Peoples of West Africa list. Peoples and countries of Africa

Africa is a place where people live, adhering to the rules of life, traditions and culture that have developed several centuries ago, have reached today practically unchanged and are a clear guide to the everyday way of life of the population. The inhabitants of Africa still successfully exist due to fishing, hunting and gathering, without feeling the need and acute need for the objects of modern civilization. This does not mean that they are not familiar with all the innovations of civilization, they simply know how to do without them, leading a secluded lifestyle, not coming into contact with the outside world.

Peoples inhabiting Africa

The African continent has sheltered many different tribes with different levels of development, traditions, rituals and outlook on life. The largest tribes are Mbuti, Nuba, Oromo, Hamer, Bambara, Fulbe, Dinka, Bongo and others. Over the past two decades, the inhabitants of the tribes have been gradually reorganizing themselves into a commodity-money way of life, but their priority is to provide themselves and their families with the necessary food in order to prevent prolonged famine. It can be said that the tribal population has practically no economic relations, which is why various conflicts and contradictions often arise, which can even end in bloodshed.

Despite this, there are tribes that are more loyal to modern development, have entered into economic relations with other large nations and are working to develop social culture and industry.

The population of Africa is quite large, therefore, from 35 to 3000 people live on the continent per square kilometer, and in some places even more, because due to the lack of water and the unfavorable climate of the deserts, the population is unevenly distributed here.

Berbers and Arabs live in northern Africa, who, over a dozen centuries of living in this territory, passed on their language, culture and traditions to the locals. Arab ancient buildings are still pleasing to the eye, revealing all the subtleties of their culture and beliefs.

There are practically no inhabitants in the desert area, but there you can meet a large number of nomads who lead whole caravans of camels, which is their main source of life and an indicator of wealth.

Culture and life of the peoples of Africa

Since the population of Africa is quite diverse and consists of more than a few dozen tribes, it is very obvious that the traditional way has long lost its primitiveness and, in some aspects, borrowed culture from neighboring residents. Thus, the culture of one tribe reflects the traditions of another and it is difficult to determine who was the founder of certain rituals. The most important value in the life of the tribal people is the family, it is with it that most of the beliefs, traditions and rituals are associated.

In order to marry one of the girls of the tribe, the guy must pay damages to his parents. Often, this is a domestic animal, but more recently, ransom is also accepted in money equivalent. It is believed that this tradition helps families unite, and in the case of a good amount of ransom, the father of the bride is convinced of the wealth of the son-in-law and that he can properly provide for his daughter.

The wedding only needs to be played on the night of full moon. It is the moon that will indicate what the marriage will be like - if it is bright and clear, then the marriage will be good, prosperous and prolific, if the moon is dim - this is very bad sign. The family in the tribes of Africa is distinguished by polygamy - as soon as a man becomes financially wealthy, he can afford several wives, which absolutely does not bother the girls, since they equally share household and childcare responsibilities. Such families are surprisingly friendly and direct all their efforts for the good of the tribe.

Upon reaching a certain age (it is different for each tribe), young people must undergo an initiation ceremony. Boys and sometimes girls are circumcised. It is very important that the guy during the ceremony does not scream or cry, otherwise he will forever be considered a coward.

Traditions and customs of the peoples of Africa

Africans spend a lot of time protecting themselves from evil spirits and getting closer to good gods. For this they carry out ritual dances(causing rain, fight pests, receive a blessing before hunting, etc.), stuff tattoos, cut out masks that should protect them from evil spirits.

Sorcerers and shamans play a special role in the life of the tribe. They are considered servants of the spirits, it is to them that the leaders of the tribes listen and the common people come to them for advice. Shamans have the right to bless, heal, they hold weddings and bury the deceased.

The inhabitants of Africa honor their ancestors with particular enthusiasm, performing a series of rituals to worship them. Often this is the worship of dead ancestors, after whose death more than a year has passed, they are invited back to the house with the help of certain ritual actions, allocating them a separate place in the room.

Before marriage, girls are taught a special language for married women, which only they know and understand. The bride herself must come to the groom's house on foot and bring her dowry. Marriage can be concluded from the age of 13.

Another feature of the tribal culture is the scarring on the body. It is believed that the more of them, the the best man warrior and hunter. Each tribe has its own drawing techniques.

peoples of africa

Africa is 1/5 of the land of our planet. Africa is second only to Eurasia in size. The equator divides the continent almost in half. The relief of the mainland is generally diverse. This is a vast plateau. Africa has neither vast lowlands nor large mountain ranges. Its highest part is the eastern one, where the Abyssinian Plateau is located, indented with mountains and gorges. This area is called the "roof of the continent". The largest rivers are the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi. The rivers are full of rapids, hardly navigable, most of them dry up in the summer.

