12 Indigenous peoples of the country are Bantu peoples. wild tribes of africa

Looking at the modern map of the settlement of the peoples of Africa and the distribution of various languages, you notice an amazing feature. If the whole of Western Africa (south of the Sahara), a significant part of Central Africa (the southern regions of Eastern Sudan and the adjacent regions of its neighboring states) are inhabited by peoples who speak languages ​​belonging to different language families, then the whole of Western Equatorial Africa, almost all of Eastern Tropical Africa and almost all of South Africa are inhabited by peoples who speak the languages ​​of the same family of Bantu peoples - very close in root base and grammatical structure. Some of them are mutually intelligible.

The grammar of the Bantu languages ​​is based on changes in the root with the help of various prefixes. So, from the root "ntu" - "man" comes the word "bantu" - "people speaking similar languages". Here are a few examples related to the languages ​​of the peoples of the area we are studying: "m", "mu" - a singular prefix; "ba", "va", "banya" - plural prefix; "ki", "kishi", "chi" - a prefix denoting the name of the language. Thus, a mukongo is one Kongo person; Bakongo - the whole people of the Kongo (self-name of the people); Kikongo (Kishikongo) is the language spoken by Bakongo. Derivatives from the root "luba" - muluba - one person; baluba - all the people; chiluba - the language spoken by the baluba, etc. The Bantu peoples are related not only by linguistic proximity, but also by material and spiritual culture, which irrefutably testifies to the unity of their origin.

The question of the origin of the Bantu is still a matter of controversy among African historians. There are currently three main theories of the origin of the Bantu peoples that are most noteworthy. One of them connects the slow movement of the Negroid peoples to the south with the drying up of the Sahara region, which, according to all data, began by the 3rd millennium BC.
According to this theory, from the regions of West Africa, approximately from central Cameroon, where peoples who speak languages ​​of the Bantu group, close to the Bantu languages, live, the settlement of the equatorial regions of the continent by the Bantu peoples began by the first centuries of our era.
The path of the settlers went along the northern border of the equatorial forest and, in the region of the Great African Lakes, went to East Africa. Here the flow of immigrants was divided into three branches. One group headed north, the other south, and the third, rounding Lake Tanganyika, turned west and populated Shaba from the east, and then all of Western Equatorial Africa. The great migration of the peoples of the continent lasted for many centuries.

This theory dominated science from the first decades of the 20th century until the early 1960s, when very interesting works by the African linguist Ghasri appeared, which forced a revision of it. By careful analysis and comparison of the close roots of two hundred Bantu languages, Gasri came to the conclusion that the region of the greatest concentration of the "main roots" of these languages ​​is the Shaba plateau - the area of ​​​​settlement of the modern Babemba and Baluba peoples. Based on this, he concluded that it was this area that was the ancestral home of the Bantu and it was from here that they moved north, south, west and east, populating vast areas of Africa.
Then there were works, the authors of which are trying to link the contradictions between these two theories.
Based on the study of archaeological, anthropological and linguistic materials, a new theory of the successive stages of migration of the ancestors of the Bantu peoples was created. These views are most substantiated in the articles of Jerno, Oliver, and Poznansky.

According to the new theory of the origin of the Bantu, the initial cause that set the peoples of Africa in motion was the drying up of the Sahara and a sharp increase in the population due to the emergence of productive forms of economy: agriculture, cattle breeding, as well as the development of the technique of manufacturing iron tools. The original region of the migration of the ancestors of the Bantu is the plateau of central Cameroon (as in the first theory), but the movement of the early group of migrants did not bypass the tropical forest, but either through it or along the ocean coast - south to the Congo River basin. The abundance of tributaries made it easier to move inland - to the northern Shaba plateau. Here, the settlers found conditions favorable for life: a wooded savanna, abundant in game and convenient for farming, fishing grounds, and easily accessible deposits of copper and iron ores. All this, combined with other factors, led to the fact that migrants - the ancient Bantu - stopped in the area for a long time. It was here that the core of the Bantu peoples developed, the center from where their further settlement began throughout Equatorial Africa, or, as experts say, “secondary migration”.
As we can see, the latter theory takes into account the linguistic materials of Ghasri and explains how Shaba became the center of consolidation of the peoples of the Bantu group. New methods of dating archaeological sites allow us to determine the approximate time of early migrations - the last quarter of the second millennium BC.

Secondary migrations to the Zambezi Valley date back to the 1st-2nd centuries. AD; to the Mezhozerie and East Africa - by the end of the 1st millennium AD. According to Arab sources, already in the IX-X centuries. on the east coast of Africa there were vast and powerful political associations - the "kingdoms" of the Bantu, which were under the rule of the king Zenja ("the king of the Blacks"). The stories of Arab chroniclers and sailors are usually associated by scientists with the kingdom of Monomotapa (on the territory of modern Rhodesia), which left behind the ruins of giant stone fortresses (Zimbabwe, Dhlo-Dhlo, etc.). These materials indicate that in Southeast Africa the Bantu were on the verge of transition from a classless society to an early class society, and perhaps by the 9th century. Already passed it. In other words, the Bantu have come a long way of development, and the foundations of property and class stratification were laid during the stay of their ancestors in Shaba. The duration of the "secondary" Bantu migration, including the settlement of all of Western Equatorial Africa by these peoples, is determined by scientists at five to six centuries. However, already in the XIII-XVI centuries. the ancestors of all the most significant peoples now living in the expanses of the savannah of West Equatorial Africa inhabited approximately the same areas.

Thus, the ancestors of the Bakongo, the Bavili and others close to them, inhabited the Atlantic coast to the north and south of the mouth of the Congo River and huge provinces along its lower course. To the south of them (south of the Dande River) lived the ambundu (bambundu) - the future founders of the state of Angola. Bakuba's ancestors came to the Kasai-Sankuru interfluve. The ancestors of the balund occupied the vast plateaus of northeastern Angola and neighboring regions of Zaire. The Baluba were the main population of Shaba.

There are not many places left on our planet where you can see communities of people living in everyday conditions that have not changed much over the centuries. One of these places is Africa, where people who live by hunting, fishing and gathering have been preserved. These tribal communities lead mostly secluded lives, rarely coming into contact with the population around them.

Although recently the traditional way of life of many nationalities and tribes has undergone significant changes, and they are increasingly integrated into modern commodity-money relations, many continue to engage in subsistence farming.

These communities are characterized by low productivity agriculture. Their main economic task is self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs in order to prevent prolonged starvation. The weakness of economic interaction and the complete absence of trade often become the cause of interethnic contradictions and even armed conflicts.

Other tribes reached a higher level of economic development, gradually assimilated with larger state-forming peoples, and in doing so lost their distinctive features.

The rejection of natural forms of management, and the increasing involvement in modern economic relations, contributes to an increase in cultural and technological development. Which is expressed in increased productivity, and a general rise in material well-being.

For example, the introduction of the plough, among some agricultural peoples and tribes in West Africa, led to a significant increase in yields and an increase in cash, which in turn led to the creation of favorable conditions for the further modernization of agricultural work, and the beginning of mechanization.

List of largest African tribes and peoples

• Masai
• Makonde
• Mbuti
• Mursi
• Kalenjin
• Oromo
• pygmies
• Samburu
• Swazi
• Tuareg
• Hamer
• Himba
• Bushmen
• Gourma
• Bambara
• Fulbe
• Wolof
• Malawi
• Dinka
• Bongo

More than 1 billion

a person lives on the African continent or 34 people per square kilometer. In fact, Africa's population is unevenly distributed. The waterless deserts, scorched by the heat, where there is no rain for years, are almost deserted.

What peoples inhabit Africa and how are they distributed on the mainland? (only briefly pzhl)

In the impenetrable forests of Equatorial Africa, only a few tribes of hunters cut paths. And in the lower reaches of large rivers, every piece of land is cultivated. Here the population density increases sharply.

More than three thousand people live in the Nile oasis per square kilometer.

The northern and eastern coasts of the mainland, the shores of the Gulf of Guinea are also densely populated. International trade and modern industry, banks and scientific centers are concentrated in large cities.

North Africa is inhabited by Arabs and Berbers, who belong to the southern branch of the Caucasian race.

Arabs came to the Mediterranean coast 12 centuries ago. They mixed with the local population and passed on their language, culture, and religion. Ancient buildings testify to the high art of Arab architects, the taste and skill of the people.

The ancient Arab cities still retain their unique appearance. Narrow streets sheltered from the sun, shops of merchants on every corner, workshops of artisans.

South of the Sahara lies a vast area of ​​Central Africa.

Numerous Negro peoples live here: Sudanese peoples, Pygmies, Bantu peoples, Nilotic peoples. All of them belong to the equatorial race. Distinctive features of the race: dark skin color, curly hair, were formed for a long time under the influence of natural conditions. Among the Negroids there are hundreds of different tribes and nationalities with unique facial features, head shape, skin tone.

The Nilotic peoples, for example, are the tallest people on the mainland. The average height of a Nilotic man is 182 cm, and the height of a pygmy is 145 cm. In the forests of Equatorial Africa, the shortest people on earth live, skilled trackers and hunters.

