People and Culture
Plate 3: Following an Islamic tradition, royal courts in western Africa often have musical ensembles that play on ceremonial occasions. The musicians pictured here with side-blown horns and a drum are attached to the court of the Sultan of Cameroon.
Plate 5: Christianity probably arrived in Ethiopia during the 300s. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church that developed remains an important force in the country. An Orthodox priest in the ancient city of Gondar displays a picture of St. George and the dragon.
Plate 7: The colorful souks, or markets, of Marrakech, Morocco, sell just about everything, and bargaining is part of the process. This stall is devoted to the sale of wool.
Plate 9: The Asante make up a large and powerful chief-dom within southern Ghana and Ivory Coast. When Osei Tutu II became the sixteenth Asante king in 1999, he took the name of the ruler who founded the Asante kingdom in the late 1600s. The new king also received the traditional symbol of Asante unity—the Golden Stool.
Plate 11: In 1993 F. W. de Klerk, the president of South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, received the Nobel Peace Prize for working together to end the system of racial segregation in South Africa. The following year brought free elections in which all races could vote. Mandela became the nation's first black president.
Plate 13: Rwanda has been torn by conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people since 1959. During this time, millions of Rwandans have fled to neighboring countries. Here Rwandan refugees cross the Kagera River, seeking safety in Tanzania.
Plate 15: The Sakalava, a large ethnic group in Madagascar, live on the western coast of the island. They have a long history as seafarers, trading food, spices, and slaves in the Persian Gulf, Asia, and the Americas. The Sakalava wear distinctive clothing, such as the colorful waist wraps seen here.