Africa is the hottest continent. On both sides of the equator there is a strip of tropics that occupies ¾ of the entire mainland. The stripes of the tropics to the north and south are followed by the zones of the savannas - the African steppes (sahel). Deserts are symmetrically located behind the savannah belts: the world's greatest Sahara with an average annual temperature of +35 and in the south - Kalahari and Namib. Narrow coastal strips in the north and south of the continent are subtropical zones. In most of Africa, the year is divided into two distinct seasons: dry - summer and rainy - winter. The farther from the equator, the shorter the rainy season, the less precipitation. Droughts are common in savannah zones.

Now the nature of Africa is a huge sphere of acute ecological crisis. It is caused by the objective action of the very forces of nature and the vigorous activity of people.

Africa is geographically divided into North, East, South, Central and West Tropical. The population of Africa is a complex conglomerate of ethnic groups and ethnic groups of various sizes, formed as a result of constant migrations of the indigenous population and contacts between its individual groups.

Migration was especially wide in the past, when shepherding was widespread. Migrations were also caused by natural factors: droughts, epidemics, invasions of tsetse flies, locusts, etc., which forced the settled population to move to areas more favorable for life. intertribal wars also led to migrations. In the process of migration, there were unifications of tribes and ethnic groups, absorption of some by others, various levels of integration and adaptation.

Nowadays, almost a third of all African population make up the Bantu peoples known since antiquity. They moved across a vast territory from the borders of Sudan to the south. Probably, their ancestral home is the northern part of the Congo basin, on the border of the tropical zone and the savannah. The Bantu were driven south by the Pygmies, Bushmen and Hottentots. Already by the 111th - 10th century, Arab travelers discovered Bantu along the entire coast of East Africa. Part of the Bantu mixed with the natives, the Hottentot tribes were absorbed by the Bantu peoples.

Many peoples migrated from the north to East Africa under the general name of "Nilotes". They were distinguished from their neighbors by linguistic and anthropological affiliation. The Nilots pushed the Bantu southward and settled in the Mezhozero region, where they mingled with the local Negroid population, while retaining a number of anthropological features of their ancestors - tall, long limbs, long-headed. They lost their language, having acquired the languages ​​of the Bantu peoples they absorbed.

A significant part of the population of Northeast Africa belongs to the Semitic group, which is unique in linguistic and anthropological terms. Their origin is probably associated with the migration of groups of South Arab tribes on the Somali coast. Their descendants mixed with the local Negroid population, but at the same time retained the main features of the structure of their language. A significant factor in the formation of the population of this area were the peoples of the Galla (Oromo) and Somali.

Ethnic composition West Africa's population is motley and has complex history formations. It is more or less clear that the Bantu peoples who migrated here, as well as the pastoral tribes of the ancestors of the Fulbe, who came from Western Sahara or North Africa and belonged to the Mediterranean race, took part in this process. In the process of migration, they mixed with the local population, acquired Negroid features and lost their language.

Today, the population of the continent is extremely ethnically diverse and consists of many tribes and peoples, the level of development of which is very different. At present, it is customary to single out about 500 peoples on the ethnic map of Africa.

historical paths development of Africa allow, with a certain degree of conventionality, to distinguish as independent parts of the North, North-West and vast expanses of "black Africa" ​​south of the Sahara. The cultures of the population of North Africa combine the traditions of ancient North Africa and Egypt with Christian and Islamic cultures. The peoples inhabiting the regions of Africa south of the Sahara never knew the wheel, the potter's wheel, did not build bridges, did not use the plow. The most characteristic and widespread subject material culture the peoples inhabiting black Africa is the drum. This item is not just a musical and entertaining, but also a ritual and combat instrument. In addition, the drum served from ancient times the most important means transmission of information over any distance, from one transmission point to another along the chain. The drum is rightfully the material symbol of Black Africa.

Peoples of North Africa.

The North African region includes the population of Algeria, Egypt, Western Sahara, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia. In historical and ethno-cultural terms, the western part of the region stands out - this is the Maghreb. It includes Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Western Sahara.

The majority of the population of the Maghreb belongs to the Mediterranean branch of the Caucasian race. The peoples of the Maghreb speak Afroasian seven languages, the majority of the population speaks Arabic. These areas from the 11th - 111th centuries were part of the Arab caliphate and from that time entered the Arab-Islamic civilization. The Tuareg have preserved an ancient letter - tifinagh -, its keepers are women, all the rest use the Arabic alphabet.

As in all of Africa, state borders, like the borders of regions, do not coincide with ethnic ones. For example, the Tuareg live not only in Algeria, but also in Mauritania, Mali and Niger.

