African Culture | Kadealo Africa

10 fascinating African traditions to experience

By KADEALO Editorial Team|2020-11-01T14:21:55+00:00November 1st, 2020|

While many tribal cultural traditions are well understood and replicated in popular culture in the west, such as 'First Nations' North American's and tribes in the Middle-East, African tribal traditions still – for the most part – remain shrouded in an air of mystery and are so often misunderstood. Here we take a look at 10 African cultural traditions that will increase your understanding of the continents historical culture and traditional values. Courtesy of ETSEY ATISU/ face2faceafrica.com African Tradition: “Bride-napping” Although not wide spread like it once was in Africa, the kidnapping one woman by men who want them [...]

Dark skinned Africans with extraordinary blue eyes

By KADEALO Editorial Team|2020-10-25T13:34:47+00:00October 25th, 2020|

Courtesy of Sputnik/sputniknews.com Are stone age hunter-gatherers the key to understanding the phenomenon of Africans with blue eyes? Initially, anthropologists and biologists assumed that humans skin evolved to become 'lighter' in colour as they moved into more northern latitudes, but recent discoveries are turning that theory on its head, with some recent discoveries analysing well-preserved 7000-year-old skeletons of stone-age hunter-gatherers who lived in Europe. A DNA analysis on a skeleton's wisdom tooth has revealed an unusual mix of racial traits: Dark, African skin, curly brown hair and blue eyes. This is perhaps even more staggering because this hunter's skeleton is most [...]

African Tribes: meet the most popular tribes in Africa

By KADEALO Editorial Team|2020-11-01T17:02:13+00:00July 10th, 2020|

Courtesy of Carsten ten Brink/flickr African Tribe: Ashanti The Ashanti also commonly go by the name Asante. They are found in Western Sub-Saharan Africa, in modern-day Ghana and Ivory Coast. Perhaps surprisingly, one aspect of family life within Ashanti society is that it has a slight matriarchal slant to it, where the mother's clan is considered the most important, with a child inheriting from its mother flesh and blood (known as 'mogya'). The child inherits its soul from its father (known as 'ntoro'). The Ashanti consider that a child is closer to the mother's clan than the father's. The Ashanti live [...]

The ultimate guide for African masks

By KADEALO Editorial Team|2020-10-25T13:52:59+00:00July 6th, 2020|

Courtesy of Wonderlane/Unsplash What do African masks symbolize? African masks date back to Palaeolithic times and were initially used to represent spirits of ancestors or animals (known as 'Animist' beliefs), folklore heroes and for celebrating harvest seasons. The purposes and functions of African masks evolved over time to encompass and express all sorts of spiritual and cultural beliefs. During celebrations, war preparations or times of trouble (such as diseases and droughts) the African mask was worn by a specially chosen dancer, who held great acclaim and prestige in a village because they believed that the person had direct contact with the [...]

African music: 10 classic albums to get you started

By Kadealo Editorial Team|2020-06-01T17:18:39+00:00May 24th, 2020|

It comes as no surprise that there would be a whole host of musical tastes and talents to come from within the African continent. Home to numerous tribal groups, cultures, and traditions – all of which have their own take on traditional African music and tunes makes for extremely varied and diverse listening. Of course, some of the more recent groups and singers have additionally taken some inspiration from famous voices of the west, and have added their unique African sounds to it. Here we talk about ten African music albums and their creators to get you started listening to some great sounds from [...]

African Film Festivals From Around the World

By Kadealo Editorial Team|2020-05-27T15:59:59+00:00May 18th, 2020|

Few people seem to realise that the African film industry is entering a massive boom period, and this is especially true in Nigeria, where the film industry has come to be known as “Nollywood”: Films in Nigeria, and the actors, actresses and producers are bringing in huge sums of money, and “Nollywood” is now claimed to be the third largest grossing film industry in the world, only just behind India's “Bollywood” and America's “Hollywood.” But this boom isn't just isolated to Nigeria, as more and more African nations' film industries are expanding every year. This is no doubt reflected in the number of African [...]

10 African cultural values you should know about

By Kadealo Editorial Team|2020-05-27T16:01:06+00:00May 7th, 2020|

Africa is perhaps one of the collections of nations throughout the world that boasts some of the most interesting and thought-provoking cultural values in the world. With so many nations in one continent, African values across the continent can vary widely depending on whether you're in Sub-Saharan Africa or in the more northern nations. As an example, the northern nations such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco have cultures more akin to the Middle East, while Sub-Saharan African nations are more in line with the typical cultures you'd think when you think of Africa. This article will break it down into some of the most [...]

African Art Galleries You Shouldn’t Miss

By Kadealo Editorial Team|2020-05-27T16:01:11+00:00May 7th, 2020|

Alongside African fashion and interior design is a budding market and interest in African Art. Art, especially contemporary, is a fantastic way to introduce yourself to some of the cultures of African nations, considering Africa has always conjured up stunning patterns, colours, and styles, mixed into gorgeous paintings, statues, and the like. Any trip to the African continent would include some variation of art to be experienced – usually in the form of a hotel or home décor, perhaps bold fashion statements found in local markets or just on the streets of towns and villages. But for a more modern view, here is a [...]

Top 10 Music Festivals in Africa You Need to See

By Kadealo Editorial Team|2020-05-27T16:01:13+00:00May 7th, 2020|

Africa is home to hundreds, possibly thousands of annual music festivals, and virtually every style of music is covered from contemporary African beats to traditional and tribal Africa rhythms and even festivals that have musicians, DJs, and bands from all over the world playing. And more and more keep popping up each year. Whatever your taste in music, there is bound to be at least one music festival in Africa to appeal to you. Here this article will select a 'Top 10'; not necessarily the top 10 best music festivals, as everyone's tastes are obviously different from person to person, but a top 10 [...]