Thread by @Ellipsister

Random select: Gabon. A central African state comparable in size to NZ. 11.25% of the country is national parkland, and it’s home to ~80% of Africa’s Gorilla population. More than 40 indigenous languages are spoken as a first or second language, the most prevalent is Fang. #TeAo

I didn’t realise how little I knew about the countries and cultures in Africa. I think I'm gonna go through them one by one before I explore another continent. Fascinating #TeAo

Not random this time: Ghana because my uber driver last night talked about his home country. We spoje about twins, who he says are considered of special status in his culture. Ghana was colonised by European nations over the past 2000 years…

but it became the first self-governing country on the African continent in 1957. Similar to Māori, the Ashanti follow Akom cosmology that centres around a creator god, most widely recognised by the name Nyame – who makes his home in the sky – and his wife, Asase Yaa, the Earth.

Prior to colonisation, Akan Kingdoms ruled the area. These included the Akwamu, Ashanti, and Fante states. #TeAo

4. I hadn’t ever heard of this country: Benin - formerly Dahomey, was colonised by the French in 1872 but achieved independence on 1 August 1960. It was renamed the People's Republic of Benin in 1975 when the state ideology was proclaimed Marxist-Leninist.…

In 1990, the state abolished Marxist ideology as the State philosophy and was the first African country to successfully transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. Elements of culture and religion such as voodoo were introduced to the Americas when…

people were stolen and sold into slavery. Voodoo has made a comeback in Benin and is celebrated at the country’s annual Voodoo Day.

Side note: When I was in New Orlean’s, I learned that voodoo was a form of rongoa, and unsurprisingly the Hollywood approach to voodoo dolls purposely distorts their purpose, practicality and value i.e. that pins were stuck in the doll to indicate where a patient had expressed…

an ailment - they were effectively an early form of medical record.

5. Random select; Seychelles - comprises 115 islands off East Africa. It has no indigenous population and remained uninhabited (but not unexplored) until claimed by France in 1756. Noting, that the French did steal people from the main continent and forced them into slavery.…

There is no offical language, but the 3 national languages include Creole, English, and French. Around 80 species of plant are unique to the islands, and the Aldabra Islands “are the site of a preserve inhabited by tens of thousands of giant tortoises…

…the world’s oldest living creatures, which government conservation efforts have helped rescue from the brink of extinction.”

6. Djibouti is located on the Horn of Africa. The low-lying Lake Assal, in Danakil Desert is the second saltiest body of water in the world and at 509 feet (155 metres) below sea level, is the lowest point in Africa. It’s population comprises two tribes: the Issa of Somali…

…and the Afar and the primary languages are French and Arabic. It is the third smallest country in Africa. Djibouti, has a higher female-to-male ratio than all but three places on Earth (Northern Mariana Islands, Estonia and Ukraine). …

Khat/qat chewing is common (khat / qat = a flowering plant with narcotic properties). On average, each person consumes a total of 3.2kg of tea!

7. Mozambique located in South-East Africa was settled by The Bantu people about 2000 ya and they forged trade links with India, Persia, China and the Arab world. It was colonised by the Portugese and gained independence in 1975…

…While Portugese remains the official language, there are over 40 indigenous languages and dialects of which Emakhuwa (or Makhuwa) is the most widely spoken.  Swahili is a language developed through a hybrid of East African and Arab cultures & has strong influence in Mozambique.

Mozambique is the only one-word country name to feature all 5 vowels.

8. Senegal - is known as the “Gateway to Africa”. 20 ethnic groups call Senegal their home. The official language is French, but most people speak one of more than 30 indigenous languages. There are 7 UNESCO sites in Senegal.

Senegal “was a pivot for The Negritude, which was a literary movement in the 1930’s-1950s. Born in Paris, it had many notable Senegalese people who later spearheaded the decolonization of Africa.” Its “the only country in West Africa which wasn’t overrun by a military coup”.

Aroha mai, quite a few days behind. But 9. Ethiopia - In 1896, it defeated colonial Italy but was invaded and occupied by fascist Italy in 1935-6. It was among the first independent nations to sign the UN Charter.

Ethiopia has around 84 indigenous languages, and the country adopted Christianity - well before Europe - in the 4th century.

Extended whānau is the heart of the Ethiopian social system. Similar to traditional Māori social structures, the social standing (mana) of the whānau…

…is influenced by the actions of its members.

“Coffee is a national drink and its drinking is a ritualized process that generally takes at least an hour.” 🤗

10. Nigeria - huge population meaning 1:5 African people is Nigerian. Over
250 ethnic groups call Nigeria home and the # of catalogued languages is 521 (although 9 are extinct). Like other African countries, and similar to Māori, extended whānau is the centre…

…of the Nigerian social system. In business, “Nigerians prefer to develop personal relationships prior to conducting business”.
Nigeria’s film industry is referred to as Nollywood and it is the 2nd largest globally after Bollywood.