Characterize the geography and culture of Africa based upon Part A of the Africa regional study. Be sure to include a thesis statement AND specific details to demonstrate completion and understanding of the activity.
During this part of the regional study, I discovered that there are only vague cultural and geographic similarities, but major differences, between the three African regions demonstrated in the charts above. To commence with, the cultural chart shows that each of the three regions have diverse languages and different ways of communicating. For instance, the dialect from the Sahara is Tamasheq, the Fulani from the Sahel speak Fulfulde, and the Baka from the Rainforest speak an Oubangian-related language. Another difference between these three African regions is their location, because they all include varied countries. The last contrasting aspect discussed in this reflection is the topography. Each of the three regions consist of different rivers, like the Nile River, the Senegal River, and the Congo River. On the other hand, the Sahara, the Sahel, and the Rainforest are somewhat similar in religion, because the ethnic groups in these regions are involved with Islam in some way. In addition, their history is analogous because no one knows exactly what happened in their past, they are just educated guesses. All in all, these three regions have multiple differences, but scarce similarities.
Although each of the following regions differ substantially from one another based upon their cultural and geographical attributes, each region assists to make up the diverse continent of Africa, despite facing individual controversies. The Sahara acts as a border between the Black South of Africa and the Arab North, encompassing a distinct culture of its own. The multiple groups that scarcely populate the region consist of Tuaregs, Arabs, and Moors. Dry desert makes up the geography of this region, so survival here can be difficult. The Tuaregs wear blue robes and herd camels for survival. Moors survive by harvesting date palms. However, more recently, tourism and political unrest have infiltrated the region. Arabs have moved into larger cities such as Cairo and Tuaregs have been domesticated into becoming guides for tourists seeking oil and gas. The Internet has even become a staple in this region as one can travel to an oasis that doubles as an internet café in Morocco. Similarly, eighty percent of Africa’s forests located in the Congo Basin are in jeopardy of losing its diverse animals and inhabitants. The Western Rainforests are home to half of the continents animal life and Bantu speaking natives called pygmies whom perform religious rituals based on the forest spirit, Jengi. Jengi kills young participants of the ritual and then revives them as full-grown men. The natives speak a wide range of languages including Oubangian. However, due to the invasion of foresters in this land, roughly ninety percent of the forests have been depleted. In addition, Southern Africa exhibits contrasting geographical features than the other regions. Located on the Kaapval Craton, a rock formed over 2.6 billion years ago, the land provides a surplus of gold, diamonds, platinum and asbestos. The white population benefits from the natural resources with high paying mining jobs, whereas the black population endures the drudgery of slavery. Unlike the other regions mentioned above, South Africa speaks a variety of Bantu based dialects such as Khoisan and they accept Christianity as their chosen religion. Throughout this study of the Sahara, Western Rainforest and Southern Africa one could begin to comprehend how one continent can be composed of various and unique ethnicities, controversies and geography to construct a completely diverse land mass.
In Africa, the eight different regions all have similar and distinguishing characteristics and qualities. History, Religions, language, location, topography, and vegetation were all taken into account when going more in depth with the Sahara, Rainforest, and Swahili Coasts. They are all similar in that they have special features and attractions that allure tourists. For example, the Sahara has the Largest Desert in the world and started the trans-Saharan trade, the rainforests contain the animal population of Africa, and the Swahili Coasts offer beautiful buildings and tropical land. The religions all vary but the rainforest and Swahili coast people both share the belief of spirits and animists above. The three regions have their own form of languages with assorted ways of expressing them. The Sahara is located in Northern Africa in countries like Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. The rainforest region is mostly in Central West Africa like countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo. The Swahili Coast is on the Mid-Eastern Coast including countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia. The topography of the locations all have contrasting features besides the fact that there is rich moisture in the rainforest region and the Swahili coast has water resources available. The vegetation in each of the areas completely differs from one another. In the Sahara’s arid climate the plants have to have the special adaption of long roots that reach deep into the earth to get the moisture up to 80 miles down. The rainforest region has an abundance of plant life with over 8,000 species growing and the moisture provides the plants with lush nutrients to keep growing. On the other hand, the Swahili coast has very poor, sandy soil which restricts the variety of plants that are able to grow here, resulting in tropic like trees and plants such as banana trees. In conclusion, although the different regions are all a part of Africa and share similarities but they are also diversely different from one another.
Regions of Africa have similarities in their current states of danger, differences in the religions practiced, and show trends in how they’ve arrived at their current conditions. First, the regions have similarities in their current states of danger. Most of them are in great dilemmas about the condition of the environment. For example, deforestation is a major issue in Africa’s rainforests. In addition, the Great Lakes region is suffering from pollution, over-fishing, and the introduction of alien species. On another note, the different sections of Africa possess differences in the religions practiced. Three regions, the rainforests, the Great Lakes region, and the Swahili Coast, do not share a common religion entirely. However, some religions are more minor in one region while they are the dominant religion in another. The rainforests do not have a dominant religion, and many religions are followed there today. In the Great Lakes region, the majority of the dominant peoples follow Christianity, but some Baganda practice Islam. Islam is the dominant religion of the Swahili Coast. The Swahili Coast and the Great Lakes region both worship Islam, but there are less people who practice Islam in the Great Lakes, while the Swahili Coast primarily practices Islam. Finally, these three regions show trends in how they arrived at their current state. These regions are in environmental danger. They all share a common beginning. For example, both the Great Lakes region and the rainforests began in a luscious, beautiful state. The rainforest was a wall of huge trees along the coast and the lakes had crisp, clear water. Now, logging, poaching, and more has led to the destroying of rainforests. To add to the problem, the people must decide between saving the rainforest and using the logs and animals such as monkeys as a source of income. Problems such as pollution and the introduction of foreign species have created problems in the lakes. The trend, as can be seen, is that man-made problems have put the once-beautiful areas of Africa in great danger. Overall, the regions of Africa all have their similarities, differences, and trends in how they got to be how they are today.
