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CULTURE AND MODERNITY

Modernity is not the sole 'invention' of Westernization, but more over, 'modernity' is the accumulated Conquest of the Western world   'Alik Shahadah

Modernity is a technological state and has zero ethical considerations in its construction. Modernity has nothing to do with degrees of civilization, in the humane usage of the term. The most uncivilized inhumane society may have advanced weapons which they use to destroy nature and other humans. Would it be correct to say that possession of weapons of modern warfare automatically implied civilization? Culture also interacts with modernity at many complex levels, but advancing culture should never mean the retreat of modernity, and vice-a-versa.

What is the point of African culture(s) if not to be applied to every aspect of the African world? Why should the values and traditions which have preserved African humanity be replaced with the cultures or value systems of those practised by Europe? Because to do so is to concede to a superiority in European values and cultures.

Just when the circumcision rites were being labelled as "irrelevant" the same modern science now discovers the health benefits and lower transmission of STDs among circumcised males. What other revelations lie within the wisdoms found in culture?

Complex Culture's Core Ethical Root Culture and Technology Cultural Footprint Challenges of culture Ownership of Culture Purpose Aesthetic Islam Example Imperialism Eurocentric Changing Culture Identity African Monolith

African cultures have evolved to harmonize with the African soul, body, and mind All are a child of time. Communities enshrine these cultures by practicing them and promoting them. And contrary to what Mugambi and Masolo suggest, there is no evidence, in any record, which show that a people who forget their culture prosper in any meaningful way.[1] And part of the confusion is between "modernity" and "culture." Cultural values can exist in the most technologically advanced spaces, without challenge. It is a false dichotomy to think that rites of passage is incompatible with modernity or dowry belongs in a bygone era. In Africa Ptahhotep was credited with authoring The Instruction of Ptahhotep, an early piece of Egyptian "wisdom literature" meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior in Ancient Egyptian African society. The rites of passage of Ancient Greeks became the first European universities: So institutionalized into the world it is no longer seen as a direct aspect of European culture.

Another almost invisible example is how European Gothic traditions and folklore (witches, vampires and elves) are now transplanted into what is accepted as good Hollywood entertainment. And the same is true for the billion dollar video-game industry. So normalized and obvious that the viewer forgets these are just European cultural folklore in modernity. And the failure to place African cultures in a modern context kills Africa's ability to extract wisdom, success and development from African cultures.

For to free ourselves socially, we must build a consciousness, cohesion and sense of specialness in community [that] only culture can give   Maulana Karenga

The Japanese understand this, and practises Japanese culture in the modern workplace. They did not completely base their work ethos on Europe just because Europe brought technological gifts to Japan in the 19th century (Convention of Kanagawa). So why can't African attire, for example, be the formal dress code of the governments of Kenya? Is the heavy three-piece suit and tie more "practical" in the Kenyan heat than African garbs? During the Ethiopian 2000 millennium celebrations Meles Zenawi wore traditional Ethiopian clothing on national TV for the first time, the next day the local clothing economy in Addis rose by more than 30%. The same thing happened after Beyonce was shown on TV with full Ethiopian cultural attire. Verace came to the attention of the world when his designs were worn by celebrities, it created a status around his work. Now imagine if Beyonce or Meles wearing the Ethiopian cultural attire creates an entire boast to Ethiopian designers internationally? If African leadership is not loyal to the local markets what does that say about African markets? After Thomas Sankara came to power in Burkina Faso in 1983, he declared locally woven cotton the national fabric and required civil servants to wear it. With a serious trade deficit anything which enhances local markets is a critical issue. Not to mention the phycological consequences of seeing Africans wearing their cultural attire and reaffirming a distinctive African cultural heritage which makes Africa unique.

And why also can't African food be served in all hotels in Africa? Why is Africa treated with a false dichotomy of "modernity" or "culture"? Especially when modernity is a byword for Western culturalization. The real reaon most Africans do not take the ethics and the aesthetic of these diverse cultures and put them in modernity is due to mental slavery. Many see African cultures are "backward or impractical" but the truth is most Africans globally do not have the confidence to seek meaningful applications and models for African culture.

The chameleon changes color to match the earth, the earth doesn't change color to match the chameleon   Senegalese Proverb

One example where this has been challenged and won, is with the locks hairstyle, which is seen across the cultural divide. It has left Jamaica and gone to America, and ultimately been a successful alternative hairstyle in much of Africa because of Reggae music. (a perfect example of how music was used as a form of agency). From a Caribbean fringe culture to a global success story.

But how can Africa alter, change, and utilize what is not understood? It is like going through the cupboard and finding 10 bars of gold and flushing it in the toilet , ignorant of its value. And this is what happened across the globe, burning ancient artifacts, throwing out beautiful art and replacing it with Chinese junk.

Discarding environmentally friendly thatched roofs for galvanize; trading silver for cheap salt. So European architects are busy investigating applications of the African cultural aesthetic in contemporary designs, while African architects are running around trying to be Black versions of Frank Lloyd Wright. Even the Chinese had no value for the Great Wall of China and other historical monuments until Europeans showed an interest. But the minute they realized its value they capitalized on it and have been doing so ever since.

Without culture the very meaning of an African identity folds and crumbles. Africa is not just a geographical set of marks on a map, it is the repository of traditions and wisdoms which, build African people's cultural heritage.

Despite the wonderful talk of an African renaissance, there is no evidence of attempts to evolve an all-embracing culture which allows a healthy expression of diversity. Without a mosaic (national) culture that provides room for co-existence, there cannot be an inclusive political philosophy that allows all to become stake holders in government. Neither can there be a moral order--upon which all development is predicated--without a solid cultural foundation.... Africa's post-colonial trauma results from institutions, governance and economic development models without any cultural underpinnings   Sam Mwale

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CHALLENGES

The Continent looks to the Diaspora for their image and identity in modernity   'Alik Shahadah

African authentic culture is impacted negatively from many sides and is a complex dilemma. The first and primary agent which imposes is the dominance of European culture, which first came via slavery, then colonailization and apartheid. It always asserted itself by diminishing the value (socially and institutionally) of African culture. It was in Europe’s interest to create cultural orphans who worshiped all things European, thus making better subjects who had ambitions of approaching whiteness. Taking European names, language and dress ascended things of African origin, and thus secured the notion of African inferiority. Religion compounded this because now the image of divinity was the European cultural ideal. On the Islamic side there was less of an impact because Islam mainly spread through African agents wielding African culture. Culture was a serious factor because if Islam appeared too alien it would not have gained adherence (David Robinson, Hudwick). This was not only true for Africa but also for Arabia where Islam met with great resistance out of fears of loss of Arabic culture heritage. None the less at every turn where Arabs or even Indians got in a religious position over African people (parts of East Africa) they tried to demonize things African (like music and dance) and replace them with notions of their culture. Being Muslim where Africans had no agency was the template for becoming more Indian or Arab. Being Christian was the template for being more European.