In the north and west, coastal people are engaged in fishing. Farmers here sow grain, cultivate grapes, tobacco, and citrus fruits. The inhabitants of the mountains are sedentary tillers or pastoral herders. Small artificially irrigated fields are located on terraces arranged in tiers on the slopes of the mountains. In the foothills and on the plains, the population is engaged in irrigated agriculture. The main tools of labor are plow, sickle, wooden pitchfork. Further south, the agricultural population is concentrated only in oases or around wells. The main crop grown here is the date palm, the wood and leaves of which are used for buildings, and the fruits serve as the basis for the nutrition of desert inhabitants. The majority of the population in these parts are nomads. They are engaged in camel breeding, sheep and goat breeding. Herds of camels are the main wealth and maintenance of the whole economic activity: a camel gives wool, milk, meat, transports belongings and the whole family of a nomad. The population migrates in spring and autumn, and at the beginning of winter they gather near palm groves, where they stock up on dates and cultivate small arable land. They also wait out the biggest heat in the middle of summer.

The food of African peoples has some common features. Its important part is cereals and flat cakes (millet, corn, wheat). Vegetable protein is given by beans, peas, peanuts; animal protein - fish and meat (goat meat, lamb, much less often - beef and camel meat). Used as fats vegetable oils- palm, peanut, olive; nomadic pastoralists have mutton fat. The most common dish is couscous - balls of rice or wheat porridge, which are eaten with spicy sauces and seasonings. The main drink is water, alcoholic drinks are millet or barley beer and palm wine. Only in the very north are they engaged in viticulture and winemaking. Throughout Africa, traditionally two meals a day - in the morning and after sunset.

The dwellings of the peoples of North Africa are diverse. Cities, as a rule, retain the division into two parts - Arabic (medina) and European. In rural areas, dwellings of highlanders, agricultural and pastoral peoples are distinguished. Highlanders engaged in transhumance usually have two types of settlements - permanent - a fortified village with four towers at the corners - and temporary - a group of tents or a light dwelling on mountain pastures. The settled population of the plains lives in villages stretched along the road. In some places, the ancient dwelling "gurbi" is preserved - a hut covered with reeds or thatch with walls made of wood, stone or clay mixed with straw. The dwellings of nomads are an easily portable tent or tent. Coatings are made from wool or carpets, Tuareg - from pieces of leather. One family lives in one tent. Men occupy the eastern half, women occupy the western.

Most North Africans wear common Arab clothing. This is a long white shirt, over it is a warm burnous, often dark in color, a turban. Shoes - shoes without backs. Indispensable affiliation men's suit- "shukara" - a bag on red braided cords and "kumiya" - a double-edged dagger bent up. Their boy receives from his father at the age of 7-8. Women wear light bloomers, Long Dresses from white, pink, pale green fabric. Townswomen cover their faces with a special veil. Rural women walk around with open faces.

Almost all the peoples of North Africa are patrilineal, their family relations are regulated by Sharia norms. Religiously, the population of North Africa is fairly homogeneous. Muslims make up the vast majority. Maghreb Islam has many "folk" features, in particular, the wearing of amulets, worship of the graves of saints, belief in "baraka" (grace), etc. they keep faith in spirits, ghosts, are engaged in divination, witchcraft, magic.

Original, standing out against the background of other peoples of North Africa - Tuareg. This is the people of the Berber group living in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Algeria, Libya. The Tuareg are the descendants of the ancient indigenous Berber population of North Africa. They form several associations of tribes.

The dwellings of the settled and semi-settled Tuareg are hemispherical huts made of palm leaves or straw. During the nomadic Tuareg live in tents covered with leather or coarse cloth.

Society is divided into several classes - castes. The main ones are imajegan, noble, in the past formal owners of land, and by their main occupation - warriors; imgad, i.e. goat herders, the bulk of pastoralists and farmers, iqlan, i.e. blacks, formerly Negro slaves, now freedmen. At the head of the tribes is a chiefdom headed by a ruler - an amenucal. The symbol of the power of the amenukal is the sacred drum. A feature of the Tuareg is the preservation, along with the patriarchal-clan, of strong remnants of the maternal-clan organization. The position of women among them is much higher than among other Muslim nations: the property of the spouses is separate, divorce is possible at the initiative of each of the parties. Women have the right to property and inheritance One of the remnants of matrilocality is the obligatory wearing of a face covering by free men who have reached marriageable age. This analogue of the female face covering is not found anywhere else in the world. Hence the second self-name of the Tuareg - the people of the bedspread. Tuareg fine art is very original. The motif of the cross is widespread in it, therefore, in the past, the Tuareg were considered descendants of the crusaders. The main guardians of the traditional spiritual culture of the Tuareg are women. In particular, they are guardians ancient writing tifinagh, preserved only among this people, the rest - the Arabic alphabet. Women - the custodians of the musical heritage and historical epos, singers and poetess

Peoples of East Africa .