The topography and location of a region affects the culture and lifestyle of its inhabitants. First, three of the regions in Africa, Sahel, Rainforest, and Swahili Coast, have ethnic groups with deep historical ties to the regions they belong to. The Fulani and Dogon of Sahel came to Niger around the 10th century. The Baka from the Rainforest has been in their region for so long that their origins are unclear, but the most common belief is that they joined with a tribe that spoke Oubangian, adopted that language, and moved to Cameroon where they founded trading relations with Bantu-speaking farmers. The people from the Swahili Coast, the Swahili, date back to 1st century BC and are a mix of Arab and Indian. In addition, all of the ethnic groups have their own religious traditions, but the hybridize this with traditional African religion. The Fulani are mostly Muslim, but celebrate West African religion. The Dogon religion is only for males and is only practiced when someone dies. Bakas do not have a formal religion, but they rely on the spiritual world. The Swahili has practiced Sunni Islam since the 12th century, and they also practice animist. Following, ethnic groups each have their own unique language. The Fulani have both an oral and written language that was once written in Arabic, but is now in Roman Catholic. The Dogons have 15 dialects in their group. No one but the Bakas can understand their oral Oubangian language. The language of the Swahili people is Kiswahili and derives from Arabic, Hindi, and Bantu. Lastly, the ethnic groups all have gender roles; some are more enforced than others. The groups all incorporate their own traditions with the traditional ones of Africa.
The Ethiopian Highlands, the Rainforest, and the Swahili regions share a few characteristics, but are mainly described by their differences. One of the few similarities between the Swahili and the Ethiopian Highlands includes the influence from Arabic powers in these regions, as the Swahili traded with Arabians, and the Ethiopians have origins from Arabia. Also, the Ethiopian highlands and the Rainforest both have areas of forest, and all three regions have diverse vegetation. However, besides these few similarities, the regions share very little. For example, the Baka, from the Rainforest, are primarily an indigenous tribe that still practices old tradition and religion. The Amhara, on the other hand, held a strong empire and influenced much of the land surrounding Ethiopia. Furthermore, these Amhara adopted a new religion from foreign influences. The Swahili were also influenced to practice another religion, but they follow Islam, while the Ethiopians practice Christianity. Influence of culture from foreign empires is a trend that appears in many parts of Africa, but it appears that the Baka did not receive much of this influence. However, deforestation is beginning to threaten the culture of this group and they are now influenced by farmers and foreigners. Furthermore, each of these regions practice different languages, but most of the languages are based off of foreign languages such as arabic. The Rainforest Baka is the only group that maintained a language totally based in Africa, and it is a combination of two native languages. Moreover, each of the African regions base their economy off of different sources. Swahili traded with foreigners, Baka gathered the resources they needed, and Gurage farmed a special banana like crop. Overall, the various groups displayed in the chart have massive differences, but foreign influence has affected them all and is leading each region to have some similar characteristics.
Throughout this exciting study, it has become evident that all regions in Africa have similar roots, but contrast in how they have blossomed. Each of the three regions presented in the preceding charts have cultures that serve as their foundation. For example, the rainforest and Swahili coast were each alluded to within works as early as eighth century B.C., and have been prominent throughout history. However, each grew into their own traditions. The Sahara region, based upon the Islamic religion, developed into a very similar faith. The peoples of the African rainforest adopted the Baka language, and those of the Swahili culture adapted the Islam religion to theirs. Each of the cultures presented started out with a similar, well defined foundation, but combined cultures to create one even more beautiful.
The Great Lakes, the Swahili Coast, and the Sahara are all major regions of Africa that have various similarities and differences within their cultural and geographical aspects. A similarity that appears between the regions cultural aspects is that a majority of each regions population is Christian, but many years ago each region had their own religion within each ethnic group. For example, the Tutsi and Hutu in the Great Lakes region believed in one supreme god named Imana, the Swahilis in the Swahili Coast practiced Sunni Islam, and the Tuaregs believed in spirits named “djinns” and “kelessuf”. A cultural difference found between the regions is that each ethnic group speaks a different language. For instance, the Tutsi and the Hutu speak Kinyarwanda in the Great Lakes region, the Swahilis dialect in the Swahili Coast is Kiswahili, and the Tuaregs dialect in the Sahara consists of Tamasheq. A difference within each regions geographical aspect is that their vegetations are different, causing each ethnic group to have different occupations available and sources of food. For example, the Great Lakes vegetation is mostly tropical mountain forest, the Swahili Coasts vegetation is primarily coastal forest, and the Sahara consists of mostly desert vegetation. Overall, each region consists of many cultural and geographical differences and similarities that affect the population’s everyday lives.