But African culture on the continent also has a unique burden, because what is rarely discussed is the fact that they see the Diaspora as ideals—themselves – but in modernity. So not only is whiteness impacting Africa but Diaspora is having a terrible impact on identity. When children in Ethiopia now see Beyonce in her short skirt they relate to the wealth and status and see themselves through her expressions. No longer do they want to wear their habesha qemis, they dont want neTela (headscarf of very fine material).  Modern means what Beyonce and Rihanna are doing, African culture is something to escape with high velocity.

In South Africa the new middle class do not admire African culture, they might reject elements of whiteness as they do not see self in copying the habits of European culture, but they are 100% chasing the gansta pimp dress seen on MTV, they are mimicking the hip hop African-American mannerisms and even the accent. For them they are valid in reaffirming both youth and “blackness.” Compounded not only by notions of “cool” but also notions of fiscal and sexual success.

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CULTURE & RELIGION COMPARED

Culture and religion share space and are deeply intertwined. The purpose of a comparison is only to better facilitate how they interact with each other, but not to suggest a pure dichotomy between the two. Where there is religion there will always be culture—It can be debated if the reverse is true.

Culture has been defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. It is institutionalized in art, clothing, taboos, rituals, architecture, linguistics, proverbs, films and stories. Culture in its broadest definition is the entire social heritage of humanity.

Religion has been defined as a system of beliefs based on humanity's attempt to explain the universe and natural phenomena, often involving one or more deities or other supernatural forces and also requiring or binding adherents to follow prescribed religious obligations. Two identifying features of religions are they to some extent (a) require faith and (b) seek to organize and influence the thoughts and actions of their adherents. (Webster)

Religion, like culture itself, consists of systematic patterns of beliefs, values, and behavior, acquired by people as a member of their society. These patterns are systematic because their manifestations are regular in occurrence and expression: they are shared by member of a group. Both religion and culture (if treated as discrete phenomenon) have traditions which services the group, whose meanings or relevance might be unknown to the user. Perhaps one difference is in religion the source and rational is a divine instruction for a particular action, while in "pure" culture it is informed by societal norms. So "do not eat pork" is an instruction from a divine origin in religion. In culture "do not eat pork" maybe a tradition established by ancestors and a social habit whose origin is long gone but still a factor shaping dietary habits. Religions will always create cultures, and culture becomes religion by attaching divinity to the behavior, habits, and attitudes.

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CULTURE IS COMPLEX

At any given instance a plethora of cultural forces are operating within one individual/community. We can generalize and say their is a master culture which is usually informed by their ethnicity and nationality. But within say an African culture there could be a South African national culture which has peculiarities. There might then be a Xhosa culture which is distinguished against the cultures of the Fulani of West Africa. And then again their maybe a Location (township) culture produced via oppressive apartheid which is unique to South Africa. Within Ethiopia the Oromo people have a unique Ormo identity which sitting inside of Christianity and Islam, as well as elements of Westernization (mislabelled as modernity).

There might then be a KwaMashu township cultue which is unique to KwaMashu in South Africa or Kalagi in Gambia. And then superimposed on this might be a Christian culture and then a general globalized culture: This is why it is called a culture complex. How these various cultures interact and conflict and resolve each other make up the unique culture of a specific group. These are all factors in culture which are condensed in any study. But "Being Ethiopian" like "Being Hawiye (Somali Clan)" switches priority at any given moment. Even with subtle distinctions between being Habesha vs. being Ethiopian National. All of these aspects of identity have unique cultural attachments.

Where does Muslim culture stop and Somali or Fulani culture begin? How can you tear Ethiopian Christianity out of Ethiopia? Taking Islam out of West Africa is like trying to take the green out of grass. In any instant someone could be more Muslim than Somali and then 2 seconds later be more Somali than Muslim (if we tried to split it apart). All of us live in a 21st century world which has a serious impact on globalized socialization. In other words without even knowing it we behave as people in a global cultural village with globalized understanding of people interaction.

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CULTURE IS CIVILIZATION

If African consciousness only manifest in your mind but does not get to your hair, your clothes, your names, your diet, your ethics, your culture – then it has failed to work   'Alik Shahadah

African culture is not a child-culture of a bygone era in post colonial studies. It does not exist on the fringes of modernity, kept alive only for some National Geographic notion of tribalism. African culture, like the cultures all over the world is confronted by similar issues of redundancy and stagnation. Ultimately cultures cultivate and in both a tangible and intangible way solidify diverse groups of people and therefore by its' very nature is a process of civilization. Civilization and religion would never exist outside of human culture, laws which govern societies are just a further institutionalization of cultural laws. But all laws, regardless of if they are religious or legal have some sort of origin in human culture. Thou shall not kill members of your own group - is a cultural law.

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CULTURE's ETHICAL CORE

CULTURAL SHAME | SUPEREGO | MORALS

You can not measure an African success with a European ruler   ' Alik Shahadah

The moral foundation of African culture across the African world is communal based. So fundamental is this in informing African ethics that everything, dance, music, marriage is impacted upon. Music is communal, harvesting crops is communal, even eating is communal. Every ritual and rite is tied into bonding and reaffirming communal bonds. So when people say Gay marriage is un-African, despite their inability to articulate it beyond "un-African," they are speaking to the moral communal foundation of African societies which always place the community above the individual. Rights also cannot supercede those "rights" ordained in nature, things which are incompatible with peoplehood are therefore generally incompatible with African values. And in this communal setting, marriage is a coming together of communities, via two individuals, with the promise of peoplehood. Polygyny then comes into logic by satisfying not a lustful role, but a social one.

