SOC 103 :

INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANS SOCIETY AND CULTURE

COURSE OUTLINE

1, the concept of culture

a, meaning and definition of culture

b, characteristic of culture

c, biological characteristics posses by human alone

Other tasks related to culture

2, The concept of society

a, Definition/meaning of society

b, relationship between culture and society

3, Who are the Africans

a, legroid
b, Caucasoid

c, goosemen

4, African culture area / Climate and the culture of African

a, Equatorial zone

b, the dessert zone

c, the samalian desert

d, the kalahary desert

e, The meditaria zone

f, The Madagascar zone

Kalahary desert

5, The yearly history of Africa continent

a, The theory of continental drift

b, The impact of continental breakup

c, Consequence theological change

6, Language distribution in Africa

a, The Khoisan language family

b, Niger Congo language family

c, The micro sudanic language family

d, the Lilo Sahara language family

e, the Afro acianic language family

7, The social grouping in Africa

a, kingship

b, association or non kinship grouping

c, Residence or locality

8, The means of livelihood in Africa

a, Hunting and gathering agriculture hereincy

9, Africa tradition political system

a, Central political authority

b, Despassed political authority

10, The difference between central and Despassed political authority

CULTURE
Culture can be define as the totality of socially transmitted, custom, knowledge,
material, object and behavior.

According to Ralph liton, state that the culture of the society

is the way of life of his member, the collection of ideas and
habit which they learn, share and transmit from one
generation .
Edward Taylor 1871 British define culture as that complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law,
custom and any other capabilities and habit acquire by man
as a member of society .

CHARACTERISTIC OF CULTURE

- Culture is learned

- Culture is shared
- Culture is based on symbol

- Culture is dynamic

- Culture is adaptive

CONCEPT OF SOCIETY

A Society Is a group of individuals involved inpersistence social interactions or a

large social group sharing the same special or social territory. Typically subject to
the same political authority and dominant culture expectation.

In sociological tense, society refers to a group of people who lives in a definable

community and share the same culture on a broader scale. Society consist of the
people and institution around us, have share, believed and our cultural ideals.

A society is also a grouping of individual which is characterized by common interest and may
have distinctive culture and institution.

ORIGIN OF CONCEPT OF SOCIETY

The origin can be traced to the 14th century when the primary meaning was companionship or
association a meaning which still exist today. However the specific meaning of society was not
developed until the 19th century a strong argument can be made for that.

It was Emily Durkheim who first develop the sociological meaning of society which is used when
he established sociology as a new discipline which deals with the collective reality of human life
as apous study of individual.

Emily Durkheim argutted that society has an independent reality from individual an exist in it
own right existing an influence over individual with a bounded territory which for, DURKHEIM
essentially means the nation state. However the relevance of bounded society has been
question since 1917 due to globalization on increasing amount of people, money and
communication moving a across nation border. Because of this some sociologists argue that
sociology should it's analysis from society to mobility.

SOCIOLOGY AS THE STUDY OF SOCIETY

The concept of sociology has been fundamental to sociology self identity with most text book
using the concept to define the discipline with the study of society, often been part of the
definition of sociology in most text books and in society in turn been defined as large
community existing within nation state.

TALCOH PARSON added another important characteristic of society that it should be self
without external assistance for most of sociologists. History sociologists has study and compare
society and know where these were obvious in is story history between first, second and Third
World society. And in theories of development such as modernization theories, which outline
why certain society or (nation, state) are less develop in comparison.

In a lay man language culture is simply define as the people way of life and their physical and
social environment. Culture is an umbrella terms which encompass the social behaviour on
names found by human or groups as well as knowledge, beliefs, art, law, custom, capabilities
and habit of the individual in these groups.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND SOCIETY

A culture represent the beliefs and practice of the group, while society represent the people
who share those beliefs and practice it. Neither society or culture could exist without the other.
Society is the bigger cooperative social group with an organized sense of relationship. It's the
form of interaction of people at the society. Culture can be seen as the tradition that cohesion
and continuity. It has a lot of different meaning. It is of population, behaviours,values and
beliefs.

Another relationship between them are mutual existence, they are co-existence no culture will
exist without society and no society will exist without culture. (Black are refer to people that
comes from Sahara Negroids, Africans are Negroids). Culture and society may have some
common element but the two are not the same. They are not identical. Society is more stable
and inclusive.

Examples of culture are : fashion, language, traditional products, music, art, ideals .

Examples of society are : village, towns and big cities.