Throughout the charts,, there are evident similarities and vast differences as well as underlying trends. Similarities throughout the charts appear in the languages. The rainforest tribes tend to have languages blended with other dialects and languages as well as the Swahili Coast region, which mixes Arabic and Hindi. Also, the Rainforest regions's Baka believes in spirits throughout nature, animism, as well as some Swahili members. Most Swahili people believe in the Islamic faith similar to the Sahel Fulani. Differences of the regions include variance in religion, language, and physical features. While within the same region, the Sahel, the Dogon and Fulani tribes do not both believe in the Islamic faith. The Dogon tribes believe in a god named Amma. Other differences include language. While in the rainforest region, the people have no set language yet still communicate through a highly complex and structured tongue. As opposed, the Swahili, Dogon, and Fulani all have an adopted language. Lastly, obvious variance in physical features is apparent. The Swahili Coast encompasses beaches and a large variety of vegetation while the Rainforest only possess rainforest and Savanna Grassland. The underlying trend shows itself throughout each region. The trend depends on the climate area. Wherever the area is located the larger variety of vegetation and differences in the culture.
Three regions within Africa are the Sahara, Ethiopian Highlands, and the Swahili Coast. The Sahara was mostly a dry region consisting of desert for about 80% of the vegetation, with the Nile as the main source of water. In addition the Sahara covers the top quarter of Africa and has the languages that are the most diverse. The Ethiopian Highlands is the most mountainous out of the three regions; in addition it consists of the most vegetation and topography. Also this was the only region that inhabited two ethnic groups, both ethnic groups had similarities in language, religion and history. The Swahili coast was the smallest of the three regions. They also are the only region to practice Islam as their main religion. Out of the three regions the Swahili coast was the most different in terms of history where the Sahara and Ethiopian Highlands were similar.
Throughout the Africa regional study, the cultures that were compared had various aspects. They all had different religions, languages, traditions, and much more. To understand the activity, one must analyze each part of the society, that makes it a whole. In the regions our class examined, we had to determine each specific part of the society that is key to it as a whole. The different aspects in culture involved different hobbies, like weaving and or quilting. Each different region had a different tradition that they passed on form generation to generation. Along with that, their languages have always remained individual, some languages aren't even able to correlate with any other native languages around it in the neighboring regions. Also, to understand the regional study, one has to examine the geography and vegetation of a region. The geography of each region is very diverse, and each includes a different kind of climate. The vegetation in each area is specific to the climate and exact location of each area. Also, location helps explain where certain parts of culture are and also alludes to the climate and vegetation of each region. Finally, the Africa regional study helped broaden the information and significance of each region of Africa.
Critical Reflection The Sahara Region shares many similarities with the Swahili Coast, but neither of them has much in common with the Rainforest. For example, both the Sahara and the Swahili Coast became popular through the discovery of resources and the immigration of people in order to obtain those resources. However, the Rainforest has always had native tribes living throughout its forests. Also, a type of Islam is popular with both the Sahara people and the Swahili Coast people, with a little mix of native beliefs and animism. On the other hand, the Rainforest people have no set religion, and rely completely on animism. Yet another similarity between the Sahara and the Swahili Coast is the topography of the land. Both regions are flat with rivers and some steep changes in elevation. (mountains, cliffs) The Rainforest is simply a huge forest. Though the Rainforest is bursting with vegetation, the Sahara and Swahili Coast have a relatively low amount. Two characteristics that are different between all regions are the languages spoken and the locations of each region. First of all, the Saharan people speak many languages used for trade. The main language for the Swahili Coast is Swahili. Lastly, the Rainforest has no distinct language, and almost every tribe’s language very different from the next. Finally, the Sahara is the north of Africa. The Swahili Coast is located on the east coast of Africa. Furthermore, the Rainforest is spread out through central to western Africa near the Equator.
Three of Africa's regions; the Rainforest, Swahili Coast, and Ethiopian Highlands, differ and parallel each other in many different cultural and geographic aspects such as ethnic groups, history, religion, language, customs, location, topography, and vegetation. The Baka, Swahili, Amhara and Gurage all descend from an older tribe or group in Africa, but the Baka mingled across Cameroon within tribes while the Swahili, Amhara and Gurage were the product of breeding between African Tribes and Arab importers. The baka started out as a mysterious "pygmy" tribe that has had its roots deep in the forest related culture, whereas the Swahili descended from Arab people and African tribes, but have blended the two ethnic groups to form their own culture on the coastline. Also, the Amhara trace their lineage back to immigrants from Yemen or biblical characters such as King Solomon. With this powerful history they achieved much, such as resisting European invasion. The Gurage, however, were Semitic, like the Amhara, but descended from Sidamo tribes, not immigrants. they also relied and still rely on framing of the Ensete crop, not land power like the Amharas. Relating to religion, the Baka partake in an animistic religion based on forest spirits, but the Amharas and involved in Christianity and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In contrast, the Swahili practice Islam and the Gurage flip between Christianity and Islam. The rainforest region's languages are Oubangian languages, and are unlike many neighboring tongues. Even so, the Swahili coast is a blend of Arabic and Hindi, and the languages of the Ethiopian Highlands are semitic languages related to Arabic and Hebrew. When it comes to customs, the rainforest region relies heavily on its natural resources and bases its culture off what can be accomplished in the rain forest. The Swahili coast blends aspects of African and Arabic into its everyday life, and the Ethiopian Highlands revert to feudalistic ideals, or necessary farming. The rainforest area contains lots of lush rainforest vegetation in the southeastern portion of Cameroon, but is being threatened by deforestation around the Congo river. The Ethiopian Highlands do not have as much green in the northwestern part of Ethiopia, but contain the Great Rift Valley, Simien and Bale Mountains, and the Blue Nile Valley. At the end of the spectrum, the Swahili coast contains mainly small amounts of coastal forest and bush land, but is spotted with coastal reefs and the occasional cliff.