Complex Culture's Core Ethical Root Culture and Technology Cultural Footprint Challenges of culture Ownership of Culture Purpose Aesthetic Islam Example Imperialism Eurocentric Changing Culture Identity African Monolith

The shifting dynamics of culture does not mean an alteration in the fundamental principles of that culture. And here we must distinguish between the practises of a people and their cultural ideal–The superego of culture. [1] The rise of sexual immorality in African communities is a reality, this does not however mean these immoralities are an aspect of African culture. Because these trends are not desirable and are not encouraged, they go against the superego of the cultural ideal. The culture serves to inform feelings of inadequacy when strayed from. Hence people remark, "this is not my culture, I don't want to do it", and notions of "cultural shame." retain the boundaries of by ostracizing people who go against the culture moral core. Sometimes a community knows a transgression is occurring but looks the other way, if it is conducted outside of the communal space. Prostitution is rife on some streets in Addis Ababa, everyone knows why those girls are standing by the roadside. But it is never spoken about–the society ignores them. There is a coexistence of two extremes and a fine line of tolerance.

Outside of these exceptions Ethiopian society is highly conservative. Two people kissing on national television would set the nation off. So certain areas have unwritten rules of "exceptions" it is a kind of "slack" that keeps the balance. But if that balance starts to contaminate the larger moral pool, then it is ruthlessly crushed. To the outsider it might seem like double standards but it is the run-off, or 'acceptable negative' a society accommodates. And this is perhaps where African cultures differ from their Western counterpart, because in the West vulgarity and antisocial behavior is an identity in itself, something to be proud off. Even an Ethiopian prostitute would shake her head in disgust at the goings-on and pride of a Western porn star. And what we have to understand is how shame is dealt with even in the act of transgression. So an African woman, from a conservative society, engages in sex outside of marriage there is a coyness even when in the act. A respectability even in a perceived indignity. A shyness and a denial of enjoyment, so as not to complete feel as if they have lost their moral anchor. In African societies even the most liberal know to keep their liberal habits outside of the gaze of the community. Everyone knows in Ethiopia certain women go into bars and drink and solicit men. But they all know once you hit the public streets you still must fit into the cultural ideal of modest behavior.

African culture would take on an entire dynamic if we isolated township culture in South Africa is being archetypical of African culture. These cultures are direct products of apartheid and poverty. And we must distinguish between the cultural habits associated with poor education and impoverishment.(such as alcoholism and sexual promiscuity)

Across Africa, now and then, sexual relationships have been imposed upon by certain cultural taboos. For example, in Ethiopia, and most of modern-Africa, overt display of affection are culturally frowned on. While in Europe it is not uncommon to see two people tongue kissing in public. All kinds of sexuality related habits are governed by the majority culture of a specific location across the globe. It would be fair to say that modesty is the overriding theme in African sexuality in the public space.

The culture core of Africa from KMT to Aksum to now has retained a unique allegiance to life and those systems which produce life. That fundamental relationship to harmony with nature is unaltered, even with the coming of Christianity. The centrality of music and dance and family is unaltered. The minutia details and rituals may have altered but the communities still revere their ancestors and celebrate new life and marriage.

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CULTURAL FOOTPRINT

How do we measure the weight of our cultural presence in a globalize society? How does Africa's unique cultural capital fear in face of globalized cultures? We can look at the global accommodation given to our individual cultures. What impact does Africa and African people generally have on the wider world? What value does Africa represent as a separate body?

The value assigned to Chinese culture and Islamic culture can be seen everywhere by the international accommodation these cultures are given. Despite Ethiopia (ኢትዮጵያ) being the cultural gem of Africa, with 70 million people, its dominances beyond its borders (Ethiopia and her Diaspora) is extremely limited. A look at internet technology shows accommodation for all scripts, DVD subtitles come in many languages including non-Latin scripts from Hebrew to Simplified Chinese, Arabic and even Hindi. But rarely any Amharic, beyond Ethiopian Airlines and the NHS in the UK. The commercial value of African languages is linked to the volume or market value of African speakers purchasing DVDs, accessing in-flight services, etc. If you book a flight online, you can select Kosher (despite Jewish people being a serious minority at 13 million: less than the population of Lagos), Moslem meals {sic}, etc. These cultures have globally accommodation due to their cultural and economic dominance. The economic "value" of Jews is reflective in the cultural accommodation they are given globally. The economic "value" of Muslims means that all over the world you find accommodation for the Islamic diet, not to mention that 1/5 are Muslim.

There is a direct relationship between the economic success of cultures and their physical presence in global societies. It can be used to measure the impact or the global footprint cultures make. The indirect de-emphasis on accommodating Africans is by no means a racist plot, but moreover a measure of the outward extent of African presents in the real world. If Africa tomorrow became an economic giant, these markets would naturally re-orientate and accommodate African culture. DVD manufactures would include Hausa in the list of languages to capture the Hausa market. Just like Chinese restaurants in the UK realized serving Halal ( حلال‎ ) food increased their market share. If African dress is demanded by all African elites, as opposed to the fitted Western suits of Italian designers, overnight markets will shift to accommodate this trend. New economic opportunities will globally emerge for makers of these garments and the entire African industry will be stimulated. So there is a strong relationship between cultural agency and market forces and then ultimately the cultural footprint of Africa in a globalized world.

The reason for the low position of African cultural dominance however is another issue. The legacy of colonialism and slavery has left Africa in an endless rut. While the Asian sub-continent crawls forward Africa is caught in a desperate loop. The only exception is South Africa as a nation, but looking at the race dynamics reaffirm the dilemma of African people. The condition in South Africa is nothing more than a Southern most European colony. South Africa is geopolitically globally because of its European population and their economy. Thus all over the world Afrikaans, despite being a minority language is more accommodated for than Zulu. Therefore South Africa internationally is not culturally shaped by the majority African population.

Agency in South Africa is also not the designs of African politicians who manage this Southern European plantation. The cultural footprint of South Africa is expressed almost exclusively via White European cultural agents. And again in Kenya we see the "Kenyan culture" that the world celebrates is not the product of African agents, but the product of European agents and their "lens" on what is and what is not Kenyan culture. The beautiful mask and ornaments sold in airports are filtered aspects of Kenyan culture and Africans are generally absent from that process.