East Africa is inhabited by the population of Burundi, Djibouti, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia.

The population of the northern half of the region belongs to the Ethiopian race, which occupies an intermediate position between Negroids and Caucasians. Most of the population of southern East Africa belongs to the Negroid race, even further south there is a population belonging to the Bushman type. According to the ethno-linguistic classification accepted in science, the population of the region represents the Afro-Asiatic family, Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Kordofan (the so-called Bantu peoples).

East Africa is a special natural zone .. this is the most elevated part of the continent, all the natural zones of Africa are represented here. The main occupations of the population of East Africa are agriculture and cattle breeding. In comparison with others natural areas, East Africa is most favorable for pastoralism, which is widespread here and is represented by several HCTs.

Cattle breeding is presented in the forms of nomadic (nomadic and semi-nomadic) and distant pasture content. In transhumant pastoralism, the most widely represented form is transhuman herding, often referred to in the literature as semi-nomadic or semi-sedentary pastoralism. This HKT combines pastoralism with agriculture, temporary or permanent settlement of a part of the population with the mobility of another. It does not violate social cohesion. public organization, the entire population, both mobile and settled, belongs to a single social system. This way of life is explained by the differences in natural conditions in which one and the same people live, when one part of them is occupied with agriculture, and the other part migrates with herds sometimes for long distances from settled settlements. Typical representatives of transhuman shepherding - peoples Nuer And dinka. Their habitats (the savannas of southern Sudan) dry out so much during the dry season that the population is forced to move with herds far to the banks of rivers in swampy areas. In the wet season, the tributaries of the Nile spill over vast areas. In wetlands, living becomes possible only in villages on the hills. The change of seasons therefore means a change of place of residence and occupation.

HKT of nomadism (nomadism) has two subtypes - nomadic and semi-nomadic. Nomadism is a special mode of production based on extensive grazing, in which animal breeding is the main occupation of the mobile population and is the main means of subsistence. Another important feature of nomadism is that it is not only a special economic, but also a special social system. Nomads constitute special independent social organisms. Their social relations characteristic only for nomadism and are patriarchal nomadic-communal. The social organization is made up of a tribal structure based on patriarchal and genealogical ties that cover the entire nomadic society.

Among pastoralists - transnumans Patukhs, the sedentary part of society engaged in agriculture, together with mobile shepherds, constitutes a single social organism, the nature of which is determined primarily by the conditions of the sedentary agricultural way of life. Nomads do not have a fixed place of residence; it is not a part of society that roams, but the whole people. Primitive hoe farming is negligible or non-existent.

Comparative analysis on the nomadism of Asia and Africa revealed the presence of significant differences in them. First of all, they are determined by the natural environment. Asia has vast steppe territories and deserts. In Africa, they are much smaller and scattered. Environmental conditions similar to those of Asia exist only in the area of ​​the Afar desert, where northern Somali nomads live. They roam in communities divided by type of animal: camels are herded by men, sheep and goats by women, old people and children. Nomads live in nomadic dwellings, consisting of a frame of branches covered with skins. Aggals are installed in the parking lots by women. It is transported on a cargo camel disassembled. Young men and adult men who roam with herds of camels lead a harsh life: they sleep on the ground, they don’t set up any tents, they eat only milk.

Semi-nomadic nomadism is much more widely represented in Africa. They wander more slowly, the paths are shorter, the machines are more frequent than among nomadic nomads. In addition to economic differences, there are differences in the social structure between nomadic and semi-nomadic nomadism. Among nomadic nomads, the basis of the tribal organization is the system of patriarchal-genealogical ties. The semi-nomadic nomads of Africa have two systems of connections at the heart of their social organization: patriarchal-genealogical (horizontal) and social-age (vertical). Each member of society has a dual belonging: to a certain genealogical line of descent, which is traced from an ancestor-progenitor, and to a certain age class. Intersecting, these two systems of connections stratify society into social divisions that can be quickly mobilized if necessary.

The system of age classes is an archaic social institution that bears the features of the primitive communal era. nomadic nomads either passed its phase in their development, or have long since lost this institution. Nomadic nomadism, similar to nomadism in Asia, is defined as an Asian form of nomadism, semi-nomadic as an African form.

These two features characterize East Africa most vividly. Firstly, in the area of ​​the HKT, mobile forms of pastoralism are most widespread here: transhuman pastoralism and nomadism in Asian and African forms. Secondly, in the sphere of social organization there is the widest existence of the archaic social institution system of age classes, influencing all spheres social life including the current political situation.

peoples South Africa.

South Africa includes the population of the states: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa.