For centuries, the appearance of African huts has remained unchanged. Most of the population of Central Africa lives in such villages. The source of food is agriculture. The main instrument of labor is a hoe.

Nomadic herdsmen graze cattle in the savannah and light forests with a rich grass cover. The inhabitants of the coast, in addition to agriculture and animal husbandry, are engaged in fishing.

And some peoples have completely connected their lives with the water element.

In eastern Africa, on the territory of Ethiopia and Somalia, there are peoples of a mixed race (the peoples of Ethiopia and Somalia, the Nilots, the Bantu peoples). The ancient ancestors of the Somalis and Ethiopians probably descended from a mixture of Caucasians and Negroids.

Fine facial features like Caucasians, dark hair color and curly hair like Negroids. Excavations in Ethiopia have shown that people lived there 4 million years ago.

years ago.

The indigenous people of South Africa are the Bushmen, Hottentots, and Boers. South Africa is the most developed part of the black continent due to the industry of South Africa.

Off the east coast of the mainland is the island of Madakascar.

Malgash live here, representatives of the Mongoloid race. 2000 years ago, the Malagasy sailed to Madagascar from Indonesia.

Many scholars believe that Africa represents the emergence of man. Archaeologists excavating in East Africa in the second half of the 20th century found the remains of an "intelligent man", which is about 2.7 million years old.

Older human remains have been found in Ethiopia about 4 million years old.

Africa by region as well as by region ranks third (after Eurasia) between the continents.

The population of the continent is made up of national and foreign residents, with a population of about 600 million people. Representatives of all major races are represented here.

Representatives of the southern branch of the Caucasoid racial group (characterized by dark skin, narrow nose, dark eyes) live in North Africa. These are the indigenous peoples - Berbers and Arabs. South of the Sahara live black people belonging to the equatorial race, which includes underground and numerous groups of nations.

The most diverse non-native population living in the south of the Sahara and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Hundreds of tribes and peoples differ in color, height, facial features, language, lifestyle, and occupy these territories.

The military zones, East and South Africa, are inhabited by people belonging to the Bantu group. In the equatorial forests there are pygmies that stand out among blacks, small stature (up to 150 cm), lighter skin color, thin lips.

In the deserts and semi-deserts of South Africa, the Hottentots and Bushmen live, bearing signs of Mongoloids and Negaroids.

Part of the inhabitants of the continent is of mixed origin, since it was formed by mixing two or more races, residents of the Nile Delta, the Ethiopian Highlands, the island of Madagascar. An important part of the population consists of newcomers. Former colonies of Europeans live in almost all countries: on the Mediterranean coast - on the French and southern continents - for the Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers), British, French, Germans and others.

The population of the continent is extremely uneven.

Political map. Many African countries are ancient civilizations. Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Benin, Dahomey and others. The European colonization of the slave trade had a negative impact on the development of the economy and culture of nations in Africa.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, almost all the territories of the continent were divided by capitalist states. Before the Second World War, there were only four independent states on the continent - Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia and South Africa. In the early sixties XX. Centuries in Africa have developed an active liberation struggle of the peoples for independence.

In 1990, the last colony of Namibia gained independence.

There are 55 countries on the continent. With the exception of South Africa, which is economically developed, the rest of the countries are developing. North African countries. The territory of North Africa includes the territory of the Atlas Mountains, sandy and stone expanses of the hot Sahara and savannas in Sudan.

Sudan is a natural region stretching from the Sahara (north) in the Congo basin (in the south), from the Atlantic (in the west) to the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands (in the east). Geographers often look at this area as part of Central Africa.

The countries of North Africa include Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and other countries. All countries have a corresponding geographical position, reach the Atlantic Ocean and flow into the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

The population of these countries has long-term economic and cultural ties with the countries of Europe and Southwest Asia. The northern territories of many countries of North Africa are located in subtropical regions, mainly in the zone of tropical deserts.

The most densely populated coastline of the Mediterranean, the northern slopes of the Atlas Mountains and the Nile Valley.

In the Sahara, life is concentrated mainly in oases, of which there are quite a few.

Most people created them in places close to underground waters, on the outskirts of sandy deserts and on dry channels. The population of the countries is quite homogeneous. In the past, this part of the continent was inhabited by the Berbers in the 8th century. century.

people living in africa

Arabs came, there was a mixture of peoples. The barbers converted to Islam and the spelling of the Arabs. In the countries of North Africa (compared to other countries of the continent), there are many large and small cities in which a significant part of the population lives. One of the largest cities in Africa - Cairo - the capital of Egypt.

The underground countries of North Africa are rich in mineral resources.

In the Atlas Mountains there are minerals, manganese and polymetallic ores, phosphorites, and in Egypt there are traces. There are large reserves of oil and natural gas near the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara. Pipelines are stretched from the fields to the ports of the city.

Countries of Sudan and Central Africa.

In this part of the continent are Zaire. Angola, Sudan, Chad. Nigeria and many small countries. The lands are very diverse - from dry low grassy to wet high meadow savannahs and equatorial forests. Part of the forest has been reduced and tropical plants have been built in their place.

East African countries. The largest countries in the region are Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia. They are located in the highest and most mobile part of the continent, characterized by deep faults in the earth's crust, defects, volcanoes, and large lakes.

The Nile River begins on the East African plateau.

The nature of the countries of East Africa, despite the fact that almost the entire territory is located in the same subequatorial zone, is very diverse: tropical deserts, various types of saunas and humid equatorial forests. At a height, on the slopes of high volcanoes, the height is clearly expressed.

The modern population of East Africa is the result of a mixture of different races. Representatives of the Ethiopian small race are primarily for Christianity. Another part of the population belongs to the Negroid people - the Bantu, who speak Swahili.

Here and the previous population - Europeans, Arabs and Indians.

South African countries. In this narrow, southernmost part of the continent (South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, etc.) there are ten countries, and many of them are very small (Lesotho, etc.). Nature is rich and diverse - from deserts to tropical rainforests. The relief is dominated by high plains, raised along the edges. The climate varies from north to south and from east to west.

In South Africa, the largest number of diamonds, uranium ores, gold, non-ferrous metal ores, not only on the continent, but also in the world.

Indigenous peoples are Bantu people, Bushmen and Hottentots, and Madagascar lives in Madagascar. The first Europeans to migrate to South Africa were the Dutch, and later they also appeared in English. From the intermarriages of Europeans with Africans, a group of people called colored people arose.

The modern population of South Africa, in addition to the autochthonous, is made up of Europeans, especially the descendants of the Dutch settlers (Boers) and the British, colored people, as well as Asians.

peoples of africa

Peoples of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa

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A significant part of the African continent to the south is inhabited by numerous peoples of the Benue-Congo language subgroup, some of which are united by the common name Bantu. The Bantu knew well hoe farming, and some peoples even farming with artificial irrigation.

The farmers are the Bantu of the tropical zone in the Congo Basin. The Bantu were engaged in smelting iron and copper, mined gold, and had a high technique of laying stone buildings from blocks. They created a number of independent state formations: Bakongo, Baluba, Butanda, Monomotapa. The Bantu developed two main economic types: agricultural and cattle-breeding. The whole of Africa is characterized by a slash-and-burn farming system with hoe tillage.

On the slopes of the hills - terraced agriculture. Due to the lack of suitable land, Bantu farmers extend the life of their field plots by rotating crops, fertilizing, and using an irrigation system. The pastoral economy has its own characteristics: there are few domestic animals in the Congo basin, the lack of meat food is covered by hunting and fishing products. As for East Tropical Africa (WTA), cattle breeding is more developed here. The main transport here is a donkey and horses.

As for South African pastoralism, it was and remains pastoral. The mass death of cattle from the plague in the 19th century, the seizure of land by European colonialists, the expulsion of the Bantu into uncomfortable reserves undermined their cattle breeding.

Bantu peoples are familiar with the metallurgy of iron and copper. Blacksmith's craft took artistic forms here, i.e. weapons differed in quality and finish. Bantu settlements are large and small villages surrounded by high fences. The dwellings are based on a wicker frame, with reeds, palm leaves or straw on the sides and top.

Each village has a special house or shed for social gatherings of men. Among the peoples of South Africa, the main form of settlement is the kraal, which is inhabited by a large patriarchal family. Near each house there is a building for cooking. Clothing: In hot conditions, a minimum of clothing is used here: both male and female loincloths woven from grass or animal skins.

Weaving was unknown to most Bantus. Recently, imported textile fabrics and clothes of European cut have begun to spread. The head of the village was the eldest maternal uncle. He distributed the land and directed the religious rites of the community. Most of the peoples of the CTA in the last century retained a patriarchal clan.

The land is jointly owned by the village-community.

Each member is endowed with a field plot (which cannot be bought, sold or gifted). The tribal and tribal leaders, with the support of the colonial administration, turned into an exploitative elite. The tribal system of East Africa is in the process of decomposition. The basic economic unit is the individual family. The entire administration of the country is in the hands of the nobility, who choose the “king” from their midst, first from the female line, and then they began to choose from the paternal line. The state of the Congo lasted until the end of the 19th century.