Culture is America's biggest export. Via the mechanism of media it has becomes not only the culture of America but also the world. It is maintained, promoted and protected by the Media, the merchant, the missionary and the military. (4M's). The stronger the American culture the stronger American products and services. The sushi food culture of Japan is now an aspect of globalization which makes a cultural deposit for Japan, enhancing Japan economically and socially. But the contemporary version, internationally known as "sushi", was created by Hanaya Yohei (華屋与兵衛; 19th C). The sushi invented by Hanaya was an early form of fast food and had all the components which made it compatible as ambassador of Japanese culture. Every bite into Sushi is creating wealth back somewhere in Japan. And this understanding is something most of Africa has failed to do with its cuisines. (except Ethiopia)

With all the "Black" celebrities out there and governments why is branding African culture cuisine by internationalizing not being done? So that every time someone eats jerk chicken it creates 10 jobs back in Jamaica. The Halal cultures of Muslim people is also another example of culture and power tied to economy. Airplanes, restaurants all over the world to accommodate Muslims adopt Halal standards for food. In South Africa, despite having a Muslim minority, the majority of the poultry products are Halal. This is the power of culture to impose itself in the market place. So culture is more than a fringe accessory it is tied heavily to national development.

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CULTURE's PURPOSE & PROCESS

Our culture provides us with an ethos we must honor in both thought and practice. By ethos, we mean a people's self-understanding as well as its self-presentation in the world through its thought and practice in the other six areas of culture. It is above all a cultural challenge. For culture is here defined as the totality of thought and practice by which a people creates itself, celebrates, sustains and develops itself and introduces itself to history and humanity   Dr. Maulana Karenga

Every society develops a culture through a plurality of shared norms, customs, values, traditions, social roles, symbols and languages. Socialization is thus 'the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained" ( Socialization and Society ).

The agents of socialization are 1. Family 2. Religion 3. Peer Group 4. Education 5. Economic 6. Legal systems 7. Penal systems 8. Mass media and News media Organizations. Karenga identifies six areas of cultural activity: History, Religion, Social organization, Economic organization, Political organization, and Creative Production. [2]

Culture is therefore a complete process, that is not limited to "the people", it is at a legal level, a family level, an a political level. When you land in Israel you see a complete set of systems working in tandem which promote an Israeli national culture. When you land in the USA you see American culture, it is not a coincidence those things which shout "This is America". As mentioned before, it might be called Western, but it is someone's culture. French culture, Italian culture, etc are promoted at a state level. So in Africa the political process has an inescapable responsibility to African culture.

It is a global religious concept that humanity was designed to govern self. to make moral choices in the face of challenges, to protect the weak, care for the old and the sick and balance all these things against lust and greed and all the other challenges of life. To eat but not to deplete, to enjoy life but not to exploit life. To pursue happiness but not by denying other joy. To protect communal traditions while rooting out harmful practices and also to find ways to create a viable future for the broadest possible human demographic.

Culture is the most pertinent response to these challenges. Culture instructs our lives with values and habits which service our humanity. Many aspects of African culture have a role in our continuation. When you see a huge taboo sign, that is because long time ago, African ancestors realized, to walk down that road is to entertain failure. It became institutionalized in culture. Cultures like religion uses "do's" and "dont's" to frame structures which maintain the societies from which they come. Marriage, eating, death, all have no-no areas to in principle protect those community characteristics which are passed down the generations.

What we must always considering in studying Africa is the multiplicity of identities and the dynamic nature of human culture. Cultures smash through borders, languages, notions of ethnicity, religion and political parties. So African identity is not one hard thing but a multitude of self-imposed conditions which ideologically run fluidly across indigenous Africa; it is not a scientific observation but a cultural-political one.  Human cultures share a common theme. Family is central; the collection of cultural features is politically and sociologically threaded together for common interest where Africa is concerned.

So what is the real issue the West has with the Hijab? The Hijab is a cultural political symbol of the face of the rise of Islam. Every year more the streets of Europe see more women wearing this "alien" dress. The traditional imposition of White supremacy is being beaten back by an pigmented culture. Now the Muslim is again in Europe, but not with weapons of war, but weapons of culture. We can now see White skinned British girls walking down Oxford street in hijab which spits in the face of "Europeanization." And the new cuisine, language are all carried on the wings multiculturalism, the same multiculturalism that keeps the West powerful via fresh labor, skills, and money. So every attempt is being made to have the cake and eat it to, keep the perks of diversity while attempt to Europeanize them as they did with the African-Caribbean community. The irony is that the strength of "the other" in Europe is because of their cultural identity. Once that is gone the social function that multiculturalism serves will vanish and become social delinquency.

We are not Africans because we are born in Africa, we are Africans because Africa is born in us    Chester Higgins, Jr.

RESISTANCE

Humans are all the same, if you cut us we bleed, if you oppress us we rebel. Makes no difference if it is from the chains of slavery or the ovens of Nazi Germany. And all people in bad situation have degrees of culpability and self-harm. The one factor that influences that degree is culture and the identity that comes out of that culture. The more institutionalize that culture and identity the harder it will be to enslave a people or maintain them in a state of unconscious oppression.

Post Nazi-Germany Jews actually create a stronger Jewish identity creating in the wake of their Holocaust new cultural/religious structures which reinforced Jewishness. In the case of the African-American the cultures which came across the Atlantic during the African Holocaust held out for centuries but under the pressure and ferocity of the Maafa collapsed into a state where the cultural structures failed as means of retaining identity. It can be argued that if the Jews were also exposed to the peculiar conditions of the Maafa a similar pattern of destruction would have been visited on them culturally. The only saving factor was as a group they had a highly Institutionalize culture and the short duration of the Jewish Holocaust. Culturally Africans in America were from far too diverse ethnic groups to retain an cultural identity–the solution or response was they made a new one.

Critical mass theory applied to identity: if you do not have enough matter (identity) in oppression your system collapses under pressure. If you have enough critical matter even oppression will have the opposite desired effect by creating a super nova of locating revolution within the structures of cultural identity. Testimony to this is the Western assault on Muslim peoples globally. Since the crusades this assault has done nothing be reform different responses from Muslim communities, it has never quelled Islam's potency as a cultural-ideological contender for world power.