In the African regions of the Sahara, the Rainforest, and the Swahili Coast, there are recognizable differences in numerous cultural aspects along with geography, trends in religions, and similarities in historical background. These three regions are more different from each other than anything. They differ in many ways. Where the Tuareg's of the Sahara region can speak up to four languages, the Baka of the Rainforest region only speak one. For customs, all three have completely different traditions. In the Sahara, women have a great deal of power where on the Swahili Coast, women must never show their faces, be covered in Kanga robes, and possesses little to no power in society. All of these regions also are nowhere near each other and, therefore, have completely different geographical features. The Sahara is nearly all desert with a decent amount of vegetation stretching over one-fourth of Africa. The Rainforest, on the other hand, is covered in vegetation and spreads through numerous countries. In contrast, the Swahili Coast is known for its beaches; nothing like the Sahara or the Rainforest. However, all three regions do possess trends in religion. Based on the history of the region and the region's main resources, the people only worship one main religion pertaining to all these things. Each region only has one form of worship that typically results from the people that have lived in those regions. Also, there are distinct similarities in the history of these three regions. Apart from the fact the origins of these three regions are unknown, all three have a vast history of trade. The nomads of the Sahara were famous for trade caravans, the tribes of the Rainforest traveled west to develop trades, and the people of the Swahili Coast were famous for the nineteenth century slave trade and maritime trade. The history of these regions also play a huge part of why the people of these regions are who they are today. All of these regions, although all on the same continent, are completely different demonstrating the massive vicissitudes of Africa.
Africa contains these three of eight different regions throughout the continent; the Sahara, Savanna, Swahili coast. With each of these regions they have very various and diverse cultures, speak different languages, practice different religions and have different geographic features. For example Swahili Coast and the Sahel have more plains and grassland but little plants thrive in their type of environment while in the Sahara it is home to more than 1,600 different types of plant species. These plants have to be able to accustom ate to the extreme heat in the desert. With religion you could say that the Sahara and Sahel have a lot in common because and overwhelming part of their population practices Muslim. Even though more than 90% of the Sahel is Muslim there are still people that don’t believe in that religion and have there own beliefs. This doesn’t apply to the Swahili region. In the Swahili region the people practice Islam. As for language, none of these countries have a similar word of tongue. As for the people of Swahili, Kiswahili is the main language and official language of Kenya. There are also combining African Languages with some Omani and Indian words. Swahili is the most common for this region. As for the Sahara region there are two different places where language comes from. The Turages speak Tamasheq and the Hausa language comes from people in Niger, Mali and Songhay. Finally in the Sahel, there are two different distinct types of people that live in this region, the Fulani and the Dogon. The Fulani’s are known for their written literature. They speak Fulfulde and there are 13 million Fulfulde speakers in the world. While the Dogon’s have a vast majority of languages between their people. The Niger/ Congo family of Languages this includes Swahili and some basic understanding of French. With there similarities you could say that these three regions have a least one thing in common but not many realize they different cultures and geographic differences that these regions have from each other and every other region in the continent of Africa.
Similarities, differences, and trends of the Ethiopian Highlands, Sahara, and Swahili Coast are all derived from the region’s history and location. The similarities found in between the Sahara, Ethiopian Highlands, and the Swahili Coast varies for each section discussed in the chart. There are very little similarities in the history section because the history of each region tends to be unique for everyone. A major similarity though in this section is that both the Swahili Coast and the Sahara regions were colonized by European powers. Both of these areas also experienced great influence from the Arabians that scavenged the land in the past. The Ethiopian Highlands on the other hand fought off their Italian invaders and successfully kept their freedom. Also, the Taureg’s history is much more violent and sporadic compared to the histories of the ethnic peoples in the Ethiopian Highlands and Swahili Coast. The religions of the ethnic peoples of the Sahara and Swahili Coast regions are very similar for both practice Islam but also incorporate their own native religions into their worships. The people of the Ethiopian Highlands on the other hand are both strictly Christian and some practice Islam and worship their own native gods. Each region acquires its own languages that the other regions do not. Many of the languages are related to Arabic, though each has its main and specific language. For example, the people of the Ethiopian Highlands speak both Amharic and Guargina, in the Sahara the people speak Tamasheq, and in the Swahili Coast they speak Kiswahili. One similarity between languages in the regions is that the regions that were once conquered by Europeans often speak the language of their European conquerors. Each region is located in its own specific location, some regions include the same countries as another but in this case none of the regions researched include any of the same countries. A similarity in location between all of the regions is that they all can be found in eastern Africa. The location of a region also set itself up for future influences from different foreign peoples. The topography of each region is different for each because it depends on the region’s location. For example, the Ethiopian Highlands consist of highlands and river valleys that run through the flatlands between the different highlands. The Swahili Coast is mainly flat because it’s located on the coastline of East Africa. Because each region has its own topography, it thusly has its own vegetation. No region acquires the same main types of vegetation even though some regions like the Ethiopian Highlands and Sahara have some of the same vegetation zones. Trends that were displayed in this investigation show that a region’s history is what makes its characteristics for the future. Because of the influences of Arabian culture on the Swahili Coast and the Sahara in the past, both regions celebrate Islam. Also, another trend viewed is that depending on a region’s location it has different and specific topography and vegetation. All in all, a region’s modern characteristics derive from its location and history.