A significant part of the autochthonous population of the region is made up of the peoples of the Benue-Congo linguistic subgroup, known as the Bantu peoples (Congo, Ganda, Zulu, Swazi, Tswana, etc.). racially, the population of South Africa is represented by the Negrodino, Khoisan, Caucasoid races and mixed population groups. The climate and nature are diverse and include zones rainforest, savannas, deserts, stripes of mountains on the coast of seaside subtropics. The dominant position in the region has long belonged to South Africa, where half of the world's gold is mined, a significant part of diamonds and uranium. In terms of industrial development, South Africa is much higher than other countries in Africa.

Historically, two main HCTs have developed in South Africa: tropical hoe farming and nomadic and transhumant pastoralism. Nomadic pastoralism is continued by most of the Bushmen and Hottentots.

Hottentots formerly inhabited the entire southern tip of Africa and constituted a large group of tribes of nomadic pastoralists. They raised cattle, lived in temporary settlements; when the cattle around the camp ate all the grass, the population migrated to new pastures. The Hottentots lived in large patriarchal families. Their social organization was tribal, led by an elected leader and a council of elders. The main occupation of the surviving Hottentot tribes is mobile cattle breeding of the transhumance-pasture type, which replaced their traditional HKT of nomads.

Bushmen were hunters and gatherers. A small bow and stone-tipped arrows are their main weapons, whose appearance dates back to the era Upper Paleolithic. With the advent of Europeans, the Bushmen began to make arrowheads from bottle glass, upholstering it in the same way as a stone, sometimes bartering iron tips from their neighbors - the Hottentots and the Bantu. The only garment of the Bushmen is a loincloth. They had almost no utensils, water was kept in the shell of ostrich eggs, and beads were made from it. The main occupation of men is hunting. The only pet was a dog that accompanied the hunters. Bushmen are very hardy and skillful in hunting, they were sometimes able to pursue the victim for days. Women were engaged in gathering. Bushmen had no houses and settlements. They lived in huts or hid in the bushes for the night. They fought constant wars with the Hottentots and the Bantu. In the end, they were forced into the waterless sands of the Kalahari, where they still live in groups of 50-150 people, uniting male relatives. The hunting cult was the basis of the spiritual ideas of the Bushmen. In their picture of the world, the main places were occupied by the forces of nature - the sun, moon, stars.

In the rainforest zone, small populations are scattered in small groups pygmies, they also live in Central Africa. They are short in stature (on average 145 cm), relatively fair skin yellowish or reddish hue, narrow lips. This is a culturally backward population, speaking the languages ​​of their tall neighbors. Pygmies do not know how to work metal, do not engage in either agriculture or pastoralism, and are hunters and gatherers of the tropics. They exchange with their neighbors, receiving agricultural products, iron products in exchange for what they get by hunting and gathering. The pygmies are leading the floor nomadic image life. The basis of economic and public life- a group of 6-7 small families roaming together. It can break up and appear in a different composition, depending on the availability of the territory with game. The main food of the pygmies is the products of hunting and gathering. The meat of a killed animal is immediately eaten by the entire hunting group. It is roasted over a fire or baked in the ashes of a hearth. Smaller products: termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars - are wrapped in large leaves, such a package is fastened with cuttings, it is placed near a smoldering fire and fried. Plant ash is used instead of salt. The only drink known to the Pygmies is water. Inheritance and kinship count goes in the male line, the settlements are virilocal. Pygmies know only collective property. Their customary law is environmentally friendly: the most serious offenses are the unjustified killing of animals without the need for meat food, cutting down trees, and polluting running water. The most severe punishment is exile, the prohibition to hunt with the group. At the heart of the beliefs of the pygmies is the cult of hunting. The veneration of totemic progenitors - animals and plants - is also developed. The primitive nature of the culture of the pygmies sharply distinguishes them from the surrounding peoples of the Negroid race. Attempts to allocate land to the Pygmies, to involve them in work for hire, as a rule, did not succeed. Most pygmies prefer to lead traditional image life. Now the situation of the pygmies is complicated by the fact that in almost all countries their habitats fell into National parks where hunting for large animals is prohibited. Pygmies remain the most isolated in the basin of the Ituri River (Zaire). In Cameroon and the Congo, there are attempts to involve the Pygmies in modern life. The origin, the anthropological type of this group of the African population, remains a mystery to science to this day.

In Africa, according to various sources, there are from five hundred to 8,000 peoples., including small nations and ethnic groups, which cannot be explicitly assigned to one of them. Some of these peoples number only a few hundred people, there are really not so many large ones: more than a million there are 107 peoples, and only 24 - more than five million. The largest nations in Africa: Egyptian Arabs(76 million) hausa(35 million) Moroccan Arabs(35 million) Algerian Arabs(32 million) yoruba(30 million) igbo(26 million) fulbe(25 million) Oromo(25 million) amhara(20 million) Malagasy(20 million) Sudanese Arabs(18 million). In total, 1.2 billion people live in Africa on a territory of just over 30 million square kilometers, that is, approximately one sixth of the population of our planet. In this article, we will briefly talk about the main peoples into which the population of Africa is divided.