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CULTURAL UNITY OF AFRICA

(This section introduces an argument against, see next section for "pro")

The Red Sea is not the Atlantic Ocean and cultures and trade have been passing between the two for millennia   Hakim Quick

Language Divide

What we chose to see as a united culture is purely subjective and politically motivated. That does not mean there is not an underlying texture or asethetic found in African cultures North, South, East and West. But again all the arguments used to support why Akan and Khoisan share some deep relationship could equally be used to explain the cultural relationship between semitic people's of the world (Ethiopia, Arabia, etc).

Genetically African people are very diverse, so much so that an Ethiopian and a Zulu have more genetic varation between them than say a Chinese and an Indian, or an Persian and a German. Why would we assume culture would be the same? What force is working within the African continent to unify cultures, considering its complex barriers (Sahara, Ethiopian mountains, deserts of Southern Africa, Lakes, Jungles)? Why would 'Africaness' arrive at a desert in Mauritania and stop, yet continue to express itself from Senegal down to South Africa?

Islamic Distribution

When we put a challenge to it we start to realize it is a figment of our imagination not really an antropological reality. If language carries culture then already it is proving Africa is not a cultural monolith. If religion carries culture then already Islam's distribution in Africa proves the monolithic notion has in flaws.

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CULTURAL COMMONALITY

(This section introdues an argument for commonality)

Words have limits. Just try using only words to describe the smell of the perfume in an Ethiopian church. These limits of words to express what is African culture do not mean it is not there. So words can not express what makes something African from Ethiopia to Ghana. But the complete cultural package is recognized at some higher level by the viewer, as African.

The superstructure of the Western world elevates the individual over the society and therefore enshrines an ethic of one against others in a situation of existential tension. All institutions of the West predicate their existence on the assertion of the individual as unique even without the group. This is in direct contrast to what often happens in an African context where the person gains his or her meaning in the midst of community.   Dr. Molefi Asante

African culture today is varied and diverse yet a common thread latches these diverse cultures into one African family. Diversity does not mean all of these cultures do not come under a central Pan-African umbrella because there is a perceived widespread psychological and cultural themes and patterns that there are unique to African people. This view of seeing a universality in Africa is admittedly a political one because of a common history and a common need for Pan-African unity.

in the same way reference is made to the Greek or Roman civilization, it must be quite appropriate and legitimate to refer to a particular strand of mind that is quite peculiar to Africa and which shapes the prevailing conditions or permits itself to adapt to those conditions. ... (T)here is a distinctive feature about the African mind which seems to support the claim that the mind in Africa may not necessarily operate in the same strict pattern as minds elsewhere in the world.... (I)t is the way our mind functions and operates under certain conditions that we are able to arrogate to ourselves a peculiar status, social identification and geographical label   John Nyakoe-Nyasani

African culture is far greater than the sum of the individual parts. Regardless of ingredients, cultural identity is expressed through its core aesthetic. If one likens African culture to jazz, which contains drums, piano, and trumpet? These ingredients are not unique to jazz as Scandinavian music may have in the same ingredients but jazz is instantly recognizable and radically different from Scandinavian music. African culture may have in non-exclusive and global ingredients such as reverence for; ancestors, marriage traditions, spirituality, dance but how these various ingredients interact in both a tangible and intangible way constitutes the cultural uniqueness.

Senghor (1966), in comparing Africans and Europeans, argues that there is a unique African world view focused on what he describes as "being" and "life forces." He writes The African has always and everywhere presented a concept of the world which is diametrically opposed to the traditional philosophy of Europe. The latter is essentially static, objective, dichotomous; it is, in fact, dualistic, in that it makes an absolute distinction between body and soul, matter and spirit. It is founded on separation and opposition, on analysis and conflict. The African, on the other hand, conceives the world, beyond the diversity of its forms, as a fundamentally mobile yet unique reality that seeks synthesis....This reality is being, in the ontological sense of the word, and it is life force. For the African, matter in the sense the Europeans understand it, is only a system of signs which translates the single reality of the universe: being, which is spirit, which is life force. Thus, the whole universe appears as an infinitely small, and at the same time infinitely large, network of life forces…"

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CULTURAL IMPERIALISM

Cultural imperialism is the domination of one culture over another other by a deliberate policy or by economic or technological superiority. Africa is undoubtably the victim of cultural imperialism and its mechanisms today are none other than globalization. The agents of this imperialism are mass media and unfair trade. The consequences of this imperialism are under-development, lost of identity and language and destruction of markets (e.g. where traditional African clothes are replaced with Western ones).

Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. ( Alexander, Victoria D. (2003). "The Cultural Diamond - The Production of Culture". ) This form of imperialism first entered Africa with colonialism, both Arab and European. It is also perpetuated via religion, education, language, and socialization. It is not however exclusively a Africa v non-African issue. Continental Africans see African-Americans as their mirror in modernity. As the imposition of African-American identity in style, music and mannerisms is imposed on African communities. Nor is cultural imperialism in Africa confined to this era. The history of Africa, as with everywhere else in the world, marked with degrees of cultural imperialism. And in Ancient Ethiopia and Ancient Egypt we see examples of this.

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WHITE SUPREMACY & ANTROPOLOGY

When studying Africa from the eyes of Whiteness. Many assumptions are made. Europeans have a tradition of treating African culture the same way Zoologist study animals in the wild. [4] For example because the Arab trade favored women, it is said that some ethnic groups disfigured their faces (Mursi lip adornment) in an attempt to dissuade enslavers who sought beautiful women.

This is however a baseless Eurocentric anthropological fringe theory which is typical of ignorance of African culture. Lip stretching, like neck stretching in Asia or foot binding are culturally localized types of beauty, which are not rooted in European sensibilities and hence not subjected to Eurocentric logic. In absence of slavery similar body ornaments are worn by both sexes of the Suyá people, a Brazilian group. Europeans see what is perceived as "ugly" and assume their perceptions are universal and hence seek reasons (from their own culture) why someone would practice certain rituals. [4]

Since the 1960s, the predominant approach to social and cultural research among social scientists has been that of isolatation, clearly defined society, population, sector, geographically defined area. This approach has been championed as a progressive replacement to the former tradition of Eurocentric broad sweeping generalizations at higher levels of social organization such as the ethnic group, society, nation or geographical regions. [5]

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CRISIS | NO CULTURAL OWNERSHIP

See Agency

120,000 years on the planet and we let someone else come and build our monuments and plough our fields and sell us everything we need to live   ' Alik Shahadah

One measure of the level of destruction on Africans globally is the mass dis-ownership of culture. From domain names to grocery stores in the African world communities, it doesn’t matter if you are in New York or Nairobi, Bridgetown or Bamako. Most of the products which are branded or dealing with Africans remain in the hands of our non-Africans.

