Africa is a fast-changing continent. Until 50 years ago, it was still under colonial rule by Europeans. The continent has a rich cultural history dating back centuries, since early civilization. The diverse natural resources shape African history and culture like it does no other continent.
Forces of nature including climate and geography have influenced the natural habitat, plant and animal life as well as human lifestyles. Harsh conditions in many regions make it very difficult for transportation and survival. However vast areas of natural endowment have caused various ethnic groups to emerge and thrive.
The history of Africa dates back further than is known to most of the Western world. Several great empires and kingdoms have risen, prospered and fallen over the past 1,000 years. Empires emerged throughout the continent, north, south, east and west. Today, what is left of these kingdoms remains in the names of modern African states such as Ghana, Mali, Benin and Zimbabwe. Ever since the last great empire, Africans have gone through colonization and slave trade before independence. The early European settlers trading with Africans and went on to profit from their various natural and valuable human resource.
There are some features that are common to almost all African people: the dark brown or black hair; brown, very dark brown or yellowish-brown skin; and the very common brown eyes. However, the peoples of Africa are spread in diverse ethnical groups, each with certain distinct traits and commonly spoken languages.
In Africa, culture is celebrated formally or informally on an everyday basis. Carvings and sculptures, ancient drawings and paintings, the design and build of houses and villages, tell of a rich history and heritage in not so much as a word. Music is a valued part of daily life. There is deep cultural meaning in the lyrics, rhythm and musical instruments. With music, of course, goes dancing because to African people, the art of music is also the art of moving to music.
Christianity and Islam are the two major religions practiced in Africa. There is roughly the same number of Christians as there are Muslims, making up 85% of Africans in total. Judaism only consists of a very small minority. The rest of the African population (about 13%) practice "traditional religions" as their ancestors have, long before the European colonial era. Naturally, religion is integrated in the education system, both formal and informal. Until quite recently, African native languages were not written, and so there were no records of past events, with the exceptions of Arabic and Swahili. Although the literacy rate in most of Africa is still very low today, that does not override the importance of the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation through traditional or informal education.