The penetration of capitalism into Central, Eastern and Southern Africa accelerated the disintegration of tribal relations and contributed to the development of commodity-money relations.

The unification of previously disparate tribes into large ethnic communities began.

Each family worshiped its male ancestor, and the tribe as a whole worshiped the ancestors of the leader.

The Bantu are characterized by vague ideas about the local god:

1. God was endowed with the features of his creator - man.

2. God is an "anthropomorphic" being who sends rain.

3. God for the Bantu is simply the personification of the sky.

Peoples of Western Asia

Western Asia occupies vast areas of the Eurasian continent (the peninsula of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian Highlands, and the Lebanon).

There are a number of states here: the Republic of Turkey, the Islamic Republic, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and many others. Natural conditions - the dominance of arid landscapes with a wide distribution of deserts.

The major rivers are the Tigris and the Euphrates.

The first evidence of the ethnic composition of ZA appears at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium BC, when the Sumerians created the Ancient State in Southern Mesopotamia and invented cuneiform writing.

A significant number of languages ​​are widespread in WA, which belong to different branches of 3 language families: Indo-European (Iranian branch: Farsi, Pashto, Tajik, Kurdish, etc.); Semitic-Hamitic (Arabic literary language with its dialects and dialects) and Altaic (Turkic languages ​​included in different branches: Turkish branch, Azerbaijani, Tatar, Turkmen, etc.).

According to anthropological features, almost the entire population of ZA belongs to various racial types of the large Caucasoid race.

The modern ethnic composition is complex and most of it is multinational. Establishing the ethnic composition of Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan is associated with difficulties. The official language and script: Arabic (common in Arab countries), and, for example, in Israel - the Hebrew language, and the script is based on the Hebrew alphabet.

Most of the WA is occupied by the economy (with the exception of industry).

2 economic cult types: plow farming and nomadic cattle breeding (nomadism). The fields are irrigated in two ways: by gravity (arable land lies below the level of the river), pumping water (when the level is below the cultivated fields). “Kyariz irrigation” is a system of catchment galleries through which groundwater is brought to the day surface (a chain of wells).

In desert and arid areas, small fields are irrigated from artificial reservoirs in which rain or snow melt water accumulates, as well as from wells. In some countries, especially Iran and Afghanistan, “rainfed” agriculture takes place in the mountains, in which the fields are not watered, relying on natural rainfall. The land is cultivated with a wooden plow with an iron coulter, hoes, shovels, and only wealthy farms have modern mechanized agricultural implements.

Farmers breed domesticated animals as draft power and for milk, meat, and wool.

In most of the Arab countries, the main agricultural crops are wheat, barley, date palms, in some areas industrial crops, rice, citrus and horticultural crops, in Yemen - coffee. In Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, a lot of cotton, grapes, tobacco, and fruit trees are grown.

In Iran, especially high-quality varieties of rice are sown. There are plantations of opium poppy.

Animal husbandry is carried out by farmers in stall and distant forms.

In the deserts and mountains of WA, there is a nomadic economic cult type: nomadic, semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary cattle breeding.

Handicrafts and home production have been highly developed, there are masters in the smelting and processing of metals (the famous weapons-grade Damascus steel was invented). Great perfection was achieved by carvers in stone, bone, and expensive varieties of wood. The best carpets in the world are woven here.

Rural settlements significantly predominate over urban ones and their appearance differs depending on natural conditions and local traditions (for example, Turkey - settlements located on the sea coast, in Iran - in the foothills, in Afghanistan - in mountain valleys).

Settlements of farmers - large, in the mountains - small. In the center of a large settlement there is a market square, a mosque (church), a coffee house and administrative buildings.

Curved streets branch out from the center, and water pipes are located mainly in the city center. Settlements of nomads and semi-nomads are temporary and seasonal.

Most durable in summer. The types of dwellings of the agricultural and pastoral population are diverse. These are agricultural structures (plains and foothills) rectangular, square, in the form of a mud-brick house with a flat roof.

The poor live in single-chamber residential buildings, the wealthy in multi-chamber ones. Interior: bedding-carpets on the floors, trestle-beds, chests with property. Others (Turkey and Iran) have low furniture, while the wealthy population has factory furniture.

Nomadic dwellings (for example, among the Turkmens) are wagons made of a collapsible wooden frame, covered with felt. All others have tents made of woolen fabrics or canvas stretched over poles.

Traditional utensils: earthenware is used by farmers and pastoralists. Food is cooked in cauldrons. Diet: wheat cakes, dishes from vegetable and dairy foods, meat are consumed by wealthy people. Drinks: mint tea, coffee. Traditional means of transport consist of riding, pack, wheeled and water transport.

The costume of most of the population is similar in type, and diversity is observed in headdresses. The men's costume consists of a wide (knee-length) shirt with sleeves, trousers with a wide step, and a cloak-robe.

In winter, a sheepskin coat. The traditional costume was preserved mainly by the nomads. Women's clothing - a long shirt-dress and tight long pants, caftans, raincoats, robes.

Family and family relations are based on the norms of religious and customary law (Muslims - polygamy, marriage-purchase, ortho-cousin marriages, among nomads - tribal endogamy and levirate).

The position of women is unequal. Diversity is observed in social relations even today, and feudal remnants remain in them (Turkey).

Spiritual culture.

Nomadic peoples especially developed oral creativity, and sedentary farmers developed folk musical culture. Musical instruments, plucked, percussion, wind. In folk medicine, natural remedies are used in conjunction with religious and magical beliefs.

Genres of folklore: fairy tales, legends, satirical works. The street folk theater of puppets and shadows and sports are popular. There is illiteracy in villages and poor urban areas.

By religious affiliation, most of the population belongs to different sects of Islam (a monotheistic religion that has developed in Arabia on the basis of ancient beliefs).

The holy book is the Quran. Islam has currents: Sunnism and Shiism. In ZA there are syncretic religions - this is the result of a mixture of Christianity, Islam and ancient pagan beliefs. Religion holds a very strong position in this region.

Peoples of South Asia

This region occupies the territory of the Hindustan peninsula, the island of Sri Lanka, the Lykkodiv, Amindiv, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

States: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Republic of Maldives.

There are about 200 peoples in South Africa. The population speaks the languages ​​of the Indian, Iranian and Dardic branches of the Indo-European family, as well as the languages ​​of the Dravidian, Autroasiatic and Sino-Tibean families.

In SA, intensive linguistic processes are taking place, which are expressed in the transition of small peoples to the languages ​​of their more numerous neighbors. In anthropological terms, the population of the north of SA belongs to the southern Caucasians.

In 3-2 thousand BC. Tribes that spoke Dravidian and Munda languages ​​began to penetrate.

Dravidians of the anthropological type, the southern Caucasians were the creators of civilization in the Indus Valley. During the migrations, the Dravidians and Mundas encountered the Veddoids and assimilated them. Groups and populations who spoke Indo-European languages ​​entered SA from the north. In the northeast, Mongoloid anthropological groups formed.

The production economy began to emerge early. Most of the peoples of BA are farmers, they use plow agriculture with animal husbandry and handicraft production (hoz.cult.type).

Rice and wheat (little), millet and legumes, cotton, sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, and tea are grown in India. Livestock is sacred, so the number of unproductive animals is large, which in turn makes it difficult to develop agriculture. Agriculture is carried out in an irrigated form. They use a plow, they reap with sickles. Gradually, other household cult types are added:

1. Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism (Pashtuns, Balochs).

They obeyed the states on whose lands they lived, developed class relations began to emerge after settled life and the transition to agriculture.

2. Hoe farmers: hoe agriculture using artificial irrigation and more archaic farming in scorched areas of the forest.

3. Intermediate hoz.cult.type: a complex economy of the backward forest peoples, which was based on primitive hoes and on hunting, gathering, and fishing.

A significant part of the population lives in rural areas.

The layout, types of their dwellings are different: street-type settlements, according to the tradition of the castes (in different quarters), large settlements, nomadic settlements and villages on the hills. In peasant houses there are low trestle beds on which they sit and sleep, low stools, tables.

Clothing is colorful, sewn and unsewn. For men: dhoti (unsewn loincloth), pants, shirts, jackets, turban caps (no leather shoes), go barefoot or rag shoes.

Women - saris (long unsewn cloth), blouses, shawls, a lot of jewelry.

Utensils are mainly made of metal, earthenware, wooden utensils. Food - vegetable and dairy. Transport - a cart with a team of oxen, zebu, pack.

The family and social structure differ according to the level of socio-economic development and belonging to the Hindu, Muslim or other religion.

The Hindu and Muslim families had large patriarchal families. Parents agreed on marriages (marriages only between members of the same caste). Name and inheritance on the maternal side. Women had equal rights with men. In the family and marriage relations of small peoples, there is a pair family and family forms that are transitional to monogamy. Class relations arose millennia ago, but some peoples have vestiges. There is a caste system, i.e.

occupational or descent castes. There are 4 main castes (varnas):

1. Brahmins (priests).

2. Kshatriyas (warriors).

3. Vaishya (farmers).

4. Shudra (servants).

Epic works "Mahabharata", "Ramayana", etc. They are read, sung and recited. Performances of conjurers (fakirs) are popular. Musical instruments - plucked, bowed, drums. The fine arts and architecture (the architectural complex of Agra, the Taj Mahal) have reached a high development, wood carving and miniatures have been developed.