North Africa

As you may have noticed, among the largest nations there are many those in whose name the word Arabs appears. Of course, genetically these are all different peoples, united primarily by faith, and also by the fact that more than a thousand years ago these lands were conquered from the Arabian Peninsula, included in the Caliphate, and mixed with the local population. The Arabs themselves, however, were relatively few in number.

The caliphate conquered the entire North African coast, as well as part west coast up to Mauritania. These places were known as the Maghreb, and although the countries of the Maghreb are now independent, their inhabitants still speak Arabic and practice Islam, and they are collectively called Arabs. They belong to the Caucasoid race, its Mediterranean branch, and the places inhabited by Arabs are distinguished by a fairly high level of development.

Egyptian Arabs form the basis of the population of Egypt and the most numerous of the African peoples. Ethnically, the Arab conquest had little effect on the population of Egypt, in the countryside it had little effect at all, and thus for the most part they are descendants of the ancient Egyptians. However, the cultural image of this people has changed beyond recognition, in addition, most of the Egyptians converted to Islam (although a considerable number of them remained Christians, now they are called Copts). If we count together with the Copts, then the total number of Egyptians can be brought up to 90-95 million people.

The second largest Arab people Moroccan Arabs, which are the result of the conquest by the Arabs of various local tribes that did not constitute at that time united people- Libyans, Getuli, Maurusians and others. Algerian Arabs formed from a diverse range of Berber peoples and Kabyles. But in the blood of Tunisian Arabs (10 million) there is some negroid element that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Sudanese Arabs make up the majority of the population of northern Sudan. Also from the largest Arab peoples Africa highlight Libyans(4.2 million) and Mauritanians(3 million).

A little to the south, in the hot Sahara, the Bedouins roam - this is the name of all nomads, regardless of their nationality. In total, there are about 5 million of them in Africa, they include various small peoples.

West and Central Africa

To the south of the Sahara, the swarthy, but white-skinned Africans belonging to the Mediterranean sub-race of the Caucasoid race are being replaced by people of the Negroid race, which is divided into three main sub-races: negro, negrillian And Bushman.

The Negro is the most numerous. In addition to West Africa, the peoples of this sub-race also live in Sudan, Central and South Africa. Its East African type is distinguished primarily by its tall stature - often average height here it is 180 cm, and is also characterized by the darkest skin, almost black.

In West and Equatorial Africa, the peoples of this sub-race dominate. Let's highlight the largest of them. First of all, this yoruba living in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana. These are representatives of an ancient civilization that left a legacy of many original ancient cities and developed mythology. Hausa live in the north of Nigeria, as well as in Cameroon, Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic, they also had a developed culture of city-states in antiquity, and now they profess Islam, are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Igbo live in the southeast of Nigeria, having a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bsettlement, but a high density. Unlike previous peoples, the Igbos do not have ancient history, since they were formed from many different peoples relatively recently, already in the era of colonization of Africa by Europeans. Finally, the people fulbe settled over a vast territory from Mauritania to Guinea and even in Sudan. According to anthropologists, they originated from Central Asia, and already in modern times, this people was noted for its militancy, with great enthusiasm participating in Islamic jihads in Africa in the 19th century.

South and Equatorial Africa.

In contrast to the representatives of the Negro sub-race, people from the Negrill sub-race are short, their average height barely exceeds 140 cm, which is why they are called so - pygmies. Pygmies live in the forests of Equatorial Africa. But there are very few of them, but other peoples dominate in this territory, primarily from the Bantu group: these are duala, fang, bubi, mboshi, Congo and others for equatorial Africa and Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele for South. The basis of the population of Zimbabwe is the people Shona(13 million), also belonging to the Bantu group. In total, there are 200 million Bantu settled in half of the continent.

Also in Equatorial Africa live representatives of the third subrace, Bushman or capoid. They are characterized by short stature, a narrow nose and a flat nose bridge, as well as skin that is much lighter than that of their neighbors, which has a yellowish-brown tint. The Bushmen themselves are distinguished here, as well as the Hottentots, who live mainly in Namibia and Angola. However, representatives of the capoid subrace are not numerous.

In the very south, the minimal competition to the Bantu is made up of groups of Afrikaners, that is, the descendants of European colonists, primarily the Boers. In total, there are 3.6 million Afrikaners. South Africa can generally be called a melting pot - if you count with Madagascar, where the Malagasy settled from Mongoloid race, then people from almost all parts of the world live here, because in addition to the Malgash Mongoloids, Hindustanis, Biharis, Gujaratis, who speak Indo-Aryan languages, as well as Tamils, who speak Dravidian languages, also settled in southern Africa. They came to Africa from Asia, while the Malagasy sailed from distant Indonesia.