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ReplyDeleteDuring this part of the regional study, I discovered that there are only vague cultural and geographic similarities, but major differences, between the three African regions demonstrated in the charts above. To commence with, the cultural chart shows that each of the three regions have diverse languages and different ways of communicating. For instance, the dialect from the Sahara is Tamasheq, the Fulani from the Sahel speak Fulfulde, and the Baka from the Rainforest speak an Oubangian-related language. Another difference between these three African regions is their location, because they all include varied countries. The last contrasting aspect discussed in this reflection is the topography. Each of the three regions consist of different rivers, like the Nile River, the Senegal River, and the Congo River. On the other hand, the Sahara, the Sahel, and the Rainforest are somewhat similar in religion, because the ethnic groups in these regions are involved with Islam in some way. In addition, their history is analogous because no one knows exactly what happened in their past, they are just educated guesses. All in all, these three regions have multiple differences, but scarce similarities.
ReplyDeleteAlthough each of the following regions differ substantially from one another based upon their cultural and geographical attributes, each region assists to make up the diverse continent of Africa, despite facing individual controversies. The Sahara acts as a border between the Black South of Africa and the Arab North, encompassing a distinct culture of its own. The multiple groups that scarcely populate the region consist of Tuaregs, Arabs, and Moors. Dry desert makes up the geography of this region, so survival here can be difficult. The Tuaregs wear blue robes and herd camels for survival. Moors survive by harvesting date palms. However, more recently, tourism and political unrest have infiltrated the region. Arabs have moved into larger cities such as Cairo and Tuaregs have been domesticated into becoming guides for tourists seeking oil and gas. The Internet has even become a staple in this region as one can travel to an oasis that doubles as an internet café in Morocco. Similarly, eighty percent of Africa’s forests located in the Congo Basin are in jeopardy of losing its diverse animals and inhabitants. The Western Rainforests are home to half of the continents animal life and Bantu speaking natives called pygmies whom perform religious rituals based on the forest spirit, Jengi. Jengi kills young participants of the ritual and then revives them as full-grown men. The natives speak a wide range of languages including Oubangian. However, due to the invasion of foresters in this land, roughly ninety percent of the forests have been depleted. In addition, Southern Africa exhibits contrasting geographical features than the other regions. Located on the Kaapval Craton, a rock formed over 2.6 billion years ago, the land provides a surplus of gold, diamonds, platinum and asbestos. The white population benefits from the natural resources with high paying mining jobs, whereas the black population endures the drudgery of slavery. Unlike the other regions mentioned above, South Africa speaks a variety of Bantu based dialects such as Khoisan and they accept Christianity as their chosen religion. Throughout this study of the Sahara, Western Rainforest and Southern Africa one could begin to comprehend how one continent can be composed of various and unique ethnicities, controversies and geography to construct a completely diverse land mass.
ReplyDeleteIn Africa, the eight different regions all have similar and distinguishing characteristics and qualities. History, Religions, language, location, topography, and vegetation were all taken into account when going more in depth with the Sahara, Rainforest, and Swahili Coasts. They are all similar in that they have special features and attractions that allure tourists. For example, the Sahara has the Largest Desert in the world and started the trans-Saharan trade, the rainforests contain the animal population of Africa, and the Swahili Coasts offer beautiful buildings and tropical land. The religions all vary but the rainforest and Swahili coast people both share the belief of spirits and animists above. The three regions have their own form of languages with assorted ways of expressing them. The Sahara is located in Northern Africa in countries like Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. The rainforest region is mostly in Central West Africa like countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Democratic Republic of Congo. The Swahili Coast is on the Mid-Eastern Coast including countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia. The topography of the locations all have contrasting features besides the fact that there is rich moisture in the rainforest region and the Swahili coast has water resources available. The vegetation in each of the areas completely differs from one another. In the Sahara’s arid climate the plants have to have the special adaption of long roots that reach deep into the earth to get the moisture up to 80 miles down. The rainforest region has an abundance of plant life with over 8,000 species growing and the moisture provides the plants with lush nutrients to keep growing. On the other hand, the Swahili coast has very poor, sandy soil which restricts the variety of plants that are able to grow here, resulting in tropic like trees and plants such as banana trees. In conclusion, although the different regions are all a part of Africa and share similarities but they are also diversely different from one another.
ReplyDeleteRegions of Africa have similarities in their current states of danger, differences in the religions practiced, and show trends in how they’ve arrived at their current conditions. First, the regions have similarities in their current states of danger. Most of them are in great dilemmas about the condition of the environment. For example, deforestation is a major issue in Africa’s rainforests. In addition, the Great Lakes region is suffering from pollution, over-fishing, and the introduction of alien species. On another note, the different sections of Africa possess differences in the religions practiced. Three regions, the rainforests, the Great Lakes region, and the Swahili Coast, do not share a common religion entirely. However, some religions are more minor in one region while they are the dominant religion in another. The rainforests do not have a dominant religion, and many religions are followed there today. In the Great Lakes region, the majority of the dominant peoples follow Christianity, but some Baganda practice Islam. Islam is the dominant religion of the Swahili Coast. The Swahili Coast and the Great Lakes region both worship Islam, but there are less people who practice Islam in the Great Lakes, while the Swahili Coast primarily practices Islam. Finally, these three regions show trends in how they arrived at their current state. These regions are in environmental danger. They all share a common beginning. For example, both the Great Lakes region and the rainforests began in a luscious, beautiful state. The rainforest was a wall of huge trees along the coast and the lakes had crisp, clear water. Now, logging, poaching, and more has led to the destroying of rainforests. To add to the problem, the people must decide between saving the rainforest and using the logs and animals such as monkeys as a source of income. Problems such as pollution and the introduction of foreign species have created problems in the lakes. The trend, as can be seen, is that man-made problems have put the once-beautiful areas of Africa in great danger. Overall, the regions of Africa all have their similarities, differences, and trends in how they got to be how they are today.