WHO ARE THE AFRICANS

Black are refer to as ( The negroms), while people that comes from the sub-Saharan deserts are
( The Negroids).
There are three basic physical types of Africa, they are :

1, The Negroid

2, The Caucasian

3, The goosemen

1, THE NEGROID

The negroid are found in the sudanic zone south of the Savannah in east and Central Africa and
most of the Madagascar.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEGROID

they have dark pigmentation of ears, eyes and skin. They also have wooly ear, brood flat noses,
averted lips, and brood cheeks bone.

2, THE CAUCASIAN

Are other groups found along the shores of the vegetarian. They sow opposite physical
characteristics with the Negroid .

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAUCASIAN

The Caucasain generally have blue or green eyes, brown or milk skin color, Fairly thin lips, and
narrow nose. They are most found in Africa especially Egypt.

3, THE BUSHMEN

The bushmen are found in South Africa.

CHARACTERISTIC OF THE BUSHMEN

They are physically short and Averagely 5 feet tall. They have wrinkle, Yellow to brown skin, they
have dark ear, flatish nose. They are also characterised by enlarge buttock due to fairly deposit."

BOTSWANA AND NAMIBIA" : They are said to be the oldest inhabitants of South Africa before
spreading to their neighboring Botswana and Namibia. "THE HOTTENTOTS" : They are slightly
taller with fairly long hair, they are in other words called the "khoikhor". They are aboriginal
people from South Africa found in southern Africa. they are the indigenous nomadic perstorian
of South Africa.
AFRICAN CULTURE AREAS

The early history of Africa continent was a history of derogatory notion by people from other
continent especially Europe. It was believed among European that African is a dark continent.
The reasons for this notions about Africa were ignorance for Africa continent leading to many
misconceptions. Because of this continental drifting, African became isolated from other
continent. It was also believed in some quarters that Africa was founded by some European
people . Other reasons advanced by scholars while African was label as dark continent was that
the western Traders who got African magical powers abused them, thereby, securing different
degrees of arms as a result they label Africa as dark continent. However, that Europe did not
know about the existence of Africa is not a justification that African has not been in obvious
existence.

In another dimension, African is believed to be the cradle of humanity and world civilisation. The
first modern man according to archeological evidence that he bought from Oldubai George in
African while south and East Africa specifically are known to be the cradle of world civilisation.
Finally every game has its rules whether implicit or explicit, the inability to understand and able
to abide by the rules of African magical powers is not a justification for such derogatory label.

A CLIMATE AND CULTURES OF AFRICAN

African can be divided into five sub-climate groups and one of the basic ways of studying the
culture of the people is by studying their climate condition. There is a direct relationship
between climate and environment conditions and the ways of life of the people concerned. This
goes to confirm the saying that one cannot be bigger than is environment.

(Question) : discuss the Relationship between the culture, environment condition and the
people.

African has five basic climatic zones but one cannot draw a sharp line of demarcation between
this different zones in some of their attributes .

THE CLIMATE ZONES ARE :

1, Equitorial zone

2,Sudanic zone

3, Desert zone

4, meditaria zone

5, Madagascar zone
EQUITORIAL ZONE

Consist of Central Africa, northern Angola and equatorial guinea.

FEATURES /CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH EQUITORIAL ZONE

The climate is characterized by

-constant high temperature

-heavy rain fall

-high humidity.

The most tick forest in Africa is found in this climatic (equitorial) zone.

ROOTS CROPS / ANIMALS THAT CAN BE FOUND IN EQUITORIAL ZONE

Root crops such as : yam and cassava, plantation agriculture as well as animal husbandry
specifically goats, sheep's as well chicken are domesticated.

ANIMALS THAT ARE NOT CAN NOT BE FOUND (DOMESTICATED) IN THE EQUITORIAL ZONE

Large domestic animals such as cows, donkeys, are not commonly domesticated due to the
presence of tsetse flies that causes sleeping sickness in these animals.

Agriculture, hunting, wood carving and dominant occupation while patrilendal descent is the
common familiar structure. The political structure is that of the federalism where the federation
unit are organised under one central political authority.

THE SUDANIC ZONE

The sudanic is considerable hot with moderate rain fall between may and October. It is
characteristically Savannah with low bushes stretching towards Sahara in the North. The major
agricultural activities in this zone includes : cottons, grains, peanut, cattle herding and other
domestic animals such as : goat's, sheep's e.t.c

The sudanic zone is exemplify by the climatic zone in the North east in Nigeria.