The people are famous for medicine - natural medicines, effects on the human psyche, yoga.

Who inhabits Africa

Various religious beliefs are observed: Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism have the largest number of believers. Hinduism is rooted in the religions of the ancient Aryans - a polytheistic religion, the deities Vishnu and Shiva, Lakshmi. There is also a cult of ancestors.

Buddhism originated in North India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. Buddhism recognizes everyone as equal. Jainism arose around the 6th-5th centuries. BC. Also does not recognize the caste system.

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Bantu is called one of the many peoples of Central Africa, but it must be understood that a large number (more than 400) of peoples are united by this term. Thus, the Bantu is a group of ethnic groups, among which there are:

You can meet them in many places south of the Sahara desert. In addition to Central Africa, there are also Bantu representatives in the Southern and Eastern sub-regions. The total number is about 200 million people.

Common to the Bantu is the language and revered traditions. Some of them use several languages ​​at once, but Swahili is most often heard.

Many scholars call the Bantu tribes, along with the Hottentot and Bushmen peoples, the progenitors of the South African race. However, even now science does not possess all the most accurate data on the Bantu, and their entire history is not known.

The appearance of a standard Bantu representative can be described as follows:

dark skin tone;

hard curls, curled spirally;

low nose bridge;

wide nose;

mouth with massive lips;

large growth, sometimes more than 180 cm.

People from the Bantu tribes are very sociable, they easily communicate with tourists, giving them the opportunity to take unique photographs, and excursions are organized for them. All this allows Africans to earn good money.

The religions of the Bantu peoples are different, these are not only ancient animistic beliefs, but also brought Christianity, as well as Islam. All these religious canons are of great importance, they are revered both in rituals and in everyday life.

Once upon a time, these peoples used only small bandages on their hips as clothing, which they made from grasses and animal skins on their own. However, now many traditions have been lost, so even the appearance of modern Bantu is similar to any European.

And yet, the Bantu peoples managed to preserve their own folklore, which survived many centuries, and these are African fairy tales telling about nature, specific local dances, kind-hearted songs, epic legends and legends.

Equatorial (Western Tropical) IEO[edit | edit wiki text]

Territory: central and southern regions of Cameroon, southern Chad, South Sudan, CAR, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, Zambia.

It is inhabited primarily by Bantu-speaking peoples: Duala, Fang, Bubi (Fernandese), Mpongwe, Teke, Mboshi, Ngala, Komo, Mongo, Tetela, Cuba, Kongo, Ambundu, Ovimbundu, Chokwe, Luena, Lozi, Tonga, Bemba, Luba, etc. Other Bantu languages ​​are spoken by Bamileke, Bamum, Tikar; Adamawa-Ubangi - Zande, Banda, Ngbandi and Gbaya; Central Sudanese - Moru-Mangbetu peoples. The Pygmies speak the languages ​​of their neighbors, that is, of all the listed families, but mainly in the Bantu languages. The Santomians and Annobons are creoles with languages ​​​​based on Portuguese and Bantu languages, Fernandino are creoles with a language based on English and Yoruba.

The material culture is characteristic of the tropical forest zone and is close to the culture of the Guinean subregion of the West African IEO. The culture of the pygmies stands out, preserving a way of life based on mobile hunting and gathering.

South African ESI[edit | edit wiki text]

Territory: southern Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern and central Mozambique.

It is inhabited by the Bantu-speaking peoples of Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele and Matabele, Suto, Tswana, Pedi, Tsonga, Venda, Shona, Herero, Ovambo, etc., as well as peoples speaking Khoisan languages ​​(Bushmen and Hottentots). Afrikaners and "colored" in South Africa speak Afrikaans, South Africans - in the local version of English. Natives of Europe and South Asia (Hindustani, Biharis, Gujaratis, etc.) speak Indo-Aryan, some Indians (Tamils, Telugu, etc.) speak Dravidian languages.

Migration processes constantly took place on the territory of South Africa, starting with the migration of Bantu-speaking peoples from East Africa in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e., pushing the Khoisan peoples to less favorable areas (the Kalahari and Namib deserts). In the first half of the 19th century, part of the Narodnguni moved to the north of modern South Africa (Ndebele), to the territory of modern Zimbabwe (Matabele) and to the south of Tanzania (ngoni). Finally, the last major migration was the "Great Track" - the resettlement of Afrikaners in the middle of the 19th century from the Cape colony, captured by the British, to the northeast, across the Orange and Vaal rivers (the creation of the Boer republics - the Orange Free State and the Transvaal).

The traditional occupations of the Bantu-speaking peoples are manual slash-and-burn agriculture with fallow (sorghum, millet, corn, legumes, vegetables) and semi-nomadic cattle breeding (cattle and small cattle). The Hottentots are engaged in transhumant cattle breeding (large and small cattle), with the exception of the Topnar-nama group in the Bay of Whales (Namibia), which until recently was engaged in marine hunting. The traditional food of farmers and pastoralists is stews and cereals made from sorghum and corn, seasoned with vegetables, milk; the main drink is millet beer. The traditional settlement - a circular layout of hemispherical huts ( kraal). Unlike most African peoples, who have an open hearth (as a rule, outside the dwelling, in the yard), adobe stoves are common among the mountain dwellers of the Tswana and Suto. Traditional clothing - unsewn (loincloth and apron, leather cloak) kaross).

The Bushmen (san) are wandering hunters and gatherers. As a dwelling, wind barriers are used from branches tied at the top and covered with grass or skins. Clothing - loincloth and cloak.

Methods and sources of ethnography. The conceptual stage of ethnographic science

Africa is a place where people live, adhering to the rules of life, traditions and culture that developed several centuries ago, have survived to this day almost unchanged and are a clear guide to the everyday way of life of the population. The inhabitants of Africa still successfully exist due to fishing, hunting and gathering, without feeling the need and acute need for the objects of modern civilization. This does not mean that they are not familiar with all the innovations of civilization, they simply know how to do without them, leading a secluded lifestyle, not coming into contact with the outside world.

Peoples inhabiting Africa

The African continent has sheltered many different tribes with different levels of development, traditions, rituals and outlook on life. The largest tribes are Mbuti, Nuba, Oromo, Hamer, Bambara, Fulbe, Dinka, Bongo and others. Over the past two decades, the inhabitants of the tribes have been gradually reorganizing themselves into a commodity-money way of life, but their priority is to provide themselves and their families with the necessary food in order to prevent prolonged famine. It can be said that the tribal population has practically no economic relations, which is why various conflicts and contradictions often arise, which can even end in bloodshed.

Despite this, there are tribes that are more loyal to modern development, have entered into economic relations with other large nations and are working to develop social culture and industry.

The population of Africa is quite large, therefore, from 35 to 3000 people live on the continent per square kilometer, and in some places even more, because due to the lack of water and the unfavorable climate of the deserts, the population is unevenly distributed here.

Berbers and Arabs live in northern Africa, who, over a dozen centuries of living in this territory, passed on their language, culture and traditions to the locals. Arab ancient buildings are still pleasing to the eye, revealing all the subtleties of their culture and beliefs.

There are practically no inhabitants in the desert area, but there you can meet a large number of nomads who lead entire caravans of camels, which is their main source of life and an indicator of wealth.

Culture and life of the peoples of Africa

Since the population of Africa is quite diverse and consists of more than a few dozen tribes, it is very obvious that the traditional way has long lost its primitiveness and, in some aspects, borrowed culture from neighboring residents. Thus, the culture of one tribe reflects the traditions of another and it is difficult to determine who was the founder of certain rituals. The most important value in the life of the tribal people is the family, it is with it that most of the beliefs, traditions and rituals are associated.

In order to marry one of the girls of the tribe, the guy must pay damages to his parents. Often this is a domestic animal, but more recently, ransom is also accepted in cash. It is believed that this tradition helps families unite, and in the case of a good amount of ransom, the father of the bride is convinced of the wealth of the son-in-law and that he can properly provide for his daughter.

The wedding should only be played on a full moon night. It is the moon that will indicate what the marriage will be like - if bright and clear, then the marriage will be good, prosperous and prolific, if the moon is dim - this is a very bad sign. The family in the tribes of Africa is distinguished by polygamy - as soon as a man becomes financially wealthy, he can afford several wives, which absolutely does not bother the girls, since they equally share household and childcare responsibilities. Such families are surprisingly friendly and direct all their efforts for the good of the tribe.

Upon reaching a certain age (it is different for each tribe), young people must undergo an initiation ceremony. Boys and sometimes girls are circumcised. It is very important that the guy during the ceremony does not scream or cry, otherwise he will forever be considered a coward.

Traditions and customs of the peoples of Africa

Africans spend a lot of time protecting themselves from evil spirits and getting closer to good gods. To do this, they perform ritual dances (causing rain, fight pests, receive a blessing before hunting, etc.), stuff tattoos, cut out masks that should protect them from evil spirits.

