"Impact of Westernization of African Culture"

 
?Impact of Westernization of African Culture This paper will discuss westernization in Africa and how it has affected the African culture. It will illustrate how westernization came to Africa. It will also discuss the economic, political and social way of life of the Africans before the arrival of the Europeans. It will then explain by giving clear examples of how westernization affected the African culture specifically and how it led to the loss of centeredness. Christian missionaries were some of the first people to introduce western culture in Africa. They did this while spreading Christianity in Africa. According to Shillington (2004), these African missions included the African Inland Mission (AIM), Church of Scotland’s catholic mission in Africa, etc. By spreading Christianity and building churches, hospitals and schools, the missionaries introduced western culture in Africa. The transatlantic slave trade also contributed to westernization in Africa. Many slaves were transported from Africa to the plantations in Americas. After slavery was abolished, some of these slaves came back to Africa where they spread the western culture they learned in North America. According to Shillington (2004), colonization is the major factor that brought about westernization in Africa. This happened as European countries tried to expand their territory by colonizing African countries. Before coming of the Europeans, the native Africans had a very strong culture. In most African cultures, they believed in presence of a supreme being that ruled over everything. For example, according to Shillington (2004), the Yoruba of West Africa believed in a supreme being which they referred to as Oduduwa, and he was the creator of everything, both living and non-living things. Before westernization, almost all Africans prayed to their gods in times of need and when giving thanks. They usually offered sacrifices to their respective god. For example, the Zulu of South Africa gave the offerings and prayers to Unkulunkulu after a great harvest (Shillington, 2004). Africans had a unique way of dressing before the arrival of the Europeans. There was a set code of dressing depending on what gender, social class and age of the members of the community belonged to. For example, according to Shillington (2004), among the Zulus aprons and dresses made of leopard skin were only worn by members of the royal family. Married Zulu women had their bodies fully covered. This symbolized that they were off limits since they were already married. Men wore an apron known as the ibheshu which covered their behind. The length of the ibheshu depended on the age of the man. If a man was young, he wore a short one and if the man was elderly, he wore a long one that covered the legs. Before westernization African culture was based on traditional ceremonies which accompanied events such as weddings, funerals and wars. The traditional African political structure was well organized. Most of the political structures in the African cultures were based on a monarch system where leadership was inherited by rite of blood. The monarch kings and queens, however, had a council of elders who helped them in ruling by giving them advice and dealing with domestic conflicts such as land disputes. In almost all African cultures warriors were men that just gone through the rite of passage