ReplyDeleteThe topography and location of a region affects the culture and lifestyle of its inhabitants. First, three of the regions in Africa, Sahel, Rainforest, and Swahili Coast, have ethnic groups with deep historical ties to the regions they belong to. The Fulani and Dogon of Sahel came to Niger around the 10th century. The Baka from the Rainforest has been in their region for so long that their origins are unclear, but the most common belief is that they joined with a tribe that spoke Oubangian, adopted that language, and moved to Cameroon where they founded trading relations with Bantu-speaking farmers. The people from the Swahili Coast, the Swahili, date back to 1st century BC and are a mix of Arab and Indian. In addition, all of the ethnic groups have their own religious traditions, but the hybridize this with traditional African religion. The Fulani are mostly Muslim, but celebrate West African religion. The Dogon religion is only for males and is only practiced when someone dies. Bakas do not have a formal religion, but they rely on the spiritual world. The Swahili has practiced Sunni Islam since the 12th century, and they also practice animist. Following, ethnic groups each have their own unique language. The Fulani have both an oral and written language that was once written in Arabic, but is now in Roman Catholic. The Dogons have 15 dialects in their group. No one but the Bakas can understand their oral Oubangian language. The language of the Swahili people is Kiswahili and derives from Arabic, Hindi, and Bantu. Lastly, the ethnic groups all have gender roles; some are more enforced than others. The groups all incorporate their own traditions with the traditional ones of Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe Ethiopian Highlands, the Rainforest, and the Swahili regions share a few characteristics, but are mainly described by their differences. One of the few similarities between the Swahili and the Ethiopian Highlands includes the influence from Arabic powers in these regions, as the Swahili traded with Arabians, and the Ethiopians have origins from Arabia. Also, the Ethiopian highlands and the Rainforest both have areas of forest, and all three regions have diverse vegetation. However, besides these few similarities, the regions share very little. For example, the Baka, from the Rainforest, are primarily an indigenous tribe that still practices old tradition and religion. The Amhara, on the other hand, held a strong empire and influenced much of the land surrounding Ethiopia. Furthermore, these Amhara adopted a new religion from foreign influences. The Swahili were also influenced to practice another religion, but they follow Islam, while the Ethiopians practice Christianity. Influence of culture from foreign empires is a trend that appears in many parts of Africa, but it appears that the Baka did not receive much of this influence. However, deforestation is beginning to threaten the culture of this group and they are now influenced by farmers and foreigners. Furthermore, each of these regions practice different languages, but most of the languages are based off of foreign languages such as arabic. The Rainforest Baka is the only group that maintained a language totally based in Africa, and it is a combination of two native languages. Moreover, each of the African regions base their economy off of different sources. Swahili traded with foreigners, Baka gathered the resources they needed, and Gurage farmed a special banana like crop. Overall, the various groups displayed in the chart have massive differences, but foreign influence has affected them all and is leading each region to have some similar characteristics.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout this exciting study, it has become evident that all regions in Africa have similar roots, but contrast in how they have blossomed. Each of the three regions presented in the preceding charts have cultures that serve as their foundation. For example, the rainforest and Swahili coast were each alluded to within works as early as eighth century B.C., and have been prominent throughout history. However, each grew into their own traditions. The Sahara region, based upon the Islamic religion, developed into a very similar faith. The peoples of the African rainforest adopted the Baka language, and those of the Swahili culture adapted the Islam religion to theirs. Each of the cultures presented started out with a similar, well defined foundation, but combined cultures to create one even more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Lakes, the Swahili Coast, and the Sahara are all major regions of Africa that have various similarities and differences within their cultural and geographical aspects. A similarity that appears between the regions cultural aspects is that a majority of each regions population is Christian, but many years ago each region had their own religion within each ethnic group. For example, the Tutsi and Hutu in the Great Lakes region believed in one supreme god named Imana, the Swahilis in the Swahili Coast practiced Sunni Islam, and the Tuaregs believed in spirits named “djinns” and “kelessuf”. A cultural difference found between the regions is that each ethnic group speaks a different language. For instance, the Tutsi and the Hutu speak Kinyarwanda in the Great Lakes region, the Swahilis dialect in the Swahili Coast is Kiswahili, and the Tuaregs dialect in the Sahara consists of Tamasheq. A difference within each regions geographical aspect is that their vegetations are different, causing each ethnic group to have different occupations available and sources of food. For example, the Great Lakes vegetation is mostly tropical mountain forest, the Swahili Coasts vegetation is primarily coastal forest, and the Sahara consists of mostly desert vegetation. Overall, each region consists of many cultural and geographical differences and similarities that affect the population’s everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the charts,, there are evident similarities and vast differences as well as underlying trends. Similarities throughout the charts appear in the languages. The rainforest tribes tend to have languages blended with other dialects and languages as well as the Swahili Coast region, which mixes Arabic and Hindi. Also, the Rainforest regions's Baka believes in spirits throughout nature, animism, as well as some Swahili members. Most Swahili people believe in the Islamic faith similar to the Sahel Fulani. Differences of the regions include variance in religion, language, and physical features. While within the same region, the Sahel, the Dogon and Fulani tribes do not both believe in the Islamic faith. The Dogon tribes believe in a god named Amma. Other differences include language. While in the rainforest region, the people have no set language yet still communicate through a highly complex and structured tongue. As opposed, the Swahili, Dogon, and Fulani all have an adopted language. Lastly, obvious variance in physical features is apparent. The Swahili Coast encompasses beaches and a large variety of vegetation while the Rainforest only possess rainforest and Savanna Grassland. The underlying trend shows itself throughout each region. The trend depends on the climate area. Wherever the area is located the larger variety of vegetation and differences in the culture.