Sorcerers and shamans play a special role in the life of the tribe. They are considered servants of the spirits, it is to them that the leaders of the tribes listen and the common people come to them for advice. Shamans have the right to bless, heal, they hold weddings and bury the deceased.

The inhabitants of Africa honor their ancestors with particular enthusiasm, performing a series of rituals to worship them. Often this is the worship of dead ancestors, after whose death more than a year has passed, they are invited back to the house with the help of certain ritual actions, allocating them a separate place in the room.

Before marriage, girls are taught a special language for married women, which only they know and understand. The bride herself must come to the groom's house on foot and bring her dowry. Marriage can be concluded from the age of 13.

Another feature of the tribal culture is the scarring on the body. It is believed that the more of them, the better a man is a warrior and hunter. Each tribe has its own drawing techniques.

PEOPLES OF AFRICA

Africa is a continent, almost all of whose countries until quite recently were completely colonially dependent on European states. For several centuries, the colonialists exploited the indigenous population and plundered the natural wealth of African countries. In the XV-XVII centuries, in the era of the primitive accumulation of capital, Africa became the main territory from which slaves were exported for the American colonies of European states. In the words of K. Marx, it has become a "reserved hunting ground for blacks." The slave trade led to a long delay in the development of productive forces and the degradation of the economy, reducing the population of Africa. The total decline in the population of Africa from the slave trade, including those killed during the hunt for slaves and those who died along the way, amounted to tens of millions of people.

The colonial division of Africa was completed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, at a time when the development of capitalism entered its highest and last stage. At this time, according to V. I. Lenin, “an enormous “rise” of colonial conquests begins, the struggle for the territorial division of the world escalates to an extraordinary degree.” Almost all of Africa was divided among the European powers. On the eve of World War II, only Egypt, Liberia and the Union of South Africa were considered independent states. These three states accounted for 7.7% of the area of ​​the African continent and 17% of the population.

After the Second World War began the disintegration of the world colonial system and the collapse of imperialist domination in the countries of Asia and Africa. The colonialists are trying to maintain their dominance by applying new methods and forms of colonial enslavement, increasing their economic influence on African countries.

The decline and decay of the world capitalist system, the growth of power and the strengthening of the influence of the world socialist system, the liberation of the peoples of Asia from colonial rule - all this served as the most important factors that contributed to the sharp rise of the national liberation movement in Africa. In many African countries, a struggle has unfolded against the colonial regime, for national liberation. The national liberation struggle has already brought political independence to the majority of African peoples. In 1951 she achieved independence of Libya, in 1955 - Eritrea, in 1956 - Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan. The Gold Coast and British Togo formed in 1957 the independent state of Ghana. In 1958 Guinea became independent. In 1960, which is rightly called the "year of Africa", the French ward territories of Cameroon and Togo, the French colonies of Senegal, Sudan (Mali), Madagascar (Republic of Malagasy), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Niger, Dahomey were liberated from colonial oppression , Chad, Oubangi-Shari (Central African Republic), Congo (with Brazzaville as its capital), Gabon and Mauritania 3 . The Belgian colony of the Congo, the British protectorate of Somaliland and the Italian Trust Territory of Somalia (the latter two merged into the single Republic of Somalia), as well as Africa's largest country, Nigeria, also gained independence. In April 1961, the independence of another British colony and protectorate, Sierra Leone, was proclaimed. At the end of 1961, custody of the British Trust Territory of Cameroon ended. As a result of the referendum, the southern part of this territory was reunited with the Republic of Cameroon, while the northern part was annexed to Nigeria. Tanganyika gained independence. Thus, by the end of 1962, independent states in Africa already occupied 81% of the territory, and their population amounted to almost 88% of the total population of the continent.

New, independent African states, as a rule, were created within the boundaries of the old colonial possessions, established in their time by the imperialists and not corresponding to ethnic boundaries. Therefore, the vast majority of African states are multinational. Some peoples of Africa are settled in several states. Thus, the Mandingo, numbering 3.2 million people, live in Senegal, Mali, the Ivory Coast, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Portuguese Guinea, Liberia and the Republic of Guinea. Fulbe settled in Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Cameroon, Niger, Upper Volta, Dahomey, Mauritania, Gambia and other countries. The Akan peoples, who make up the majority in Ghana, also live in the Ivory Coast. My peoples are separated by state borders between Upper Volta and Ghana; Hausa - between Nigeria and Niger, Banya-Rwanda - between Rwanda and Congo, etc. The mismatch of political and ethnic borders is a serious obstacle to the national development of many African peoples, it complicates relations between new states.

population of the african continent together with the Okru its islands reaches 250 millionlovek. In the countries of the North and NortheastAfrica lives 76.3 million, in Western Sudan -69.2 million, in Central and Eastern Sudan - 19.3 million, in Tropical Africa - 52.1 million, in South Africa - 26.6 million, on the islands (Madagascar, etc.) - 6.4 million people. Most African countries, especially in recent years, are characterized by relatively rapid population growth. On the continent as a whole, from 1920 to 1959 it increased by 77%. The influx of immigrants to African countries from Europe and Asia is insignificant - no more than 100-150 thousand people a year. According to the UN Demographic Directory, in Africa (from 1950 to 1959), on average, 46 people were born per 1000 people annually, 27 people died, i.e., the natural population growth was 1.9%, which is higher than the average population growth figure for around the world as a whole (1.7%).

The structure of natural population growth in most African countries is characterized by high birth rates and high mortality rates. Until quite recently, the unusually difficult economic conditions of life of the population of African countries that were in colonial dependence, and the lack of elementary medical care, were the cause of high mortality. Very indicative in this respect is the comparison of data on fertility and mortality for individual groups of the population. In Algeria in 1949-1954. the birth rate among Arabs fluctuated between 3.3-4.4% per year, the death rate was 1.3-1.5%, while among Europeans the birth rate was 1.9-2.1%, the death rate was 0.8 -1.0%.

In African countries, until very recently, very high infant mortality has been observed. In a number of African regions of the Republic of South Africa, until recently, out of 1,000 children born in the first year, 295 people died. Among the European population, infant mortality was many times lower. In recent years, there has been a slight decrease in mortality while maintaining a high birth rate. First of all, does this apply to countries that have gained independence and are rapidly developing their economies, taking care of the growth of the material and cultural level of the population (Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Ghana, etc.)? which caused a sharp increase in natural population growth in these countries. In Tunisia it rose from 1.5% (1940) to 3.7% (1958), and in Ghana from 1.0% (1931-1944). up to 3.2% (1958). In Sudan, natural population growth reached 3.3% in 1956. On the contrary, where colonialism has survived in its most severe forms, the death rate is still very high and the natural increase is negligible. In Portuguese Guinea, the natural increase in population in 1957 was only 0.5%. In the Congo (a former Belgian colony), the average annual increase for 1949-1953. was 1.0%, in Mozambique from 1950-1954 - 1.2%, etc.

Low natural population growth is also characteristic of countries where the population still retains a nomadic lifestyle. In Libya, where nomads make up 1/3 of the population, there is a very high mortality rate (4.2% in 1954). From 1921 to 1958, that is, in 37 years, the population of Libya increased by only 26% (almost three times less than the average for the continent).

The African population is made up of many nations, with contemporary peoples and tribes. Their modern placement by ethnic compositionon the African continent - the result of a complexethnic history, about which very little is known so far. Its main stages are connected, firstly, with repeated movements in Tropical Africa of indigenous, mostly Negroid peoples (the most significant of these movements was the gradual penetration of the Bantu peoples into East and South Africa in the first millennium AD); secondly, with the resettlement in the 7th-11th centuries. Arabs from Asia to North Africa and the process of Arabization of local Berber-speaking peoples; thirdly, with European colonization and colonial conquests.

Modern African peoples are at different stages of socio-economic development and at different stages of the formation of ethnic communities. Most of them have not yet taken shape in the nation, and this is primarily to blame for the colonial system, which in every possible way hampered the economic, cultural and national development of the African peoples. The defenders of colonialism have gone to great lengths to prove that the African peoples are not yet "ready" for independent life, that "ethnic chaos" and extraordinary ethnic fragmentation reigns in Africa, and that the backwardness of the African population is connected with this. Indeed, the ethnic composition of the population of Africa is complex. However, behind the seeming diversity of ethnic names are often already hidden large ethnic communities. There is an intensive process of merging and mixing of small ethnic groups. The penetration of capitalism into the colonial countryside and the development of capitalist forms of economy, the widespread dissemination of highly commercial plantation crops, the growth of the mining industry and the increase in the urban population, the seasonal movements of large masses of workers in search of work - all this is accompanied by the destruction of the subsistence economy and the primitive communal and patriarchal-feudal orders associated with it. . Tribal differences are being erased, common literary languages ​​are being formed, and national self-consciousness is growing. In a mighty liberation movement against the shameful colonial system, formerly disparate tribes and nationalities merge into a single whole. There is a process of formation of large nationalities and nations.