THE DESERT ZONE

Is a barrel area of land or desolate terrain especially one with little water or vegetation and
equally a waste land . (It can be found in the northern area especially in North east and the
north west) .

THE SAHARA DESERT

Is a desert in the North Africa the largest hot desert in the whole world . Sahara desert countries
includes

1, Egypt

2, Algeria

3, Chad

4, Libya

5, Mali

6, Morocco

7, Niger

8, Sudan

9, western Sahara

10, Tunisia

11, Mauritania

TEN FEATURES /CHARACTERISTICS ATTACHED TO THIS ROLE (SAHARA DESERT)

1, It is the largest hot desert in the world

2, The Sahara gets its name from the Arabic word "ṣaḥra" which means desert

3, Scientific estimate that this Sahara's overall size has grown to be 10% larger than its worst
nearly a century above, while this is partly due to natural climate circle, Human dreaming,
climate change is also responsible

4, Sahara reachs a total of 11 countries namely : Egypt, Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Morocco,
Niger, Sudan, western Sahara, Tunisia and Mauritania.

5, Around 2.5 million people also call the Sahara home most of which have verver or Arabic root.
They either live in permanent settlement near water sources or half a nomadic life style starting
from one place to another with herds of sheeps, goat's or camel .
6, While many of the Sahara's sand dunes reach over one hundred and eighty (180) meters in
height, this desert highest point Is an esteem volcano called mountain koussi in chad, which has
an elevation of three thousand four hundred and fifteen (3,415) meters .

7, Sand dunes are sheets cover only around 25% of numerous other land features including: salt
flat, gravel plate, plateus, and even mountain where snow's has been recorded.

8, Is a home to a varieties of white life's that has adapted to a life of extreme along side camel
and goats desert species include: Ostrich and monitor lizard .

9, Sahara trade root play an important part in the economic of ancient Africa . Roots such as
Cooper, salts and gold were transporting using camel, saravan which in their heyday consist of
thousands of camel.

10, The Sahara Desert spans some 8,600,000 square kilometres. However, this changes over
time as the actual area of the desert expands and contracts with the season.

THE SOMALIAN DESERT :

THE YEARLY HISTORY OF AFRICA CONTINENT

SOCIAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA

Survival in Africa Was The means through which people lived substainable life proud to modern
age. such means of livelihood were : talking and gathering, agriculture, herdings and technology.
All these activities were of great significant to marriage, family, economic and political life of the
Africa people.

HUNTING AND GATHERING

Hunting and gathering are small groups of people numbering 20 to 100 who lives in an isolated
environment . The bushmen of the Kalahari desert testify the hunting and gathering moods in
Africa. Their men engage in hunting of game's like : Antelope, ostrich e.t.c.

While their women gather plants food's e.t.c. They live in contemporary habitant because of
the nature of their occupation which requires constant change of environment. As a result, they
cannot practice agriculture or herdings. The inability of their occupation to guarantee survival
encourages them to cooperate with other groups with different occupations. Hence, the pigmas
of the Congo area, Rwanda and Burundi lives close to the Negroids who were sedimentarys
farmers.

The pigmas exchange their games and honey with agricultural product and tools such as :
plantain and metals for food their hunting activities.

Hunting and gathering bands are characterized by the following : Small population with little
technology, They usually own little materials and roots, they depend on wide plants and animal,
and they are uncommon group in Africa as most Africa people engage in herdings and farming.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in Africa is divided into two basic tradition:

1, They are the cultivation of grain crops in tempora region. e.g:

2, They are the cultivation of root crops in a temperate region. e.g :

Agricultural activities in the past were accomplished by direct human neighbor using direct
labour, using the slash and burn technique. This is clearing forest or grass, burning and
preparing ridges.

NOTE : THAT THE TWO TYPES OF TECHNIQUES USED IN AGRICULTURE ARE : "SLASH
TECHNIQUES" AND " BURN TECHNIQUES ".

LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENOR: Were of great significant because they were considered as a
source of wealth and as a determinate of major social and political consideration. (The amount
of land we have will determine your status in the community.) There was no use of farming
technology such as : agricultural as shifting cultivation Was The common practice shifting to
another piece of land and allowing the use piece of land to fallow for the purpose of the gaining
nutrient. Among the agricultural people of Africa, there is a believe in the connection between
religion and the success of crops, social well being and even human fertility. There is also a
relationship between God's or spirits with rain and major Crops.