Like avoiding an elephant in the middle of downtown New York, Whites have an amazing way of talking around the subject of economic ownership in this department.

Complex Culture's Core Ethical Root Culture and Technology Cultural Footprint Challenges of culture Ownership of Culture Purpose Aesthetic Islam Example Imperialism Eurocentric Changing Culture Identity African Monolith

In terms of engaging culture as a business Africa is asleep or late of the starting block to recognize new opportunities and move into our own cultural niches before they become dominated and controlled by others. Almost every major organization rooted in “doing” something for Africans or “saving” Africans from something is European dominated. Most cultural products sold as African include Africans as bottom recipients in the economic food chain. African-Americas are very famous for hip-hop, the world sees the African stamp on this genre. Some individual rappers get rich from it (0.00001%) but who gets wealthy from it? Who shoots the videos and owns the labels? Or the record shops? The clothes they wear? The cars they drive? The greatest Jazz artist is Norah Jones, the greatest rap artist is Emenim, while the greatest rock ‘n roll artist is Elvis Prestly; the current greatest reggae artist is Sean Paul.

African created, the jazz but they did not write the history or own any aspect beyond some royalties. The entire jazz creation has done more economically for European Americans than African-Americans.

An independent African run site did a survey “are we better off today, compared to yesterday” 70% of the people recognized “we are worst off today but richer.” The glorious efforts in America in the 60’s, under segregations, had more elements of self-determination and agency that today. More business ownership and more importantly a do-for-self attitude. Wade in Senegal gave Asians $28  Million to build an African monument. The Zulu cultural department had no problem, nor saw a conflict of agency when they gave a White-Boer artist R3 million to build a statue of the warrior Shaka Zulu, he made it look weak so they did something smart, they let him try again. 10,000 years of sculpting and crafting the African artist is never seen "valuable" enough to be given the opportunities to represent African culture.

Asians build African cultural icon(Senegal)

Despite being the first people on the planet, Africans still do not know how to grow their own crops on a large commercial scale, or how to build our own bridges, refine oil, process diamonds, or even build highways without help from "the other". So when Mugabe escorts white farmers out of Zimbabwe, Nigeria with love and open arms begs them to come and exploit the land. Sending people to learn these skills, as the Japanese did, never occurred to the dependent minds of African leadership. The largest dealer in African art, are not Africans. The best selling books on any aspect of Africa is again, not largely African. If South Africa is selling its trade mark vuvuzela on a commercial scale be sure the company owning the product is majority white.

Neil van Schalkwyk says his firm has sold 1.5m vuvuzelas in Europe since October 2010 and expects sales of up to 20 million rand ($2.6m; £1.7m) over the course of the South African 2010 football. Brandon Bernardo of the vuvuzela.co.za website told Reuters news agency they could churn out at least 10,000 instruments a day. So the musical cultural icon of South Africa profits everyone but the native South Africans. Africans are blowing it but someone else is owning it. And in all of the debate these issues never seem to be mentioned.

White (Andries Botha) artist gets to sculpt Shaka Zulu Sculptor

Search the internet, and look at popular sites to do with African people and see who and what is in control of it. When you go to see Zulu dancing in South Africa, it is rarely owned (if ever) by African people. The themes are African, the aesthetic is African but the ownership is 100% White. Pick up a CD in the airport in Kenya featuring African music, again products made by Africans but not owned by Africans. A large format table book on "tribes" of the Sudan, written by two Italian women. A film festival showcasing the best of African cinema, where not only are the majority of the films made by Europeans but the festival is also run by Europeans (like Durban International Film Festival).

Keffiyeh + Flamenco Example

With the rise of China this issue of ownership of culture has not only impacted Africa but also most of the world. With economic might, cheap labor, China has the infrastructure to capitalize on anything it puts through its monster production systems.

An intresting case in point is the Arab Keffiyeh. Today, this symbol of Palestinian identity is now largely imported from China. With the scarf's growing popularity in the 2000s, Chinese manufacturers entered the market, driving Palestinians out of the business. Even Jews in Israel are trading it on Ebay (Despite many Zionist protesting its sale in the USA, as it symbolizes Palestinian self-determination).

This is the reality of globalization where cultural property, if not properly managed can freely be appropriated by other non-related cultures. China has its eyes on everything African; aesthetic, fabric, art and music. They have the economic power and the distribution muscle to dominate the market at the expense of everyone else. The challenge is how in a free market does Africa protect its culture from exploitation?

Spanish flamenco, a music of Spain with deep Moorish influences is now so popular in Japan that their are more Japanese experts and scholars on the subject than in all of Spain. This has to be stated to show that it is not a one way racial situation.

Clearly one solution is to first capitalize on it and put it on the international market. But the rate of Westernization going on in Africa means the value of African traditions products are diminished. Hand crafted chairs replaced by cheap plastic from China, beautiful African art replaced by mass produced Ikea type paintings. The local art dies and has no foot hold locally let alone globally. China has the distribution, the labor, the business models to dominate. And Africa slow to capitalize has zero resistance.

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AFRICAN AESTHETIC & BEAUTY

See Music and Dance in African Religion

African beauty sensablity is located in a naturalist understanding of what is productive. So while flat bottoms and starvation thin pale bodies are considered beautiful on the catwalks of Europe, in Africa fertility and viablity for motherhood is the benchmarks of beauty. So wide hips and a large bottom become attractive. Those features which are visible signs of fertility and sexual dimorphism. The foundational paradigm which informs all Afrcian aesthetics in the diverse continent is not located by a European benchmark built in a European environment.

So when we look at the music, the dance, and sexualized beauty, we see a unique cultural lens unique to Africa. Sacrification is almost contienent wide, as well as tatoing. And in African dance and music it is not abstract, but rooted in the Earth and sprituality.

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CHANGING FACE OF CULTURE

	If a fish jumps out of the sea and grows wings, feathers and a beak, at some point in that change the fish ceases to be a fish - culture is no different
	'Alik Shahadah

We must identify what we are discussing when we saw cultures change. Cultural diffusionism looks at how cultural changes spread from a small source sample from one society to another. The process by which discrete culture traits are transferred from one society to another, through migration, trade, war, or other contact (Winthrop 1991:82).