The classification of the peoples of Africa is usually built on the principle of linguistic proximity. African languages ​​are combined into families, divided into groups, as well as into groups equated to families. The language family includes languages ​​related by origin with a similar grammatical structure and a basic vocabulary that goes back to common roots. There are several such language families in Africa: Semitic-Hamitic, Bantu, Mande (Mandingo) and Nilotic. There are many languages ​​in Africa that, due to their insufficient knowledge, cannot be attributed to certain language families and their relationship is not fully proven. Such languages ​​are combined into groups: Hausa, Eastern Bantu, Gur (Central Bantu), Atlantic (Western Bantu), Songai U Guinea, Kanuri, Khoisan.

In Central and Eastern Sudan there are languages ​​that are almost not studied (Azande, Banda, Bagirmi, etc.). The peoples who speak these languages ​​are conditionally united in one group - the peoples of Central and Eastern Sudan.

Three main linguistic areas can be distinguished on the African continent: in the northern and northeastern parts, the languages ​​​​of the Semitic-Hamitic family are distributed almost exclusively; in the tropical and southern regions, the languages ​​of the Bantu family predominate; in Sudan (Western, Central and Eastern), the population speaks languages ​​that are combined into various language families and groups (Hausa, Eastern Bantu, Gur, Atlantic, etc.).

In North and North-East Africa (Maghrib, Sahara, UAR, Ethiopia, Somalia and East Sudan) there are peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Semitic-Hamitic family. This family unites the Semitic, Cushitic and Berber groups. The total number of peoples who speak these languages ​​is 82.5 million people, which is about a third of the entire population of Africa. Semitic languages ​​are spoken by 66.2 million, Cushitic by about 11 million, and Berber by 5.3 million. Of the Semitic languages, Arabic is the most widely spoken. It is used by over 52 million people. Literary Arabic is very different from spoken Arabic, which in Africa is divided into three main dialects: Maghreb, Egyptian and Sudanese.

Arabs appeared in North Africa in the 7th-11th centuries. The ancient peoples of North Africa (Maghreb and Sahara), whom ancient authors called Libyans, spoke Berber languages ​​before the Arab conquest. Mass migration of Arab tribes (Hilal and Sulaim) in the 11th century. had a significant impact on the Berbers. The Berbers adopted the Muslim religion, and most of them gradually became Arabized. There is no difference between Arabs and Berbers in the nature of the economy: on the coast of North Africa and in the oases of the desert zone, these peoples are engaged in irrigated agriculture, in the mountainous regions of the Maghreb and in the Sahara they are engaged in cattle breeding and lead a nomadic lifestyle.

At present, it is difficult to draw a clear line between the Arab and Berber populations. Over the past 30-50 years, in most countries of the Maghreb, the process of mixing Arabs and Berbers has noticeably intensified. Back in the 1930s, 40% of the population spoke Berber dialects in Morocco, about 30% in Algeria, and 2% in Tunisia. Currently, in Morocco, the Berber-speaking population is 30, in Algeria - 15, in Tunisia - 1.4%. The majority of the Berber-speaking people of the Maghreb speak No-Arabic outside the home, practice Islam and identify themselves as Arabs. The process of formation of large nations is being completed: Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian.

In the United Arab Republic, the population consists almost exclusively of Arabs (Egyptians). UAR is a country of ancient African culture. Back in the IV-III millennium BC e. here, on the basis of plow irrigation agriculture, a powerful slave-owning state was formed. Since the middle of the 7th century, after the Arab conquest, Egypt has repeatedly been part of a number of Muslim feudal states, and the local Egyptian population of the country gradually adopted the Arabic language and the Muslim religion.

Moving from Arabia and Syria, the Arab tribes gradually penetrated south into the deep regions of Sudan, partly mixing with the local Negroid population. Most of these peoples adopted the Arabic language and converted to Islam. In the middle reaches of the Nile, the Arab population is territorially mixed with the Nubians and is engaged in agriculture. In the desert regions of Eastern Sudan, nomadic tribes of Arab pastoralists have survived to this day: Bakkara, Kababish, Hawavir, Hassanie, etc.

Of the other peoples of the Semitic group, the largest is the Amhara (over 10.6 million), which is the core of the emerging Ethiopian nation, as well as the tigers (over 2 million) and the tiger (about 0.5 million) living in the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. . Human).

The peoples of the Kushite group - the Galla (culturally close to the Amhara) and the Sidamo prevail in southern Ethiopia. Somalis inhabit the plains of the Somali Peninsula and lead a predominantly nomadic lifestyle. In the desert areas of the Red Sea coast (the United Arab Republic, Sudan and Ethiopia), the Beja pastoral tribes, whose language - Bedauye - also belongs to the Cushitic group, roam.

The Berber group unites peoples living in the mountainous regions of North Africa (Kabils, reefs, shlohs, etc.) and in the Sahara (Tuareg); many of them are bilingual and speak Arabic.

The areas south of the Sahara - Sudan (translated from Arabic "Bilyad-es-Sudan" means "Country of Blacks"), Tropical and South Africa are inhabited by Negroid peoples. Particularly complex is the ethnic composition of the population of Sudan (Western, Central and Eastern), which differs both from North Africa, where the peoples of one Semitic-Hamitic family live, and from Tropical and South Africa, where closely related Bantu peoples predominate. Sudan is inhabited by peoples who unite into a number of separate groups, differing both in material and spiritual culture, and in language. However, no matter how complex the ethnic composition and the different culture of the population, there are many similarities. historical and cultural features that unite the peoples of Sudan. Ancient African slave-owning and feudal states invested in this area, within which large nationalities were formed on the basis of an economic, cultural and linguistic community. The most ancient of the states known to us - Ghana - was apparently created back in the 4th century. n. e. one of the Mandingo peoples - the Soninke. At the beginning of the XIII century. Mali separated from Ghana, the ethnic basis of which was the Malinke. The borders of Mali (which reached its peak in the 13th-14th centuries) covered the upper reaches of the Senegal, the upper and middle reaches of the Niger. It was the largest state of medieval Sudan. In addition to Mali, other states were formed in Sudan at that time: Moei (XI-XVIII centuries), Kanem (X-XIV centuries), Hausa (XII-XVIII centuries), etc. By the end of the XV century. The largest territory was occupied by the state of Songhai. On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in the XVIII-XIX centuries. there were the states of Ashanti, Benin, Dahomey, and others, which were barbarously destroyed by the British and French colonialists. The imperialist division of Western Sudan created an extraordinary patchwork of colonial possessions. The dominance of imperialism, the dismemberment of peoples by colonial borders, the artificial preservation and imposition of feudal systems complicated and delayed the process of national consolidation of the peoples of Sudan, which began to develop rapidly only in recent years in connection with the intensification of the national liberation movement and the emergence of new independent states.

The languages ​​spoken by the peoples of Sudan are grouped into the following groups: Hausa, Eastern, Central (Tur) and Western (Atlantic) Bantu, Songhai, Mande (Maidingo), Guinean, the languages ​​of the peoples of Central and Eastern Sudan, Kanuri and Nilotic. Despite the ethnic diversity of the Sudanese countries, in almost each of them two or three largest peoples or a group of closely related peoples can be distinguished, which make up the majority of the population and play the role of an ethnic core in the processes of national consolidation. For example, in Guinea - these are Fulbe, Mandingo and Susu, in Mali - Mandingo and Fulbe, in Senegal - Wolof, Fulbe and Serer, in Ghana - Akan and mine, in Nigeria - Hausa, Yoruba, for, Fulbe, etc.

The Hausa group includes the peoples of Northern Nigeria and neighboring countries: Hausa, Bade, Bura, Kotoko, etc. The languages ​​of the Hausa peoples are close to the languages ​​of the Semitic-Hamitic family and at the same time have a number of common features with the Bantu languages. The number of peoples belonging to the Hausa group is 10.7 million people. During the colonial partition, the single territory of the largest people of this group - the Hausa - was divided between Nigeria, where the bulk of the people now live (7.4 million people), and Niger (1.1 million people). The Hausa language is widely spoken as a second language among many neighboring peoples, and the total number of speakers of it is at least 12-15 million people.

The Eastern Bantoid group unites the peoples of Nigeria (tiv, ibibio, birom, kambari, etc.) and Cameroon (bamileke, tikar, etc.). The languages ​​of these peoples are very close to the Bantu languages ​​and, apparently, have a common root system with them. Related to the Bantu languages ​​is the grammatical structure of these languages. The total number of peoples of the eastern Bantu group is over 6.2 million people.

The Gur (Central Bantu) group, sometimes called the Mosi-Grusi group, unites the peoples of the interior regions of Western Sudan (Upper Volta, Ghana, etc.). The languages ​​of these peoples are characterized by the commonality of the main vocabulary and the proximity of the grammatical structure. The languages ​​of this group are spoken by the peoples: Moi, Lobi, Bobo, Dogon, Senufo, Gurma, Grus, etc. The total number of these peoples is "Over 7.4 million people (including the largest of them, mine - 3.2 million . Human).