ReplyDeleteThree regions within Africa are the Sahara, Ethiopian Highlands, and the Swahili Coast. The Sahara was mostly a dry region consisting of desert for about 80% of the vegetation, with the Nile as the main source of water. In addition the Sahara covers the top quarter of Africa and has the languages that are the most diverse. The Ethiopian Highlands is the most mountainous out of the three regions; in addition it consists of the most vegetation and topography. Also this was the only region that inhabited two ethnic groups, both ethnic groups had similarities in language, religion and history. The Swahili coast was the smallest of the three regions. They also are the only region to practice Islam as their main religion. Out of the three regions the Swahili coast was the most different in terms of history where the Sahara and Ethiopian Highlands were similar.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the Africa regional study, the cultures that were compared had various aspects. They all had different religions, languages, traditions, and much more. To understand the activity, one must analyze each part of the society, that makes it a whole. In the regions our class examined, we had to determine each specific part of the society that is key to it as a whole. The different aspects in culture involved different hobbies, like weaving and or quilting. Each different region had a different tradition that they passed on form generation to generation. Along with that, their languages have always remained individual, some languages aren't even able to correlate with any other native languages around it in the neighboring regions. Also, to understand the regional study, one has to examine the geography and vegetation of a region. The geography of each region is very diverse, and each includes a different kind of climate. The vegetation in each area is specific to the climate and exact location of each area. Also, location helps explain where certain parts of culture are and also alludes to the climate and vegetation of each region. Finally, the Africa regional study helped broaden the information and significance of each region of Africa.
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ReplyDeleteThe Sahara Region shares many similarities with the Swahili Coast, but neither of them has much in common with the Rainforest. For example, both the Sahara and the Swahili Coast became popular through the discovery of resources and the immigration of people in order to obtain those resources. However, the Rainforest has always had native tribes living throughout its forests. Also, a type of Islam is popular with both the Sahara people and the Swahili Coast people, with a little mix of native beliefs and animism. On the other hand, the Rainforest people have no set religion, and rely completely on animism. Yet another similarity between the Sahara and the Swahili Coast is the topography of the land. Both regions are flat with rivers and some steep changes in elevation. (mountains, cliffs) The Rainforest is simply a huge forest. Though the Rainforest is bursting with vegetation, the Sahara and Swahili Coast have a relatively low amount. Two characteristics that are different between all regions are the languages spoken and the locations of each region. First of all, the Saharan people speak many languages used for trade. The main language for the Swahili Coast is Swahili. Lastly, the Rainforest has no distinct language, and almost every tribe’s language very different from the next. Finally, the Sahara is the north of Africa. The Swahili Coast is located on the east coast of Africa. Furthermore, the Rainforest is spread out through central to western Africa near the Equator.
Three of Africa's regions; the Rainforest, Swahili Coast, and Ethiopian Highlands, differ and parallel each other in many different cultural and geographic aspects such as ethnic groups, history, religion, language, customs, location, topography, and vegetation. The Baka, Swahili, Amhara and Gurage all descend from an older tribe or group in Africa, but the Baka mingled across Cameroon within tribes while the Swahili, Amhara and Gurage were the product of breeding between African Tribes and Arab importers. The baka started out as a mysterious "pygmy" tribe that has had its roots deep in the forest related culture, whereas the Swahili descended from Arab people and African tribes, but have blended the two ethnic groups to form their own culture on the coastline. Also, the Amhara trace their lineage back to immigrants from Yemen or biblical characters such as King Solomon. With this powerful history they achieved much, such as resisting European invasion. The Gurage, however, were Semitic, like the Amhara, but descended from Sidamo tribes, not immigrants. they also relied and still rely on framing of the Ensete crop, not land power like the Amharas. Relating to religion, the Baka partake in an animistic religion based on forest spirits, but the Amharas and involved in Christianity and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In contrast, the Swahili practice Islam and the Gurage flip between Christianity and Islam. The rainforest region's languages are Oubangian languages, and are unlike many neighboring tongues. Even so, the Swahili coast is a blend of Arabic and Hindi, and the languages of the Ethiopian Highlands are semitic languages related to Arabic and Hebrew. When it comes to customs, the rainforest region relies heavily on its natural resources and bases its culture off what can be accomplished in the rain forest. The Swahili coast blends aspects of African and Arabic into its everyday life, and the Ethiopian Highlands revert to feudalistic ideals, or necessary farming. The rainforest area contains lots of lush rainforest vegetation in the southeastern portion of Cameroon, but is being threatened by deforestation around the Congo river. The Ethiopian Highlands do not have as much green in the northwestern part of Ethiopia, but contain the Great Rift Valley, Simien and Bale Mountains, and the Blue Nile Valley. At the end of the spectrum, the Swahili coast contains mainly small amounts of coastal forest and bush land, but is spotted with coastal reefs and the occasional cliff.