This author suggest two types of change "off Axis change" and "on axis change", where the axis is the core value formation of a culture. Because we run the risk of making an error of confusion cultural innovation with radical core changes. For example Franz Boas viewed culture as consisting of countless loose threads, most of foreign origin, but which were woven together to fit into their new cultural construction. Discrete elements which become more interrelated as time passes--bluring their discreetness in the process. Now on axis change allows these elements as Boas notes to be woven together under the authorship of the people receiving innovations. In the off-axis setup this process is overwhelmed by imposition.

Christianity has radically "changed" the Gikuyu culture in Kenya. Yet the ancient Gikuyu would still recognize Gikuyu of today as their relatives. The language the core customs and rituals, even with the Christian faith are still recognizable. While subjective, the same cannot be said for the forced African Diaspora who would be unrecognizable to say the Akan people in Ghana.

In marriage cultures all over Africa cows as a dowry gift (Mahr  مهر‎ )‎  has been replaced by blankets (especially in Southern Africa) and money. This is the cultural response to practical changes in world currency. However, that is not a core change since the spirit of labolla/mahr/dowry remains. The principles of a wedding gift remain despite a change in currency. the world has swung left and right but culture of marriage is over 7000 years old.

	When a culture no longer meets the need of a people or solve the problem confronting a people, that culture must transform
	Amos Wilson

Technology has altered much of our landscape, people in Gambia now go to the Mosque by car as oppose to by horse. People talk on mobile phones, but the greetings are still "Assalam Alaikum." Technology has shaped the culture but it has not made a significant change to the core Islamic faith, despite the Adhan now being called out on a loud speaker and electricity being in every Mosque. People now read Qur'an on Ipads is an evolution but not a change which suggest Islam is becoming Scientology.

Between Monday and Friday every person undergoes "change" it however would be a misrepresentation of the facts to suggest this "change" means people become radically different individuals. The cliche express "cultures change they are not static"' is being abused to justify radical alternation to African cultures. So the barriers which protect African identity are now being torn down under the word "cultures are not static." New markets and foreign destructive habits can now nest in African societies under the banner of "cultures change." But cultures even if they change should always change under the process of agency.

There is no dispute that cultures adapt and evolve and reply to reality, but they ethics are pretty much rooted in the original foundational paradigm which fostered them. Everything changes and there is a degree of subjectivity but a change must be weighed in unless we confuse natural variations and adaptations with some notion of Darwinian evolution. And at the end of the day it is called "African" culture for a reason greater than it being a black step-child of European culture.

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AFRICA IS NOT A MONOLITH

We often hear rhetoric such as the "original African spirituality of Africa". But which Africa is this? Is it Africa when Europeans wandered into villages in Benin? Or is it the Africa of Axsum, Kmt and Songhay?

The treatment of Africa seems to imply a constant historical and cultural monolith that was at peace and pure before a certain set of invasions. How is the cultural shift from Ethiopia to Benin homogeneious while the cultures from Ethiopia to Yemen 22Km away are heterogeneous ? Linguistics alone tells of a completely different historical relationship. Gene flow tells of another complicated relationship to the so-called Middle East (Lemba, Ethiopia, Swahili, Somali, etc). However genes have been coming in and out of Africa since pre-history. Undue weight is given to genetics when we already know people did not sit still. Interaction in ancient times was no different from modern times, only that journeys took longer.

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EVERYONE HAS CULTURE

Complex Culture's Core Ethical Root Culture and Technology Cultural Footprint Challenges of culture Ownership of Culture Purpose Aesthetic Islam Example Imperialism Eurocentric Changing Culture Identity African Monolith

Because of the imposition of European culture, it has grown from being a visible culture to just being just the norm for everyone including non-Europeans. Eating with a knife and fork or wearing a tie is all part of a specific ethnic culture which via acculturation has become "normal" for everyone else. So issues around culture being seen as backward are debunked because European culture is wrapped in technological innovations and certainly not perceived as "backward." There is no part of the American dream that is not a cultural construction. The value formations instruct the culture which is uniquely American. Nothing humans do is untouched by culture and therefore there is no positions in a sanitized culturally-secular world. In other words a culture-free society or a cultureless way of doing anything. And in more subtle ways language affects perception. The term ethnic is used by Africans inside of Africa to describe their nature features and cultures. How can an African be "ethnic" in a continent where Africaness is the norm?

We also see people saying "cultural dress" ; the mental process is creating a "normal dress" and then a "cultural dress" and while it is 100% accurate, we need to examine how European culture is so normalized it forces everyone else's culture to be "Culture."

In the West it is customary to say "Lets go for a drink " this is an aspect of socialization and culture. It is the cultural way in which people engage with one another. It is however not the standard. In the Sahel of Mali the custom every time people meet is to sit down and drink sweet coffee.

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CORRUPTED CULTURES

Cultural corruption and superimposition is when elements of a culture are replaced with similar customs which have completely different attachments. Traditionally in some African communities alcohol served as a way in which certain ordained spirt people communed with the other realms: Alcohol (palm wine) served as a purely "religious" function in the society. A way of specifically related to another world in specific rituals by specific people. With the coming of the European alcohol began to take on a new function as a social drink. The trade in slaves for alcohol created a commercial grade brew which was shifted out of the religious realm to exacerbate and encourage social drinking. This only increased with the depression from the trauma of slavery and colonialism dug deeper into African communities.

Some would point to the libation rituals but the pouring of alcohol became a form of corrupted culture. Which became so common place it actually gives the illusion of being part of traditional African culture. However the social drinking was never a mainstay of African culture. The consequences of this alteration to cultural purpose is a form of cultural corruption by superimposing other cultural values in place of pre-existing similar cultures. i.e. usage of alcohol.