East Africa

First of all, it is worth highlighting the Ethiopian subrace. As the name implies, it includes the population of Ethiopia, which genetically cannot be attributed either to the swarthy, but white-skinned northerners, or to the representatives of the Negroid race living in the south. This subrace is considered the result of a mixture of Caucasoid and Negroid, combining the features of both. It should be noted that “Ethiopians” is a collective concept, the following peoples live in this country: Oromo, amharas, tigers, gurage, sidama and others. All these peoples speak Ethio-Semitic languages.

The two largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia are the Oromo, also living in northern Kenya, and the Amhara. Historically, the former were nomadic and lived on the east coast, while the latter gravitated towards agriculture. The Oromo are predominantly Muslim, while the Amhara are Christian. The Ethiopian race also includes the Nubians living in southern Egypt, numbering up to two million.

Also, a significant part of the population of Ethiopia is the Somali people, who gave the name to the neighboring state. They belong to the Cushitic language family along with Oromo and Agau. There are about 16 million Somalis in total.

In eastern Africa, peoples are also common Bantu. Here it is Kikuyo, Akamba, Meru, Luhya, Jaggga, Bemba living in Kenya and Tanzania. At one time, these peoples ousted the Cushitic-speaking people from here, from which something still remains: iraco, gorowa, burungi, sandawa, hadza- but these peoples are far from being so numerous.

Among the great African lakes live Rwanda, Rundi, Ganda, Sogo, Hutu, Tutsi, and also Pygmies. Rwanda - largest nation of this area, numbering 13.5 million. The lakeside region is inhabited by Swahili, Comorians, mijikenda.

One of numerous nations Central Africa called Bantu, however, it must be understood that under these terms a large number (more than 400) nationalities are united. Thus, the Bantu is a group of ethnic groups, among which there are:

You can meet them in many places south of the Sahara desert. In addition to Central Africa, there are also Bantu representatives in the Southern and Eastern sub-regions. The total number is about 200 million people.

Common to the Bantu is the language and revered traditions. Some of them use several languages ​​at once, but Swahili is most often heard.

Many scholars call the Bantu tribes, along with the Hottentot and Bushmen peoples, the progenitors of the South African race. However, even now science does not possess all the most accurate data on the Bantu, and their entire history is not known.

The appearance of a standard Bantu representative can be described as follows:

dark skin tone;

hard curls, curled spirally;

low nose bridge;

wide nose;

mouth with massive lips;

large growth, sometimes more than 180 cm.

People from the Bantu tribes are very sociable, they easily communicate with tourists, giving them the opportunity to take unique photographs, and excursions are organized for them. All this allows Africans to earn good money.

The religions of the Bantu peoples are different, these are not only ancient animistic beliefs, but also brought Christianity, as well as Islam. All these religious canons have great importance are revered both in rituals and in everyday life.

Once upon a time, these peoples used only small bandages on their hips as clothing, which they made from grasses and animal skins on their own. However, now many traditions have been lost, so even appearance modern Bantu is similar to any European.

And yet, the Bantu peoples managed to preserve their own folklore, which survived many centuries, and these are African fairy tales telling about nature, specific local dances, kind-hearted songs, epic legends and legends.

Equatorial (Western Tropical) IEO[edit | edit wiki text]

Territory: central and southern regions of Cameroon, southern Chad, South Sudan, CAR, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, Zambia.

It is inhabited primarily by Bantu-speaking peoples: Duala, Fang, Bubi (Fernandese), Mpongwe, Teke, Mboshi, Ngala, Komo, Mongo, Tetela, Cuba, Kongo, Ambundu, Ovimbundu, Chokwe, Luena, Lozi, Tonga, Bemba, Luba, etc. Other Bantu languages ​​are spoken by Bamileke, Bamum, Tikar; Adamawa-Ubangi - Zande, Banda, Ngbandi and Gbaya; Central Sudanese - Moru-Mangbetu peoples. The Pygmies speak the languages ​​of their neighbors, that is, of all the listed families, but mainly in the Bantu languages. The Santomians and Annobons are creoles with languages ​​​​based on Portuguese and Bantu languages, Fernandino are creoles with a language based on English and Yoruba.

The material culture is characteristic of the tropical forest zone and is close to the culture of the Guinean subregion of the West African IEO. The culture of the pygmies stands out, preserving a way of life based on mobile hunting and gathering.

South African ESI[edit | edit wiki text]

Territory: southern Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern and central Mozambique.