ReplyDeleteIn the African regions of the Sahara, the Rainforest, and the Swahili Coast, there are recognizable differences in numerous cultural aspects along with geography, trends in religions, and similarities in historical background. These three regions are more different from each other than anything. They differ in many ways. Where the Tuareg's of the Sahara region can speak up to four languages, the Baka of the Rainforest region only speak one. For customs, all three have completely different traditions. In the Sahara, women have a great deal of power where on the Swahili Coast, women must never show their faces, be covered in Kanga robes, and possesses little to no power in society. All of these regions also are nowhere near each other and, therefore, have completely different geographical features. The Sahara is nearly all desert with a decent amount of vegetation stretching over one-fourth of Africa. The Rainforest, on the other hand, is covered in vegetation and spreads through numerous countries. In contrast, the Swahili Coast is known for its beaches; nothing like the Sahara or the Rainforest. However, all three regions do possess trends in religion. Based on the history of the region and the region's main resources, the people only worship one main religion pertaining to all these things. Each region only has one form of worship that typically results from the people that have lived in those regions. Also, there are distinct similarities in the history of these three regions. Apart from the fact the origins of these three regions are unknown, all three have a vast history of trade. The nomads of the Sahara were famous for trade caravans, the tribes of the Rainforest traveled west to develop trades, and the people of the Swahili Coast were famous for the nineteenth century slave trade and maritime trade. The history of these regions also play a huge part of why the people of these regions are who they are today. All of these regions, although all on the same continent, are completely different demonstrating the massive vicissitudes of Africa.
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ReplyDeleteAfrica contains these three of eight different regions throughout the continent; the Sahara, Savanna, Swahili coast. With each of these regions they have very various and diverse cultures, speak different languages, practice different religions and have different geographic features. For example Swahili Coast and the Sahel have more plains and grassland but little plants thrive in their type of environment while in the Sahara it is home to more than 1,600 different types of plant species. These plants have to be able to accustom ate to the extreme heat in the desert. With religion you could say that the Sahara and Sahel have a lot in common because and overwhelming part of their population practices Muslim. Even though more than 90% of the Sahel is Muslim there are still people that don’t believe in that religion and have there own beliefs. This doesn’t apply to the Swahili region. In the Swahili region the people practice Islam. As for language, none of these countries have a similar word of tongue. As for the people of Swahili, Kiswahili is the main language and official language of Kenya. There are also combining African Languages with some Omani and Indian words. Swahili is the most common for this region. As for the Sahara region there are two different places where language comes from. The Turages speak Tamasheq and the Hausa language comes from people in Niger, Mali and Songhay. Finally in the Sahel, there are two different distinct types of people that live in this region, the Fulani and the Dogon. The Fulani’s are known for their written literature. They speak Fulfulde and there are 13 million Fulfulde speakers in the world. While the Dogon’s have a vast majority of languages between their people. The Niger/ Congo family of Languages this includes Swahili and some basic understanding of French. With there similarities you could say that these three regions have a least one thing in common but not many realize they different cultures and geographic differences that these regions have from each other and every other region in the continent of Africa.
Similarities, differences, and trends of the Ethiopian Highlands, Sahara, and Swahili Coast are all derived from the region’s history and location. The similarities found in between the Sahara, Ethiopian Highlands, and the Swahili Coast varies for each section discussed in the chart. There are very little similarities in the history section because the history of each region tends to be unique for everyone. A major similarity though in this section is that both the Swahili Coast and the Sahara regions were colonized by European powers. Both of these areas also experienced great influence from the Arabians that scavenged the land in the past. The Ethiopian Highlands on the other hand fought off their Italian invaders and successfully kept their freedom. Also, the Taureg’s history is much more violent and sporadic compared to the histories of the ethnic peoples in the Ethiopian Highlands and Swahili Coast. The religions of the ethnic peoples of the Sahara and Swahili Coast regions are very similar for both practice Islam but also incorporate their own native religions into their worships. The people of the Ethiopian Highlands on the other hand are both strictly Christian and some practice Islam and worship their own native gods. Each region acquires its own languages that the other regions do not. Many of the languages are related to Arabic, though each has its main and specific language. For example, the people of the Ethiopian Highlands speak both Amharic and Guargina, in the Sahara the people speak Tamasheq, and in the Swahili Coast they speak Kiswahili. One similarity between languages in the regions is that the regions that were once conquered by Europeans often speak the language of their European conquerors. Each region is located in its own specific location, some regions include the same countries as another but in this case none of the regions researched include any of the same countries. A similarity in location between all of the regions is that they all can be found in eastern Africa. The location of a region also set itself up for future influences from different foreign peoples. The topography of each region is different for each because it depends on the region’s location. For example, the Ethiopian Highlands consist of highlands and river valleys that run through the flatlands between the different highlands. The Swahili Coast is mainly flat because it’s located on the coastline of East Africa. Because each region has its own topography, it thusly has its own vegetation. No region acquires the same main types of vegetation even though some regions like the Ethiopian Highlands and Sahara have some of the same vegetation zones. Trends that were displayed in this investigation show that a region’s history is what makes its characteristics for the future. Because of the influences of Arabian culture on the Swahili Coast and the Sahara in the past, both regions celebrate Islam. Also, another trend viewed is that depending on a region’s location it has different and specific topography and vegetation. All in all, a region’s modern characteristics derive from its location and history.
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