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CULTURAL RELATIVISM  

	it is easy to prove that most taboos are, indeed, relative. Incest, suicide, feticide, infanticide, parricide, ethnocide, genocide, genital mutilation, social castes, and adultery are normative in certain cultures - and strictly proscribed in others. Taboos are pragmatic moral principles. They derive their validity from their efficacy. They are observed because they work, because they yield solutions and provide results. They disappear or are transformed when no longer useful.
	Dr. Sam Vaknin

Cultural relativism assumes that the practices within a specific culture have been created through agency and therefore have a relevance and value that outsiders must be sensitive to when hurling critique. The Western anthropologist has done a lot of misdiagnosis and created paradigms of primitive and advanced based on cultural bias. That has intern washed into academia where the very people from these cultures absorb this discourse and reapply the misdiagnosis to their own communities; a kind of Heisenberg paradox. To assume pleasure in the Somali world is equal to pleasure in the Western context is to assume a normality or expectation across cultures. If all humans are equal then the direction in which sexual pleasure take in the Somali community cannot be compared to those of the Western World, which places the female orgasm as being central to the female sexual experience; which parallels the male sexual experience.

A classic example of cultural relative is what was observed by psychologist Gregory Bateson, in traditional Balinese families, mothers routinely stroke the penises of their young sons, and such behavior is considered no more incestuous than breast-feeding. Incest is also not illegal in Israel, perhaps a response to the low population issues. So we see as Sam Vaknin suggest taboos or in this case lack of taboo, do ultimately responde to necessity.

In many African countries woman may gain their satisfaction from her husband’s orgasmic intensity, knowing he has enjoyed intercourse with them. It is not that they cannot also have orgasms, but the value attached to it is different; sex after all is a state of mind. In some parts of Somalia women put special herbs in their vaginas to cause tightness for their husbands. Some feminist will rush to label this as a form of oppression, but not if cultures are valued as equals and understood in context of plurality. How can a Western woman dictate to an African woman how she should experience sexual pleasure? And even within Western culture we see complex sexual roles of domination and bondage. And this is why the issue of so-called female genital mutilation becomes an issue as outlined in the groundbreaking work of Fuambai Ahmadu and Wairimu Njambi. The only stipulation is choice and access to a full discourse of information from within that culture. But the minute the Somali woman leaves Somalia she is confronted with a Western world screaming “oppression”, she is then forced to review her culture but against a backdrop of  Primitive v Progressive. All the while the Western woman is rushing to the Designer Vagina clinic to get the very procedure done that the Somali woman has been doing for centuries.

See Ethics

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LANGUAGE

Language is the conveyer belt of culture, yet 32% of the endangered languages are African languages. To speak a language is to engage in a culture (Nehusi). The unique relationship between language and thought and the paradigm positions which grow out of it this thought processes are therefore endangered.

Language is not only a means of passing information it is also a culture, to speak a language is to engage in a culture. To speak perfect Arabic is to expose yourself to the culture of Arabs, the same with Amharic and Hebrew; you could never learn Amharic and divorce this from Ethiopian culture.

Urbanization is the slaughter house of African languages. And it is not only a threat from outside i.e. English. Amharic has on its own displaced more languages in Ethiopia than English.

Note | The reason English is rich is because everyone who speaks it (including us) adds to its legacy. It is no longer a language of English people. As just writing English means we to contribute to its expansion and diversity. The problem is the more we use it the richer we make it.

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CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT IMPACT

Complex Culture's Core Ethical Root Culture and Technology Cultural Footprint Challenges of culture Ownership of Culture Purpose Aesthetic Islam Example Imperialism Eurocentric Changing Culture Identity African Monolith

Without a holistic look at the dynamic African continent there is a risk of mis-diagnosing and re-stereotyping African culture. Within the African historical story there is a complex relationship between cultures, technological advancement, and political development. There is a continuum of political practice which crosses race and geographical divide. For example there are considerations within all city-states globally, which are not considerations at the village level anywhere. The rise of certain political systems such as Kings and a senate always emerge, independent of geography, independent of race, when the challenges of national management are faced by various cultural-ethnic groups. The centralization of specialist professional soldiers into the sovereign states is a process which happens the world over as a defacto sign of a certain level of "development." The pressures which emerge the minute large people live in built up towns gives rise to specialize defense considerations.

Thornton (1999) makes the point that the indicators of centralization happen due to geographical and other demands. He identifies the savannah which can accomodate horses, the jungles which cannot, and the tropic grasslands, which cannot accomodate horses. So geographical landscape was an overiding factor, above ethnicity, in how warfare was fought in historical Africa.

It is critical to discern these process because we run the risk of saying things are European impositions when they are more responses to challenges of state management. Case in point being certain features of Islam, are they the product of Arab ethnic sensibilities or the practicality of desert life? Where desert life is the source we will find perfect harmony without desert dwelling communities independent of ethnicity.

Stating that Africans didn't not have a penal system, depends on if we are speaking about the hunter-gather experience or Kemet. We will therefore find more similarities in Ancient Kemet and Roman because of the challenges faced by macro-empire nations. Therefore Kemet has less in common with the Khoi Khoi pre-Iron age cultures. With the challenges of greater population interaction with numbers above 200,000 pose different hygiene, time, environmental, social, religious necessities. The structures that service 1000 people are radically unpractical when serving millions. Another example is nudity in very large populations always seem to create public descency issues. While in small communities nudity is less of a concern. Studying culture cannot divorce these questions as a separate thesis because they are critical in the holistic appreciation of cultures.

	Culture is carried on the bodies of women. The Islamic Hijab, the Indian sari, the lip stretching of the Mursi

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POLITICS OF IDENTITY

	If we are unclear about identity, we will be unclear about everything else
	Kimani Nehusi

There is no such thing as African Purity, cultures smash through deserts and across trade routes, and they travel through immigration borders and disregarding our notions of geography and race. Throughout history, Africa has influenced, and been influence. Names, foods, cultures, religions have jumped between Asia and Africa from the dawn of humanity. Many names like Amiri, Baraka, Kimani, Shakur, Aaliyah, Rihanna, all have connections with the Islamic world (Africa, Persian, Turkey, Berber, and Arabia). Spellings often vary but it is often to specify the exact origin of the name. Also names appear in different languages differently such as John (English) and Yohannes (Ethiopian).

Some people have issues with putting boxes around people; however, the politics of agency demand that people with similarity do so in response to a world that does prejudice people and group them into boxes for easy oppression. Moreover, human behaviour fundamental, for ease and function, has a natural habit of defining and naming creation. Who is a Muslim, who is a male, who is a female, where is Africa; all of these have definitions, which are critical in language and human behaviour. If the color red is blue to some people and green to another, then red as a color has no meaning.