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African
Tribes and Traditions
Indigenous
Cultures of Africa
Of all the indigenous people of the world, African tribes and traditions are
perhaps the most interesting and photogenic. With respect to African tribes
and traditions, there is no "Pan-African" culture, and the Africa continent
has countless tribes, ethnicities and kinship groups. Perhaps the closest
thing among the various indigenous cultures of Africa to a "Pan-African"
culture is the current extensive distribution of African peoples speaking
Bantu languages in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Western Africa, Central
Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. The wide distribution of Bantu
speaking tribes is a relatively recent phenomenon and has resulted in the
marginalization of the tribes speaking languages in the Khoisan language
family such as the Bushmen and Hottentots (Khoikhoi). In addition, the wide
spread use of the Bantu language Swahili has contributed to the Bantu
influence over African tribes and traditions. Another of the unique
indigenous cultures of Africa are the Pygmies. The Mbuti Pygmies are related
to the Hadzabe people, one of the ancient indigenous cultures of Africa that
speak a Khoisan language. Both the Pygmies and the Hadzabe tribe are
hunter-gatherers, representing the most ancient African tribes and
traditions of the various indigenous cultures of Africa.
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