The Atlantic (Western Bantoid) group unites the peoples of the Fulbe, Wolof, Serer, Balante, and others. The Fulbe (7.1 million people) are found in many areas of Western and Central Sudan. A small part of them still leads a nomadic lifestyle and is engaged in cattle breeding, others are semi-nomadic and combine dairy cattle breeding with agriculture in their economy, but most of the Fulbe settled (especially in Nigeria) and began to farm. In Nigeria, a part of the Fulbe lives among the Hausa and has adopted their language. The total number of peoples of the Atlantic group is about 11 million people.

Song troupe i. The Songhai speak a language that bears no resemblance to other languages ​​and is therefore classified as a separate group. The Songhai and related Djerma and Dandi, occupying the valley along the middle reaches of the Niger River, combine agriculture with fishing. The number of Songhai is over 0.8. million people.

The Mande (Mandingo) family unites the peoples of a vast territory in the upper reaches of the Senegal and Niger rivers. The MandiNgo peoples are characterized by the proximity of languages ​​and culture, which is explained by their long communication within the medieval states of Sudan (Ghana, Mali, etc.). Based on a number of linguistic features, the languages ​​of the peoples of this group are divided into northern and southern. The northern ones include the actual mandinto (malinke, bambara and diula), soninke and wai; to the south - Susu, Mende, Kpelle, etc. The total number of Mandingo peoples is over 7.1 million people.

The Guinean group is characterized by a heterogeneous composition and includes three subgroups: Kru, Kwa and Ijo. Kru combines bakwe, grebo, crane, bete, gere, bassa, sikon, etc.; they live in Liberia and on the territory of the Ivory Coast. They speak very close languages, which are essentially dialects of the Kru language, and gradually merge into a single Kru people. The Kwa subgroup unites large peoples: Akan (4.5 million), Yoruba (6.3 million), for (6.2 million), Ewe (2.7 million), and others, occupying the eastern part of the Guinean coast. The Akan peoples are settled in Ghana and on the territory of the Ivory Coast. In the life of the population, especially in everyday life, the division of the Akan into a number of ethnic groups and tribes has retained its significance: Ashanti, Fanti, Baule-Anya, Gonzha, etc. The Akan language has four literary forms: Twi, or Ashanti, Fanti, Akvapim and Akim. The Ashanti and Fanti can be seen as the ethnic core of the emerging Ghanaian nation.

Ewe is divided between Ghana (over 0.9 million), Togo (about 0.6 million), Dahomey (1.1 million) and Nigeria (0.1 million). The Ewe, who live in Dahomey and Nigeria and are also called the Fon, differ quite significantly from the rest of the Ewe in terms of language and a number of elements of material and spiritual culture and are distinguished by some authors as a separate people. The Yoruba Ibo, Bini and Nupe inhabit the plains of the lower Niger River in southern Nigeria. Ijo, whose language is conditionally classified as Guinean, live in the Niger Delta.

The total number of peoples of the Guinean group is 24.3 million people.

A group of peoples of Central and Eastern Sudan - Azande, Banda, Bagirmi, Moru-Mangbetu, Fora, etc. - inhabit Chad, the Central African Republic, partly the Congo and the southwestern outskirts of Sudan. These peoples speak little studied languages. Their association in one group is conditional. The total number is 6.7 million people.

The kaya ur group unites the Kanuri people and their kindred inhabitants of the Tibesti - the tuba (or tibbu), as well as the Zagava; peoples, speaking Those who speak these languages ​​live in the desert regions of Central Sahara and differ sharply in language from the neighboring Sudanese peoples. The total number of peoples of the Kanuri group is 2.2 million people.

The Nilotic family includes peoples living in the Upper Nile basin. According to linguistic and ethnographic features, they are divided into three groups: northwestern, or Nilotic proper, which is characterized by a significant unity of languages ​​\u200b\u200bthat have a common basic vocabulary and grammatical structure (the largest peoples are Dinka, Nuer, Luo, etc.); the southeastern, also called the Nilo-Hamitic and characterized by a wide variety of composition (Bari, Lotuko, Tezo, Turkana, Karamojo, Masai, etc.), and the Nuba group. In the past, the Nilotic peoples were settled much more widely. The area of ​​their settlement stretched from Ethiopia to Lake Chad, reaching in the south to Kenya and Tanganyika. During the colonial division of Africa, the united territory of the Nilotes was divided between Eastern Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. The Nuba group includes the Nubians living along the middle reaches of the Nile; a significant part of them speaks Arabic. The total number of Nilotic peoples is 7.9 million people.

The rest of the African continent - Tropical and South Africa - is inhabited mainly by the peoples of the Bantu family, characterized by the extreme proximity of languages, similarities in occupations and cultural traditions. The Bantu peoples number 67.6 million people, which is over 27% of the population of Africa. Bantu are divided by linguists (mainly on a geographical basis) into seven main groups: northwestern (fang, duala, poppy, etc.); northern (Banyarwanda, Barundi, Kikuyu, etc.); Congo (bakongo, mongo, bobangi, etc.); central (baluba, bemba, etc.); Eastern (Swahili, Wanyam-wezi, Wagogo, etc.); southeastern (Machon, Xhosa, Zulus, etc.); western (ovimbunda, ovambo, herero, etc.). The history of the origin of the Bantu and their settlement of Tropical and South Africa is still largely unclear, but the data of linguistics and ethnography give reason to consider their homeland the northern outskirts of the tropical forests of the Congo and Cameroon, where the peoples of the eastern Bantu group close to them live (Tiv, Ibibio, Bamileke, etc. ). The southward advance of the Bantu began as early as the Neolithic; they moved around the rainforest through the savannas of East Africa. The Bantu were pushed back and partly assimilated by the Nilotic peoples living in the eastern part of the mainland and the peoples who spoke Cushitic languages. The aboriginal Khoisan population was also assimilated to a large extent, from which only the Hadzapi and Sandawe tribes are now preserved in East Africa (in Tanganyika). The Bantu peoples, who occupied the fertile plateaus and plains of the Mezhozero, achieved a high degree of social development and created in the XIV-XVIII centuries. the states of Unyoro, Buganda, Ankole, and others. The Bantu entered the tropical forests of the Congo from the east and from the north. They pushed back and partly assimilated the hunting tribes of the Pygmies who lived there. In their southward march, the Bantu reached the southern tip of the African continent (Natal) a thousand years ago. By the time of the appearance of Europeans, the eastern part of South Africa was occupied by the southeastern Bantu - Mashona, Xhosa, Zulus, Basotho, etc.; on the east coast, the eastern Bantu - Makua, Malawi, etc. were settled; in the northwest - the western Bantu - Ovambo and Herero.

The historical fate of the Bantu of the east coast of Africa in the Middle Ages was significantly influenced by the penetration of the Arabs. The latter created the trading settlements of Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, and others, where a mixed group of the Swahili population (“coastal dwellers”) gradually formed. Its ethnic basis was made up of local Bantu tribes and descendants of slaves captured in the interior regions of Tropical Africa. The composition of the Swahili also included the descendants of the Arabs, Persians and Indians. tsev. The Swahili language has spread widely throughout East Africa. At the beginning of the XX century. almost 2 million people spoke Swahili.

Most of the Bantu peoples at the time of the colonial division of Tropical Africa were at various stages of the decomposition of the primitive communal system. Some of them already had their own state formations. European colonization destroyed these states. At present, many more tribes have survived among the Bantu, but there is an active process of merging them into nationalities and nations. In the struggle for national liberation from the colonial yoke, various Bantu tribes of the Congo, Angola and other countries are uniting, and an intensive process of formation of large nations is going on. This is also facilitated by the proximity of the languages ​​​​of individual tribes and peoples of the Bantu.

The Swahili language, which the British authorities at one time recognized as the official language of their colonies in East Africa, is becoming more widespread. At present, the majority of the population of this region - two to three tens of million people - speaks Swahili. In East Africa, apparently, the contours of a large ethnic community are outlined - the East African nation. A serious obstacle to its development is the colonial regime.

The Bantu of Angola consist of two closely related groups of tribes: Bantu Congo (Bakongo and Bambundu) and Western Bantu - Ovimbundu, Vapyanek, Ovambo, etc. Despite the brutal regime of racial, political and economic oppression of the African population established in Angola by the colonial authorities, in recent years the national liberation movement is gaining wider scope there.

The Bantu of the Republic of South Africa, who live on reservations, on European farms, in cities (in suburban locations) under a heavy police regime and the so-called “color barrier”, are especially cruelly exploited. In relation to them, a racist policy of apartheid (separation of races) is being pursued. The Bantu of the Republic of South Africa have already developed into large nationalities: the kasa (over 3.3 million), Zulus (2.9 million), Basotho (1.9 million), etc. The languages ​​of these peoples are so close that they can be considered as dialects of a single language. These peoples have a common culture, customs and customs. They are also united by the stubborn struggle against racial discrimination, for democratic freedoms and political rights.

In South Africa, in addition to the Bantu, there are also peoples belonging to the Khoisan language group. These include the Bushmen, Hottentots, and Mountain Damara. In the distant past, the peoples of the Khoisan group occupied all of South and partly East Africa. In the era of the advancement of the Baitu peoples to the south, they were pushed back to the southwestern regions and partly assimilated. In the 17th century, when the first Dutch colonists appeared in South Africa, the Hottentots and Bushmen inhabited the entire southern tip of the African continent, but in the 18th-19th centuries. these peoples were largely exterminated by the European colonists. The remnants of the Khoisan population are driven into the arid regions of the Kalahari Desert. Their total number now does not exceed 170 thousand people.