It is inhabited by the Bantu-speaking peoples of Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele and Matabele, Suto, Tswana, Pedi, Tsonga, Venda, Shona, Herero, Ovambo, etc., as well as peoples speaking Khoisan languages ​​(Bushmen and Hottentots). Afrikaners and "colored" in South Africa speak Afrikaans, South Africans - in the local version of English. Natives of Europe and South Asia (Hindustani, Biharis, Gujaratis, etc.) speak Indo-Aryan, some Indians (Tamils, Telugu, etc.) speak Dravidian languages.

Migration processes constantly took place on the territory of South Africa, starting with the migration of Bantu-speaking peoples from East Africa in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e., pushing the Khoisan peoples to less favorable areas (the Kalahari and Namib deserts). In the first half of the 19th century, part of the Narodnguni moved to the north of modern South Africa (Ndebele), to the territory of modern Zimbabwe (Matabele) and to the south of Tanzania (ngoni). Finally, the last major migration was the "Great Track" - the resettlement of Afrikaners in mid-nineteenth centuries from the Cape colony, captured by the British, to the northeast, across the Orange and Vaal rivers (the creation of the Boer republics - the Orange Free State and the Transvaal).

Traditional activities Bantu-speaking peoples - manual agriculture of the slash-and-burn type with fallow (sorghum, millet, corn, legumes, vegetables) and semi-nomadic cattle breeding (cattle and small cattle). The Hottentots are engaged in transhumant cattle breeding (large and small cattle), with the exception of the Topnar-nama group in the Bay of Whales (Namibia), which until recently was engaged in marine hunting. The traditional food of farmers and pastoralists is stews and cereals made from sorghum and corn, seasoned with vegetables, milk; the main drink is millet beer. The traditional settlement - a circular layout of hemispherical huts ( kraal). Unlike most African peoples, having an open hearth (as a rule, outside the dwelling, in the yard), adobe stoves are common among the mountain dwellers of the Tswana and Suto. traditional clothing- unsewn (loincloth and apron, leather raincoat) kaross).

The Bushmen (san) are wandering hunters and gatherers. As a dwelling, wind barriers are used from branches tied at the top and covered with grass or skins. Clothing - loincloth and cloak.

Methods and sources of ethnography. The conceptual stage of ethnographic science

The article contains information about the population of the continent. Forms an idea of ​​the zonal population of the mainland. Has interesting facts from the life and life of some of the most ancient African peoples living on the planet now.

peoples of africa

Africa is unique and amazing, the same can be considered the people who inhabit the mainland. The peoples of Africa are diverse in all its parts.

The main percentage of the peoples living here is quite small. Usually, they are represented by groups of hundreds or thousands of people. As a rule, they inhabit several nearby villages.

The modern peoples of Africa are related not only to diverse anthropological types but also to different racial groups.

North of the Sahara and on the territory of the desert itself, you can meet individuals of the Indo-Mediterranean race, which belongs to the large Caucasoid race.

On the lands southern region it was the Negro-Australoid race that became widespread. Small races are distinguished from it:

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

• negro;
• negrillian;
• Bushman.

Peoples of North Africa

Now in the northern part of Africa there are many uninhabited territories. This is influenced by the features of the current climate. Once upon a time, the Sahara was transformed from a savannah into a desert. The inhabitants of these places moved closer to the water sources. During the moments of such forced migrations, such areas formed the centers of the birth of great civilizations and cultures.

During the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of European powers often visited the African part of the coast. mediterranean sea. By the beginning of the 20th century, foreigners had become full owners of these territories. This significantly influenced the population of northern Africa, the local culture. The process took about fifty years.

Due to the regular presence of the inhabitants of the Arab and European powers, in North Africa carriers of the features of the Indo-Mediterranean race now live:

• Arabs;
• Berbers.

Rice. 1. Berbers.

They have a dark skin color, hair and eyes of dark shades. hallmark representatives of this race is the presence of a nose with a characteristic hump.

Among the Berbers there are people from light color eyes and hair.

Most of the locals are Muslim. Only Copts are an exception. They are direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians and profess Christianity.

As a rule, the peoples living in the northern region of Africa are engaged in agriculture. In these territories, such industries as horticulture and viticulture are actively developing.

The date palm is grown in the oases. Cattle breeding is typical for the Bedouins and Berbers, who live in mountainous or semi-desert areas.

Since ancient times, peoples who lead a predominantly nomadic lifestyle have settled in the southern part of the black continent.

Rice. 2. Nomads of Africa.

As a rule, they do not have a government with characteristic powers. Among the people of this area hallmarks is a predisposition to hunting, gathering and understanding the interaction of all living things in nature.

African Pygmies and Andaman Islanders are people who have no idea about the existence of fire.

Rice. 3. African pygmies.

About 590 million people live on the mainland. Evaluation report

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