west African culture by Alec Auerbach

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:02:43 UTC

This is an ancient African mask.

Religious Practices

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:08:53 UTC

In ancient Africa,they had a Supreme God.They performed rituals,had 2 types of spirits Nature Spirits - Beneath the supreme god are a number of spirits who mostly live in nature including animals, water, and the earth.

Ancestral Spirits - The spirits of dead ancestors often played an important part in traditional African religion. By honoring these spirits, believers hoped that the spirits would help them or would talk to the supreme god on their behalf. They also believed in magic.People that practice magic are witchdocters.

Art

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:11:23 UTC

The type of art depended on the region.The art of Ancient Africa was made using a wide variety of materials. Unfortunately, a lot of African art was produced using wood, which has since been destroyed by time and the elements. Other materials, such as metals (like bronze and iron) have survived.Main forms of art were sculptures,masks,jewelry and pottery.

Griots

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:14:36 UTC

Griots are people who tell stories, sing songs, and help kings. Some of the most famous stories from western Africa are about Anansi, a trickster spider.

Daily life

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:19:29 UTC

The commoners in Ancient Africa were typically very poor and had to work hard all their lives.Typical jobs were farmers,traders,artisans,warriors and slaves.Most people of Ancient Africa lived in thatched huts with walls made from clay and straw. Normally these huts were round and had a single room. The homes of royalty and the kings were often made of wood and stone.

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:21:13 UTC

This is an ancient African house.

Social structure

aauerbach2634 — 2025-02-28 18:21:53 UTC

Women were treated better than the men which was different from places like Greece and Rome.A person’s heirs are his sister’s sons instead of their own sons.This is called matriarchal lineage. Families in Africa traced their family lines through their mother, not their father. Most other cultures trace their family lines through the father.