There is a landmass that spans across the vast area of the Oceans. Home to millions of people, this landmass is considered the home of the black race, this landmass is called Africa.
Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, both in size and population. Africa is home to over 1 billion people who speak over 2000 different languages. Africa’s total capacity is roughly 11.7 square miles, representing about a fifth of the earth’s total landmass.
With Algeria as it’s the largest country by landmass and Nigeria by population, Africa hosts a vast diversity of ethnicities, cultures, and languages. In the late 19th century, European countries colonized almost all of Africa; most present states in Africa emerged from a process of decolonization in the 20th century.
Due to colonization and western influence, Africa has almost lost all of its traditional religion and is superseded by the two Abrahamic faith; Islam and Christianity. However, both African Christians and African Muslims incorporate some conventional values into their adopted religion.
As a motherland to 54 fully recognized sovereign countries, Africa prides itself with a variety of different dishes made from grains, rice, millet, yam, beans and cowpeas, flours for bread, including sorghum, maize, and stews cooked with meat and vegetables. Fresh butter and fresh milk features in many authentic foods in East Africa.
Africa is home to over 3000 ethnicities speaking more than 2100 languages. The Niger–Congo-speaking Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, Akan, and Wolof ethnic groups are the largest and most influential.
The Bantu speaking race is the next in line. Today, the Bantu-speaking peoples are found in many sub-Saharan countries such as Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, and Burundi among other countries in the Great Lakes region.
Swahili is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 100 million speakers. It is a Bantu language believed to have originated from other languages, mainly Arabic, due to historical interactions between Arabs from the Middle East and East Africans.
A fast-growing fashion trend in the African culture is the Ankara wraps that can be used to design different fashion styles, ranging from the African Caftan to even suits. Today, the Ankara designs have been blended perfectly with western fashion giving the African fashion sense a reflection of indigenous culture and western influence.
There is a scientific hypothesis that suggests that lives originated in Africa. The discovery of earliest hominids fossils, particularly in eastern Africa, dates far back to about 7 million years ago. The earliest fossils of our species found in Ethiopia dates far back to circa 200,000 years ago.
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
There is beauty to be found on this continent that is Africa. Her rich culture tells an endless story. Her story tells tales of her struggles; her resilience. We all come from mother Africa, the past, and the future of Mother Earth.
