West Africa
it's common to use two rows of pits, in Ethiopia they play with 3 rows, and in
East and southern Africa, they play with four rows. Some games have
"stores" at the end of each board, others do not. These days you can play
online, make your own board, or buy mancala on Amazon.com.
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2. Morabaraba or Umlabalaba (Southern Africa) & Shax (Somalia)
Anouk Zijlma
Morabaraba is a traditional African game played by many in South Africa. A
version called Shax is also popular in Somalia and Achi in Ghana. All of them
are similar to 3, 6, 9 or 12 Mens Morris played in Europe, but the true origin
of the game is still in question. Morabaraba in southern Africa was used to
teach herd boys appreciation for tactical thinking. The game pieces are called
"cows" and the object is to form "mills" or rows of three in order to "shoot"
one of the opponents "cows". Rules differ from region to region, but a
standard set of rules can be found here. I bought a lovely board from Games
from Everywhere, but you can alsoplay online, or make it at home.
3. Senet (Egypt)

Senet is one of the world's oldest board games. A lovely painting in the tomb
of Egyptian Queen Nefertari depicts her playing Senet, it dates back to 1295
BC. The Senet game board is a grid of thirty squares, arranged in three rows
of ten. Apparently, the original rules were passed along verbally, because no
written form has been found. Each player has a set of 5 pawns, and what to do
with them has been left up to educated guesses by two historians. The
rules they devised created a game that is similar to backgammon. Four sticks,
black on one side and white on the other, are used like dice to move the
pawns 1,2,3,4 and/or 6 paces (see complete Senet rules). You can buy
Senet on Amazon, play it online, or download it to your i-Phone.
4. Zamma, Dhamet (North Africa)

Zamma is a traditional game played in North Africa. It is a bit similar
toAlquerque the grandfather of checkers. The board is square with 9 rows
across and 9 down. Each player gets 40 pieces, black (called men) and white
(called women). Black starts to play first. The pieces follow the pattern of the
board, can only move forward, and capture their opponents by hopping over
them. If a piece reaches the opposite end of the board it is promoted, like a
King in draughts (checkers) and can then move in all directions. Zamma
boards have been found dating back to 1400 BC, but modern rules appear to
have been influenced by checkers and vary slightly from region to region.
5. Fanorona (Madagsacar)
Games from Everywhere
Fanorona is very popular board game in Madagascar. It's been played for
hundreds of years, legend has it that in the 1500's a King's son was so busy
playing the game, he lost his chance to inherit land from his
father. Fanorona is similar to Zamma (see above), they both share a common
ancestry with Alquerque. A Fanorona board is a 9x5 grid pattern where some
pieces can move diagonally as well as forward and backward. Each player
has 22 pieces and the object of the game is to capture all your opponents
pieces. See these rules for the correct set up and how to play. Variations exist,
usually with smaller boards but similar rules of play. You can download a
version of the game here, or order a board of your own from Games from
Everywhere.
6. Seega (Egypt)
Geoludie
Seega is a traditional board game played in parts of North and West Africa.
It's thought to have originated in Egypt in the 1800's, but could be much
older. This two player game is played on a 5x5 board, usually with stones or
marbles. Each player has 12 pieces which are placed on the board two at a
time, in turn. Once strategically placed, the capturing begins by
"sandwiching" an opponents' piece. A central square on the board is a safety
zone. Rules differ, as do board sizes from region to region. Find basic rules
for Seega here. Seega is easy to make yourself using pennies and paper, but
you can also purchase a nice board here.
.
7. Butterfly (Mozambqiue)
Games from Everywhere
Butterfly is a game of skill that is played in Mozambique. It is similar to
checkers (draughts), but the board is shaped differently. The game board is
basically, two triangles joined together at a point, in the shape of a butterfly.
Each player has nine pieces which they place on each side of the board. They
capture their opponents by hopping over them, using the 19 intersection
points and hopping into available empty spaces. A very similar game
called Felli in Morocco is played on a smaller 6x6 board. And Lau kata
kati is also closely related and played in South Asia. Games from Everywhere
has a lovely board for sale, or you can simplydraw the board on a piece of
paper and use buttons or coins as pieces.
8. Tsoro Yematatu (Zimbabwe)
Cincinnati Art Museum
Tsoro Yematatu is a simple two player strategy game that is thought to have
originated in Zimbabwe. The board is a basic triangle with two equal sides.
Each player gets three game pieces each. There are 7 points where pieces can
be placed, three along each side and one in the middle. The aim is to create a
row of three with your color pieces. You can jump over your opponent into
an empty space. This game can last a while and end in a draw, so some
rules state you cannot jump over your opponent.
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9. Kharbaga (Mauritania, North Africa)

Kharbaga is very similar to Zamma. The boards are smaller (usually 5x5 or
4x4 grids with squares) but pieces are allowed to move in more directions.
Each player has 20 pieces. Players alternative their turns, can move one piece
at a time and capture their oponents by hopping over them. Similar to
checkers (draughts) the pieces can only move in a forward direction until they
are crowned "king" or "mullah" by reaching the opposite end of the board.
10. Dara, Derrah or Doki (Nigeria)
Dara is a game that's been played in Nigeria for several hundred years, it's a
bit similar to tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses). The game is traditionally
played by the Dakarkari people. The board is made up of squares in a 5x6
grid (sometimes a 6x7 grid). Each player has 12 stones which they drop
alternately into the empty squares. When a player has three in a row, they can
take out an enemy piece (in this way similar to Morabaraba). A player wins
when his/her opponent cannot form three in a row.
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