South Africa is often called the :D ‘Rainbow Nation’ :D Because of its colonial past, South Africa has a large number of Afrikaans- (descended from Dutch settlers) and English speakers and the British began colonizing the region in the 1800. French Huguenots, Germans and Portuguese arrived from the 1600s and brought many slaves from India and modern-day Indonesia. Islam and Hindu traditions and culture are also therefore prominent. Black African culture is most obviously known for its art, dance and music – these have been profoundly influenced by more than two centuries of colonialism and the work of Christian missionaries. Today, songs reflect a number of different styles such as gospel, jazz and rock, but often have :D a strong local flavour :D . Styles such as kwaito (house music), mbube (Zulu vocal) and kwela (jazzy street music often with a penny whistle) incorporate indigenous sounds. Art is also becoming a fusion of traditional and modern. Artists draw inspiration from the masks, statues and figurines of tribal culture, but also employ Western techniques and mediums. Art forms such as dancing and textiles perhaps retain the strongest links to traditional black culture, because they express identity and shared history. Enjoy kids :D ...
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 06:30:18 +0000