The island of Madagascar is inhabited by the Malagasy, whose language, anthropological type and culture differ sharply from other peoples of the African continent. Malgash speak the language of the Indonesian group of the Malayo-Polynesian family. The oldest population of the island, apparently, was Negroid. The ancestors of the Malagasy migrated from Indonesia in the 1st millennium AD. e. With the subsequent mixing of Indonesian settlers with the African population (Bantu) and partly with the Arabs, several ethnographic groups were formed on the island of Madagascar, differing in some cultural features and speaking dialects of the Malagash language. These include gelding, betsileo, sakalava, betsimizaraka, etc.

Due to the development of capitalist relations and frequent population movements, the boundaries of the settlement of these groups are gradually erased, and differences in culture and language are significantly reduced. The struggle for national independence against French colonial domination accelerated the process of the formation of a single Malagasy nation.

The population of European origin in Africa (British, Boers, French, etc.), despite its relative small number (about 8.5 million people), still occupies a dominant position in economic, and in a number of countries in political life. Among Europeans there is a significant stratum of workers and small farmers who are in a privileged position compared to Africans. A significant group is the bourgeoisie - the owners of plantations, farms, mines, various enterprises, etc.

The great colonial powers, England and France, now compelled to grant independence to many of their colonies, stubbornly strove to keep under colonial subordination the territories where there was a European migrant population. These include primarily Kenya, Southern and Northern Rhodesia.

South Africa has a European (White) population of over 4 million people. It consists of Afrikaners, or Boers, Anglo-Africans, as well as Portuguese, Germans, French, Italians, etc. The Europeans in terms of language, national identity and culture adjoin the mestizo population of mixed origin (about 1.5 million people), which in the Republic of South Africa stands out as a separate ethnic group - "colored". Most of the "colored" speak Afrikaans and come from mixed marriages between Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants of South Africa - the Hottentots and Bushmen, partly Bantu. "Colored", along with the Bantu and Indian peoples, are subjected to severe racial discrimination.

In North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, etc.), Europeans make up 2.2 million people. They live mainly in large cities and their environs. The French predominate numerically (approx. 1.5 million), Spaniards (0.3 million) and Italians (0.2 million).

In the countries of Western Sudan, the population of European origin (mainly French and British) does not exceed 0.3 million; in Tropical Africa, there are about 0.4 million Europeans. In Madagascar and other African islands in the Indian Ocean (Reunion, Mauritius, etc.), the population of European origin (mainly descendants of French settlers and French-speaking mestizos) totals 0.6 million people.

The population of Asian origin consists mainly of immigrants from India and Pakistan (1.3 million people) and Chinese (38 thousand people). Indians live mainly in the seaside cities of the southeast of the Republic of South Africa, as well as in Kenya and on the island of Mauritius, and on the latter they make up to 65% of the total population.

Most af Rican states and colonial possessions do not have correctly set demographic statistics; in 25 of them, no demographic censuses have ever been conducted among the African population, and the population was taken into account by the administration only according to indirect data (the number of taxpayers, etc.).

In the vast majority of African countries, statistical data on the size of the indigenous African population by administrative regions and even throughout the country are given in official publications without regard to national and tribal affiliation. Only very few countries have statistical data characterizing the ethnic composition of the population. In various handbooks, statistical publications and ethnic maps published until recently by official colonial institutions, the African population is depicted as a conglomerate of unrelated tribes. For example, in the South African directory of African peoples and tribes, published in 1956 in Johannesburg, several thousand ethnic names are listed in alphabetical order without any attempt to group them. Many hundreds and even thousands of independent languages ​​stand out on linguistic maps.

The German ethnographer and linguist Tessman singled out the areas of two hundred and twenty-five languages ​​in Cameroon alone. The Belgian linguist Bulk counted several thousand different ones in the former Belgian Congo. dialects of the Bantu languages. The classification of peoples in accordance with their ethnic and linguistic kinship was not carried out on the French ethnic map "Peoples of Black Africa", which covers a vast territory from the Atlantic coast to the Congo River basin. The comparatively poor ethno-statistical material that is available for very few countries is distinguished by great detail.

Due to the lack of reliable data on the number of many African peoples, Africanists are forced to turn to linguistic statistics. Data on the distribution of languages ​​and language groups and on the number of peoples who speak them are of paramount importance. There are very few generalizing works devoted to these issues. Until recently, Mac Dugald's American guide to the languages ​​and press of Africa has been the most famous. However, it was published in 1944, and therefore its information is largely outdated. In addition, the reference book does not contain generalizing data on the number of peoples by linguistic groups in general. The speakers of the main African languages ​​often include the population who uses them along with their native languages.

In the post-war years, the role of Africa in world politics and economics has increased; increased interest in the African population and a sharp increase in the number of regional linguistic and ethnographic works. Especially valuable ethno-statistical and cartographic materials are contained in the linguistic and ethnographic series of the International African Institute, as well as in the publications of the French Black Africa Institute. The publication of demographic yearbooks with updated demographic data for countries of the world, including African states and possessions, is carried out by the United Nations. Comparison of various linguistic and ethno-statistical information with official data on the population but made it easier for individual states and small administrative units to compile a summary of the number of African peoples for 1958 and 1959

To characterize the countries of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, the United Arab Republic), where the Muslim Arab population predominates, statistical yearbooks served as the main sources. Population censuses in these countries were conducted repeatedly, but the population was taken into account only by religious affiliation and citizenship. These data were used to determine the number of national minorities of European origin and Jews of the Maghreb. The number of Berbers has been determined from linguistic and other works.

Since there are no census data for Ethiopia and Somalia, the determination of the number of the peoples of these countries was made exclusively on the basis of linguistic publications, which provide far from complete information for 1940-1945.

The number of peoples for 1959 was determined taking into account the natural increase in the population.

For the Republic of Sudan, in addition to the preliminary data of the 1956 census, linguistic works were used that characterize the languages ​​of the Nilotic peoples and some peoples of Eastern Sudan (Fora, Azande, etc.).

For the most ethnically complex territory - Western Sudan, where there are now 21 states, when compiling tables of the ethnic composition of the population, the linguistic works of D. Westerman and M. A. Bryan, de Tressan and the ethno-statistical tables of the ethnographic atlas of French West Africa, published in 1927. In addition, the population census of the Gold Coast and Togo, conducted in 1948, and the population census of Nigeria were also used. Amendments were made to the published data of these censuses, in particular, the list of peoples who fell into the category of others during the publication of the census was clarified. Their number was taken into account on the basis of a detailed list of the tribes and peoples of Nigeria from the 1921 census.

Determining the number of individual peoples of Western Sudan, we used a number of works and monographs from the ethnographic series of the International African Institute.

The countries of Western Tropical Africa - Gabon, Congo (with Brazzaville as its capital), Congo (with Leopoldville as its capital), Rwanda and Burundi, etc., where exclusively Bantu peoples live, are provided with ethno-demographic materials less than other parts of the African continent. The ethnic composition of the population of these countries and the number of peoples living in them can so far be judged only by a few linguistic studies, which provide some data on languages. Among these works, the linguistic works of M. A. Bryan, M. Gasri and others should be noted.

The ethnic composition of the population of most countries of East Tropical Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika) is known from publications 1948 census resultsIn addition, in 1952, a partial census was again conducted in Tanganyika. In 1957 and 1959 the census covered the entire population of Tanganyika and Uganda, but these materials have not yet been published.

In this paper, the statistical data of the 1948 census have been recalculated for 1959, taking into account the latest ethnographic and linguistic materials. In particular, with the help of the latter, a large group of other peoples of Tanganyika (about 2 million people) was dismembered. Analyzing this group, the researchers determined the number of Swahili, the most important East African people, which was absent from the list of the peoples of Tanganyika given in the official materials of the 1948 census.

The number of European and Asian (Indians) by origin of the population is given for 1959 according to the latest reference materials. The ethnic composition of the population of Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia is highlighted in the ethnographic works of M. Tew, W. Whiteley , W. M. Haley , as well as in the articles by L. D. Yablochkov, which were taken as the basis for compiling tables of the number of peoples.

For the countries of South Africa (Southern Rhodesia, Mozambique, the Republic of South Africa, etc.), which are distinguished by a very complex ethnic composition of the population, the main sources of the tables were the publication of the 1946 population census, the atlas of the settlement of the tribes of the southern Bantu, compiled by Van Varmelo, and the monograph I I. Potekhin on the formation of the national community of the South African Bantu, where modern ethnic processes in the Republic of South Africa are studied. In compiling tables for South Africa, in addition to the works mentioned above, the results of the 1946 census for South-West Africa, published in 1947, as well as a large literature on the Bushmen and Hottentots, were used. The number and settlement of the Bushmen are given according to the work of van Tobias, published in 1955.

The population of Madagascar and neighboring islands in the Indian Ocean is covered in UN publications and other reference publications, as well as in the work of A. S. Orlova.